MathCounts

Each year, District 60’s top middle school math whizzes have the opportunity to take part in MathCounts, a national program that provides students in grades 6-8 the opportunity to compete in live, in-person contests against and alongside their peers.

The MathCounts Competition Series has four levels of competition: school, chapter, state and national. District 60 middle schools can each field a MathCounts team of 4 individuals that will compete in the Southern Colorado Chapter competition. The top finishers from the Southern Colorado Chapter competition advance to the Colorado state competition. The national MathCounts competition takes place each May. 

How it works

Each MathCounts competition consists of four rounds, each testing students’ abilities to solve a variety of math-based problems:

Sprint round: Focuses on speed and accuracy. Students have 40 minutes to complete 30 math problems without a calculator. 

Target round: Focuses on problem-solving and mathematical reasoning. Students receive four pairs of problems and have six minutes to complete each pair.

Team round: Focuses on problem-solving and collaboration. Students have 20 minutes to complete 10 math problems, assuming the use of a calculator.

Countdown round: Focuses on speed and accuracy. Students have a maximum of 45 seconds per problem without a calculator. This round is open to the public at the local competition and will take place at approximately 12:45 with an awards presentation to follow.