Ivy League Education Center

The AMC 10/12 contests are getting harder. This year, the 2020 AMC 10/12 contests recycled four problems from previous AIME contests, which proves that higher level problems are showing up on lower level exams

These three problems from previous AIME contests are shown below:

• The 2020 AMC 10A Problem 19 is the exact same as the 2016 AIME I Problem 3.
• The 2020 AMC 12A Problem 24 is the exact same as the 2012 AIME I Problem 13.
• The 2020 AMC 10B Problem 20 is the exact same as the 2003 AIME I Problem 5.
• The 2020 AMC 10B Problem 21 (also known as Problem 18 on the 2020 AMC 12B) is the exact same as the 2015 AIME I Problem 7.

Because we discussed the detailed solutions for these three problems from past AIME contests in our AMC 10/12 prep class, our students were able to successfully answer these exact same problems on the 2020 AMC 10/12 contests. This greatly improved their overall score to qualify for the AIME.

Because the AMC 10/12 problems are getting harder, we must practice not only previous AMC 10/12 problems but also easy or medium difficulty level problems from previous AIME to do well on the AIME.

More details can be found at:

• Some Hard Problems on the 2016 AMC 8 are Exactly the Same as Previous Problems on the AMC 10/12 and the Other Competitions
• The Hardest Problems on the 2017 AMC 8 are Extremely Similar to Previous Problems on the AMC 8, 10, 12, Kangaroo, and MathCounts
• The Hardest Problems on the 2018 AMC 8 are Nearly Identical to Former Problems on the AMC 8, 10, 12, and MathCounts
• Some Problems on the 2016 AMC 10/12 are Exactly the Same as Previous AMC/ARML Problems
• Some Hard Problems on the 2017 AMC 10A/12A are Totally the Same as Previous Problems on the AMC 10/12
• 365-hour Project to Qualify for the AIME through the AMC 10/12 Contests
• AMC 10 versus AMC 12
• American Mathematics Contest 10 (AMC 10)
• American Mathematics Contest 12 — AMC 12
• Notable Achievements of Our Students
• AMC 10/12 Historical Results
• The AMC 10 and AMC 12 Have 10-15 Questions in Common
• Some Problems on the 2016 AMC 10/12 are Exactly the Same as Previous AMC/ARML Problems
• Every Student Should Take Both the AMC 10A/12A and 10 B/12B!
• Students Can Easily Qualify for the AIME Through the AMC 12 During 11th and 12th Grade
• Premier National Mathematics Competition — AMC 8
• American Mathematics Competitions (AMC) Materials
• Great Benefits of Math Competitions
• The Big Value of Middle School Math Competitions
• A Little Competition can Inspire Math Students to Greater Achievement
• Optimal Strategies to Solve Hard AMC Geometry Problems
• Why Discrete Math Is Very Important
• Mathematics competitions are NOT mysterious, and every student can attend them! — 数学竞赛绝非神秘，每个学生都可参加！
• Girls should attend math competitions — 女生更应参加数学竞赛

There are many math competitions in the United States. Of those, only

AMC → AIME → USAMO sequence

would take you to the IMO (International Math Olympiad), the highest level math competition for high school students in the world!

Featured Math Instructors

All of our sessions are taught by highly qualified instructors who are excellent experts on preparing students for the exam. We distinguish ourselves by the high quality of our instructors. Finding top-quality instructors is no easy task. We’ve hand-picked some of the best, including graduates of Ivy League institutions.

Our instructors are dedicated to teaching and student success. They are very knowledgeable, patient, available, and willing to help our students. Our students receive a quality education that goes beyond the classroom.

Meet some of them here:

• Chief Math Instructor: Dr. Henry Wan
• Head Math Instructor: Dr. Natasha Khovanova
• Senior Math Instructor: Dr. Irina Kufareva

Our Students

In 2020, we had 82 students who are qualified to take the AIME either through the AMC 10A/12A or AMC 10B/12B. One of our students was among the 11 Perfect Scorers worldwide on the AMC 12A: Yiyang X, and one of our students was among the 13 Perfect Scorers worldwide on the AMC 10A: Jason W.. 43 middle schoolers and 9 elementary schoolers qualified for the AIME!

