MAA Blog: Wisconsin Section High School Math Contest

By Lisa Marano with Laura Schmidt

I had the honor of being invited to the Wisconsin Section of the MAA as part of the Section Visitors Program in spring of 2020. This meeting was postponed due to COVID-19, and I was invited back for spring of 2021. As a Section Visitor, we are expected to give a talk or workshop for the meeting, but as importantly, we are asked to attend the business meeting and/or executive officers meetings of the section to gain a better understanding of how the section works and also provide the section an opportunity to communicate directly with Association leadership. I had the pleasure to attend several of Wisconsin’s executive officers meetings over the past two years. Through this, I learned of an exceptional program run by their section, the Wisconsin Section High School Math Contest. Here, I speak with Laura Schmidt, UW-Stout, outgoing Mathematics Contest Coordinator, who has organized this program for the past thirteen years.

Lisa Marano: Who is the contest designed for?

Laura Schmidt: It is designed for high school students who have studied at least one year of algebra and are at least in their first semester of geometry. The 75-minute test is designed to challenge the best students and still be accessible to a wide range of students. Any pre-high school student who is taking high school geometry is also encouraged to participate.

Lisa Marano: In a typical year, nearly 1000 students from roughly 40 different schools participate! That is truly outstanding! Why do you think you attract so many students?

Laura Schmidt: There are several reasons why schools/students participate. Some schools use it as a simulation for the AMC 10/12 tests that the national MAA coordinates afterwards, and some do it for fun as a way to challenge their students. As coordinators of the contest, we form the questions and provide an answer key and detailed solutions, so it is easy for schools to participate without as much work on their end and at a relatively low cost per school.

Lisa Marano: How do you celebrate student achievement?

Laura Schmidt: We award a fun mathematics book and a certificate to the student achieving the highest score at each school. In addition, each student scoring in the top 1% in the state will receive a certificate of achievement.

To help promote students also taking the AMC 10/12 tests, the Wisconsin MAA section awards $300 to the two students who have the highest combined scores of our Wisconsin state contest and the AMC 10/12.

Lisa Marano: Now let’s get down to details. If another section wanted to do this, what do they need to know? How does this work? How many people are needed to make this program operate? Can you explain the difference between your role and the role of the local university coordinator for the contest?

Laura Schmidt: As the Math Contest Coordinator, my position provides training and materials to the host college and reports the results to the Wisconsin MAA section. In some ways my position is the historian and reporter of the contest keeping track of materials for each year. The host college is then the one responsible for writing the contest and associated materials and sending them out to the schools. They then collect the results from the schools afterwards and send them to me for analysis. The host is a five-year term that rotates through different colleges in Wisconsin. There is typically a contact person who leads a team of colleagues in these endeavors. Anyone from the state can join the host team (even if they work at another institution) to help write the contest questions. We are always looking for volunteers and new creative questions for the contest. When I started my position, the materials were all printed out and mailed to the schools which took considerable time and money. However, nowadays the materials and results are emailed back and forth which has allowed us to save costs and lower expenses for the schools. Our initial mailing goes out at the beginning of the school year. Then the contest is written in September/October and emailed out to registered schools by the end of November. The contest is then held on the first Thursday of December at the registered schools. This allows schools to have their results before the AMC 10/12 dates. The home schools then grade the exams using a provided answer key and report results to the Wisconsin MAA section. Finally, the host college chooses a book prize and mails those and the certificates to the winners in the spring.

If another section was interested in doing this it does not take much to get started. You just need a small group of individuals from your section or state who are willing to put in a bit of time to organize and write the contest each year. Most colleges can get listings of high schools from their admission offices for a mailing and off you go!

Lisa Marano: Finally, how has this program impacted the mathematics community in Wisconsin?

Laura Schmidt: Unfortunately, we do not keep track of the students and where they go. Part of this is due to confidentiality reasons and we do not necessarily have all of the students’ information. A more formal data tracking would have to involve the high school teacher/math club advisor more and that is difficult when changes in positions occur at the schools, and we are concerned about adding to their heavy workload more. Anecdotally we hear back from the teachers now and again about how they enjoy the contest and like giving their students a chance to challenge themselves and celebrate their academic accomplishments.

Lisa Marano: It is clear from my time with the Wisconsin Section that they are passionate about their section. Laura and the organizing committee’s work on the Wisconsin Section High School Math Contest is just one example of how they go above and beyond to bring mathematics into their community. How does your section bring mathematics into your community? I’d love to know. Email me at lmarano@wcupa.edu to tell me about it.

Lisa Marano is the Associate Dean for the College of Sciences and Mathematics, Professor of Mathematics, and outgoing Co-Director of First Year Experience at West Chester University. She serves on the Board of Directors for the MAA. On a personal note, she enjoys swimming and coaching the sport for a team of youngsters in New Jersey, including her son Kyle.

Laura Schmidt is beginning her eighteenth year teaching mathematics at UW-Stout, where she loves working with students. For the last six years she has had the privilege of being the Math Teaching and Learning Center Director. She and her husband have two children. She loves reading books, watching bad reality television, and teaching!