Math competition pits student vs. student

The Montana Council of Teachers of Mathematics Math Contest gives Montana students an opportunity to test their math knowledge and perhaps receive a scholarship.

Mary Wagner has been in charge of the contest for over 10 years and said that the competition itself has been around for around 40.

"It's an opportunity for the kids that excel in math to show off their math skills today," Wagner said.

If the students score high enough on the test, they get a superior rating - a gold star for their college applications - and if they fall within a percentage under that, they get an honorable mention.

Two students, a male senior and female senior, will receive a $200 scholarship if they score the highest out of all the schools participating.

"You have to be a senior to get the scholarships," Wagner said. "Even if you score is higher than anyone else's. If you're not a senior, you don't get it."

Students from grades 7 to 12 participated in the contest and each grade took a test tailored to the level where they should be.

There were 10 teams or 400 students at Havre High School Monday participating in the contest. Wagner said school anywhere from Chester to Opheim and as far south as Chouteau were participating in the contest.

She said that the tests are supposed to cover everything the students have learned in school, but there invariably is something on the tests that were not covered in their coursework.

The students took three tests with 30 minutes per tests and 15 minutes in between. If a senior comes out on top, that person has a check sent to a college they are going to attend to be attributed to their bills.

Wagner said it takes about two weeks for her to finish everything, after which she send out packets to the students with their certificates, results and information as to who won the scholarships.