In 2019, we had 71 students who obtained top scores on the AMC 8 contest!

• 8 of our students were among the top 151 National Winners (Perfect Scorers), including 2 sixth graders.
• 36 students received National Distinguished Honor Roll Certificates awarded to top 1% test takers, as shown in Table 2.
• 27 students received National Honor Roll Certificates awarded to top 5% test takers, as shown in Table 3.
• 71 out of our 73 students (97.3%) received National Awards for the AMC 8 from the Mathematical Association of America

Read more at: 2019 AMC 8 Results Just Announced — Eight Students Received Perfect Scores

In 2019, we had 4 students qualified for the USAMO and 4 Students for the USAJMO.

• Of the 280 USA Math Olympiad national qualifiers, 4 are our students: Luke C., Zipeng L., Sameer P., and Peter P.
• Of the 235 USA Junior Math Olympiad national qualifiers, 4 are our students: Michael H., Noah W., Holden W., and Isabella Z.

Read more at: 2019 USAMO and USAJMO Qualifiers Announced — Four Students Qualified for the USAMO and Four Students for the USAJMO

In 2019, we had 76 students who are qualified to take the AIME either through the AMC 10A/12A or AMC 10B/12B. One of our students was among the 22 Perfect Scorers worldwide on the AMC 10A: Noah W.and one of our students were among the 10 Perfect Scorers worldwide on the AMC 12B: Kenneth W. Very impressively, 32 middle schoolers and 7 elementary schoolers qualified for the AIME!

In 2018, we had 64 students who obtained top scores on the AMC 8 contest!

• 3 of our students were among the top 44 National Winners (Perfect Scorers): Eric B., Kevin Y., and Isabella Z.
• 40 students received National Distinguished Honor Roll Certificates awarded to top 1% test takers.
• 21 students received National Honor Roll Certificates awarded to top 5% test takers.
• 64 out of our 66 students (96.5%) received National Awards for the AMC 8 from the Mathematical Association of America

Read more at: 2018 AMC 8 Results Just Announced — Three Students Received Perfect Scores

In 2018, we had 73 students who are qualified to take the AIME either through the AMC 10A/12A or AMC 10B/12B. Two of our students were among the 35 Perfect Scorers worldwide on the AMC 10A: Austen M. and Jason W.  and two of our students were among the 21 Perfect Scorers worldwide on the AMC 12B: Kaan D. and Edward W. Remarkably, 11 middle schoolers and 2 elementary schoolers qualified for the AIME!

In 2017, we had 63 students who earned top scores on the AMC 8 contest!

• 7 of our students were among the top 75 National Winners (Perfect Scorers).
• 34 students received National Distinguished Honor Roll Certificates awarded to top 1% test takers.
• 22 students received National Honor Roll Certificates awarded to top 5% test takers.
• 63 out of our 65 students (97%) received National Awards for the AMC 8 from the Mathematical Association of America

Read more at: 2017 AMC 8 Results Just Announced — Seven Students Received Perfect Scores

In 2017, we had 61 students who are qualified to take the AIME either through the AMC 10A/12A or AMC 10B/12B. One of our students was among the 28 Perfect Scorers worldwide on the AMC 10A: Austen M., and two of our students were among the 65 Perfect Scorers worldwide on the AMC 10B: Ashwin A. and Brad Z. Remarkably, eight middle schoolers and one elementary schooler qualified for the AIME, which is geared toward high school students. Very impressively, Bryan Z., a 6th grader, gained a score of 132 out of 150 on the AMC 10B.Read more at: 2017 AIME Qualifiers Announced — 61 Students Qualified for the AIME

