Saturday November 8, 2008

The Excellence in Mathematics High School Competition is an exciting experience for 9th - 12th grade students that is offered by the CGCC Mathematics Division.  The intent of the event is to support the efforts of our local community schools in motivating and encouraging today's youth to be successful in mathematics.  It is the hope of the CGCC Mathematics Division to not only help students improve their mathematical skills but also their attitudes toward math.  The competition creates a fun environment in which the students can compete alongside their classmates as well as meet and compete against other youth from the East Valley.

The competition consists of two different assessments, individual and team project.  Each school is allowed to bring a maximum of twelve students per level.  Level I students are currently enrolled in a pre-calculus or higher mathematics class.  Level II students are currently taking a mathematics class that is below the pre-calculus level.  All students attending will participate in both the individual and team project portions.

The individual competition consists of multiple choice questions.  The test will last for 60 minutes and students are encouraged to bring and use a graphing calculator.  Awards are given to the top ten individuals from each level with the highest scores.

Each school will divide their twelve students in each level into three teams of four students each.  The teams will be given a real-world situation in which they will be asked to analyze the information given, think critically about their approach and solution to the problem, and provide written explanation and support of their solutions.  This part of the competition lasts 60 minutes and again use of the graphing calculator is encouraged.  The top three teams in each level will be given an award.

The High Point Award recognizes the high school with the highest cumulative points.  For each level, all individual and team scores will be tabulated to determine the winner.

Students from Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, Tempe, Higley, and Queen Creek are invited.  The CGCC Mathematics Division welcomes you and encourages your school to compete!  Hurry and enroll now!