In 2016, we had 36 students who are qualified to take AIME either through AMC 10A/12A or AMC 10B/12B. One of our students was among the 23 Perfect Scorers worldwide on the AMC 10A: Joel (Junyao) T. Particularly, seven middle schoolers and one elementary schooler qualified for the AIME, which is geared toward high school students. Pravalika P., a 6th grader, got a 115.5 out of 150 on the AMC10B, which is very impressive. Read more at: 2016 AIME Qualifiers Announced — 36 Students Qualified for AIME

2011 – 2015: In total, 37 students scored above 120 on the American Mathematics Contest 10 (AMC 10) and qualified for the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME); 26 students scored above 100 on the American Mathematics Contest 12 (AMC 12) and qualified for the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME); 3 students qualified for the USA Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO), the highest level of math competition for high school students in the USA

2011 – 2015: In total, 23 students achieved perfect scores of 28 on the AMC 8

Read more at: Notable Achievements of Our Students

Our Uniqueness

We have a long history of close collaboration with the MAA‘s American Mathematics Competitions (AMC), which are dedicated to strengthening the mathematical capabilities of our nation’s youth, and are the first of a series of competitions in high school mathematics that determine the United States team for the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO).

We are only one in the Washington DC metropolitan area to offer elementary, middle, and high-school level competition math courses. Our students have received top scores and awards at prestigious national math competitions.

Great Benefits of Math Competitions

In an increasingly competitive college application pool, the process of mastering math skills through our courses and participating in the American Math Competitions will help students strengthen and diversify their extracurricular activities. These contests can motivate students’ interest and passion in math, and they can discover their talent through solving challenging problems different from those in the school classes. Many top colleges also request AMC scores as part of the college application process. Both MIT and Caltech have entry blanks on their official admission application forms for the applicant to enter their best AMC and AIME scores. Ivy League Colleges and Stanford ask for to the AMC and AIME scores in their Supplement to the Common Application Forms. Your children deserve the chance to list these scores on their applications! Good AMC scores will greatly enhance admission opportunities for students to elite colleges.

Read more:

• Great Benefits of Math Competitions
• The Big Value of Middle School Math Competitions
• A Little Competition can Inspire Students to Greater Achievement
• Why Math Competitions are so Important to Girls?

Contact Information:

Ivy League Education Center
Tel:  301-922-9508     or        240-780-8828
Email:  chiefmathtutor@gmail.com

Click HERE find out more about Math Competitions

Click HERE to find out more about SAT Prep!

It’s time to prepare for the 2021 AMC contests!  “Chance favors only the prepared mind.” Success is doing ordinary things EXTRA ordinarily well!

See: 2019 USAMO and USAJMO Qualifiers Announced — Four Students Qualified for the USAMO and Four Students for the USAJMO

Purpose: To prepare for the ARML and the AMC 10/12A — Thursday, February 4, 2021 and AMC 10/12B — Wednesday, February 10, 2021.

Special Spring Session
9 Weekends (EASTERN Time: 6:00 – 8:00 pm), Total: 18 Hours
4/12,  4/19,  4/26,  5/3 (Monthly Mock Test/Review)
5/10,  5/17,  5/24,  5/31,  6/7 (Final Mock Exam/Review)

New Students: $720
Returning Students: $700

Online Registration is now open! Click HERE to register and pay.

You are very welcome to sign up for our online course which offers a quick, efficient way for students to interact with teachers over long distance. We use Google Meet to video chat and easily connect with students to teach them our tricks and shortcuts to getting an amazing score on their contests, as well as offer them our guidance and support. Students can ask questions face-to-face, and can complete problems with the supervision of our teachers/coaches. Click HERE to see detailed instruction.

A commitment to the whole course can maximize the benefit of learning all the math ideas, methods, strategies, tactics, skills, and techniques.

Click HERE to see payment and refund policy.

• This is a live class, not a pre-recorded one. Instructors will ask students questions, and students can also ask questions during the class or email their questions to instructors after class.
• We record all of our lessons as a big bonus so that our students can watch class videos after class for review and self-study.
• We will help students gain a deeper understanding of the fundamental math concepts, build a solid foundation in math, and develop the critical thinking and problem-solving skills different from those in the school classes, motivation, and perseverance for reaching their full potential.
• We will focus on efficient tricks, shortcuts, and strategies to solve competitive math problems, especially those hard problems on the AMC 10/12 and easy problems on the AIME, as well as test-taking tactics.
• The emphasis of this class will be on comprehensive problem-solving, which is very common in competitive math, but is not included in school curriculum.
• We will utilize a highly effective teaching model as described in the article: Small-sized Class Instruction-focused Model.

Instructors:

• Dr. Henry Wan
• Dr. Irina Khovanova
• Dr. Natasha Kufareva

Contact Information:
Ivy League Education Center
Tel:  301-922-9508     or        240-406-3402
Email:  chiefmathtutor@gmail.com

Each Session: 

Tuition :	$520
Material:	$200 (including 720 pages handouts, and problem sets with detailed solutions)
Total Fee:	$720 (We offer discounts of $20 for returning students.)

A commitment to the whole course can maximize the benefit of learning all the math ideas, methods, strategies, tactics, skills, and techniques.

Specific Goal: To earn a score of 120 or more out of 150 on the American Mathematics Contest 10 (AMC 10), or a score of 100 or more out of 150 on the American Mathematics Contest 12 (AMC 12), and then qualify for the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME), which is used to determine qualification for the United States of America Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO). See for more details: Optimal Strategies to Solve Hard AMC Problems

There are many math competitions in the United States. Of those, only

AMC → AIME → USAMO sequence

would take you to the IMO (International Math Olympiad), the highest level math competition for high school students in the world!

Although the last round of this year’s AMC 10/12 will be coming at a close on February 5, 2020, we must prepare in advance for the 2021 AMC 10/12 contests. As the great scientist Louis Pasteur said, “Chance favors only the prepared mind.” Those who strive to prepare early, and work hard are the ones who achieve the best results. The AMC is a complex math competition that requires dedication and focus. Therefore, the earlier our students start preparing, the better their scores will be.

Read more at:

• 20 Sets of AMC 12 Mock Test with Detailed Solutions
• 20 Sets of AMC 10 Mock Test with Detailed Solutions
• 116 Full-length Real AMC Problems Sets are a Golden Resource to Our AMC 10/12 Prep Program
• 365-hour Project to Qualify for the AIME through the AMC 10/12 Contests
• Some Hard Problems on the 2017 AMC 10A/12A are Totally the Same as Previous Problems on the AMC 10/12
• AMC 10 versus AMC 12
• AMC 10/12 Historical Results
• Some Problems on the 2016 AMC 10/12 are Exactly the Same as Previous AMC/ARML Problems
• Optimal Strategies to Solve Hard AMC Geometry Problems
• Students Can Easily Qualify for the AIME Through the AMC 12 During 11th and 12th Grade
• The AMC 10 and AMC 12 Have 10-15 Questions in Common
• Every Student Should Take Both the AMC 10A/12A and 10 B/12B!
• The Big Value of Middle School Math Competitions
• Great Benefits of Math Competitions
• A Little Competition Can Inspire Math Students to Greater Achievement
• Mathematics competitions are NOT mysterious, and every student can attend them! — 数学竞赛绝非神秘，每个学生都可参加！
• Girls should attend math competitions — 女生更应参加数学竞赛
• Small-sized Class Instruction-focused Model
• Why are Math Competitions Important to Girls?
• Small-sized Class Instruction-focused Model
• 2016 AIME Qualifiers Announced — 36 Students Qualified for the AIME

Who should take this class: This class is very appropriate for 6th-11th grade students who are hoping to qualify for the AIME.

Benefits:

• 9 tutorial handouts (>360 pages) developed by Dr. Henry Wan and 500 new problems similar to AMC 10/12 level from the licensed AMC Database
• 2 FREE mock tests that are intended to mimic an actual math competition exam, each of which has 25 questions similar to AMC 10/12 level taken from the licensed AMC Database. These simulated tests help students assess their level of preparation for the Math Competitions. After attempting the test, students get answers, explanations, and a detailed score report and wise performance summary.
• FREE registration for the AMC 10/12A — Thursday, February 4, 2021 and AMC 10/12B — Wednesday, February 10, 2021. Please see: The AMC 10/12 Contests at the Montgomery College on January 30, 2020, and February 5, 2020

Weekly Homework:

At least 3 hours per week. Problem sets include all problems from 82 past real AMC 10/12 test booklets, and 500 brand new problems having similar difficulty and style as the real AMC 10/12 problems, extracted from the licensed AMC Database.

The focus will on the final 10 problems on the AMC 10/12, and the first 5 problems on the AIME, as well as those hard problems on the ARML. Note that some hard problems on the recent AMC 10 and 12 are exactly the same as previous ARML Problems. Read More at: Some Problems on the 2016 AMC 10/12 are Exactly the Same as Previous AMC/ARML Problems 

Each week, we will carefully review and check 2 students’ homework, and correct any mistakes. The next week, we will check another 2 students’ homework, and this will continue on a rotational basis until all students have had their homework checked at least once and the cycle will start again. Based on the work of the 2 students that week, we will provide the those 2 students with individualized proposal and support.

Class Outline:

In our high school competitive math class, we will focus on efficient tricks, shortcuts, and strategies to solve AMC problems as well as test-taking tactics. The emphasis of this class will be on advanced geometry and comprehensive problem-solving which are very common in competitive math. We will also help students develop quick problem solving strategies and effective time management skills. We reserve the right to adjust the teaching content and method according to students’ understanding and comprehension of new knowledge.

Special Spring Session 

Class	Date	Topic
1	4/12, Sun	Circle geometry
2	4/19, Sun	Circles and triangles: circumcircles and incircles
3	4/26, Sun	Circles and regular polygons, efficient strategy to construct auxiliary lines in circles
4	5/3, Sun	Quadrilateral geometry: trapezoids, parallelograms, kites, and rhombuses
5	5/10, Sun	Trigonometry I
6	5/17, Sun	Trigonometry II
7	5/24, Sun	3-D geometry
8	5/31, Sun	Analytic geometry and complex number geometry
9	6/7, Sun	Constructing auxiliary lines and applying the ruler, protractor, and compass to solve hard AMC geometry problems (See more at: Optimal Strategies to Solve Hard AMC Geometry Problems

Small-sized Class Teaching Model:

We utilize the highly effective small-sized class teaching model. Smaller classes lead to pupils receiving more individual attention from teachers, and having more active interactions with them. We focus on every individual, not the whole class. Students will thrive from the smaller class sizes that allow them to reach their full potential. Particularly, students can benefit tremendously from high-frequent individualized student-teacher interactions leading to establishment of a stronger foundation for lifelong learning.

Our main purpose is to help our students gain deeper understanding of the fundamental math concepts, build a solid foundation in math, and develop the critical thinking and problem-solving skills that are so valuable to success in any career. We are big believers in the FUNDAMENTALS! Our students will receive the LIFELONG BENEFITS from learning math.

Regardless of his/her math level, each student will have the opportunity to learn math in a fun, friendly, cooperative, supportive learning environment. The most important thing is to have fun.

Our Students

In 2020, we had 82 students who are qualified to take the AIME either through the AMC 10A/12A or AMC 10B/12B. One of our students was among the 11 Perfect Scorers worldwide on the AMC 12A: Yiyang X, and one of our students was among the 13 Perfect Scorers worldwide on the AMC 10A: Jason W.. 43 middle schoolers and 9 elementary schoolers qualified for the AIME!

In 2019, we had 71 students who obtained top scores on the AMC 8 contest!

• 8 of our students were among the top 151 National Winners (Perfect Scorers), including 2 sixth graders.
• 36 students received National Distinguished Honor Roll Certificates awarded to top 1% test takers, as shown in Table 2.
• 27 students received National Honor Roll Certificates awarded to top 5% test takers, as shown in Table 3.
• 71 out of our 73 students (97.3%) received National Awards for the AMC 8 from the Mathematical Association of America

Read more at: 2019 AMC 8 Results Just Announced — Eight Students Received Perfect Scores

In 2019, we had 4 students qualified for the USAMO and 4 Students for the USAJMO.

• Of the 280 USA Math Olympiad national qualifiers, 4 are our students: Luke C., Zipeng L., Sameer P., and Peter P.
• Of the 235 USA Junior Math Olympiad national qualifiers, 4 are our students: Michael H., Noah W., Holden W., and Isabella Z.

Read more at: 2019 USAMO and USAJMO Qualifiers Announced — Four Students Qualified for the USAMO and Four Students for the USAJMO

In 2019, we had 76 students who are qualified to take the AIME either through the AMC 10A/12A or AMC 10B/12B. One of our students was among the 22 Perfect Scorers worldwide on the AMC 10A: Noah W., and one of our students was among the 10 Perfect Scorers worldwide on the AMC 12B: Kenneth W. Very impressively, 32 middle schoolers and 7 elementary schoolers qualified for the AIME!

In 2018, we had 64 students who obtained top scores on the AMC 8 contest!

• 3 of our students were among the top 44 National Winners (Perfect Scorers): Eric B., Kevin Y., and Isabella Z.
• 40 students received National Distinguished Honor Roll Certificates awarded to top 1% test takers.
• 21 students received National Honor Roll Certificates awarded to top 5% test takers.
• 64 out of our 66 students (96.5%) received National Awards for the AMC 8 from the Mathematical Association of America

Read more at: 2018 AMC 8 Results Just Announced — Three Students Received Perfect Scores

In 2018, we had 73 students who are qualified to take the AIME either through the AMC 10A/12A or AMC 10B/12B. Two of our students were among the 35 Perfect Scorers worldwide on the AMC 10A: Austen M. and Jason W.  and two of our students were among the 21 Perfect Scorers worldwide on the AMC 12B: Kaan D. and Edward W. Remarkably, 11 middle schoolers and 2 elementary schoolers qualified for the AIME!

In 2017, we had 63 students who earned top scores on the AMC 8 contest!

• 7 of our students were among the top 75 National Winners (Perfect Scorers).
• 34 students received National Distinguished Honor Roll Certificates awarded to top 1% test takers.
• 22 students received National Honor Roll Certificates awarded to top 5% test takers.
• 63 out of our 65 students (97%) received National Awards for the AMC 8 from the Mathematical Association of America

Read more at: 2017 AMC 8 Results Just Announced — Seven Students Received Perfect Scores

In 2017, we had 61 students who are qualified to take the AIME either through the AMC 10A/12A or AMC 10B/12B. One of our students was among the 28 Perfect Scorers worldwide on the AMC 10A: Austen M., and two of our students were among the 65 Perfect Scorers worldwide on the AMC 10B: Ashwin A. and Brad Z. Remarkably, eight middle schoolers and one elementary schooler qualified for the AIME, which is geared toward high school students. Very impressively, Bryan Z., a 6th grader, gained a score of 132 out of 150 on the AMC 10B.Read more at: 2017 AIME Qualifiers Announced — 61 Students Qualified for the AIME

In 2016, we had 36 students who are qualified to take AIME either through AMC 10A/12A or AMC 10B/12B. One of our students was among the 23 Perfect Scorers worldwide on the AMC 10A: Joel (Junyao) T. Particularly, seven middle schoolers and one elementary schooler qualified for the AIME, which is geared toward high school students. Pravalika P., a 6th grader, got a 115.5 out of 150 on the AMC10B, which is very impressive. Read more at: 2016 AIME Qualifiers Announced — 36 Students Qualified for AIME

2011 – 2015: In total, 37 students scored above 120 on the American Mathematics Contest 10 (AMC 10) and qualified for the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME); 26 students scored above 100 on the American Mathematics Contest 12 (AMC 12) and qualified for the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME); 3 students qualified for the USA Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO), the highest level of math competition for high school students in the USA

2011 – 2015: In total, 23 students achieved perfect scores of 28 on the AMC 8

Read more at: Notable Achievements of Our Students

Our Uniqueness

We have a long history of close collaboration with the MAA‘s American Mathematics Competitions (AMC), which are dedicated to strengthening the mathematical capabilities of our nation’s youth, and are the first of a series of competitions in high school mathematics that determine the United States team for the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO).

We are only one in the Washington DC metropolitan area to offer elementary, middle, and high-school level competition math courses. Our students have received top scores and awards at prestigious national math competitions.

Great Benefits of Math Competitions

In an increasingly competitive college application pool, the process of mastering math skills through our courses and participating in the American Math Competitions will help students strengthen and diversify their extracurricular activities. These contests can motivate students’ interest and passion in math, and they can discover their talent through solving challenging problems different from those in the school classes. Many top colleges also request AMC scores as part of the college application process. Both MIT and Caltech have entry blanks on their official admission application forms for the applicant to enter their best AMC and AIME scores. Ivy League Colleges and Stanford ask for to the AMC and AIME scores in their Supplement to the Common Application Forms. Your children deserve the chance to list these scores on their applications! Good AMC scores will greatly enhance admission opportunities for students to elite colleges.

Read more:

• Great Benefits of Math Competitions
• The Big Value of Middle School Math Competitions
• A Little Competition can Inspire Students to Greater Achievement
• Why Math Competitions are so Important to Girls?

Click HERE find out more about Math Competitions!

Click HERE to find out more about SAT Prep!

• 

The 2020 AMC 10B contest was held on February 5, 2020. We posted the 2020 AMC 10B Problems and Answers at 12 a.m. (EST) midnight on February 5, 2020. You can click the following links to download them:

• 2020 AMC 10B Problems and Answers
• 20 Sets of AMC 10 Mock Test with Detailed Solutions

More details can be found at:

• 365-hour Project to Qualify for the AIME through the AMC 10/12 Contests
• AMC 10 versus AMC 12
• American Mathematics Contest 10 (AMC 10)
• American Mathematics Contest 12 — AMC 12
• Notable Achievements of Our Students
• AMC 10/12 Historical Results
• The AMC 10 and AMC 12 Have 10-15 Questions in Common
• Some Problems on the 2016 AMC 10/12 are Exactly the Same as Previous AMC/ARML Problems
• Every Student Should Take Both the AMC 10A/12A and 10 B/12B!
• Students Can Easily Qualify for the AIME Through the AMC 12 During 11th and 12th Grade

Click HERE find out more about Math Competitions!

Click HERE to find out more about SAT Prep!

The 2020 AMC 12B contest was held on February 5, 2020. We posted the 2020 AMC 12B Problems and Answers at 12 a.m. (EST) midnight on February 5, 2020. You can click the following links to download them:

• 2020 AMC 12B Problems and Answers
• 20 Sets of AMC 12 Mock Test with Detailed Solutions

More details can be found at:

• 365-hour Project to Qualify for the AIME through the AMC 10/12 Contests
• AMC 10 versus AMC 12
• American Mathematics Contest 10 (AMC 10)
• American Mathematics Contest 12 — AMC 12
• Notable Achievements of Our Students
• AMC 10/12 Historical Results
• The AMC 10 and AMC 12 Have 10-15 Questions in Common
• Some Problems on the 2016 AMC 10/12 are Exactly the Same as Previous AMC/ARML Problems
• Every Student Should Take Both the AMC 10A/12A and 10 B/12B!
• Students Can Easily Qualify for the AIME Through the AMC 12 During 11th and 12th Grade
• Premier National Mathematics Competition — AMC 8
• American Mathematics Competitions (AMC) Materials
• Great Benefits of Math Competitions
• The Big Value of Middle School Math Competitions
• A Little Competition can Inspire Math Students to Greater Achievement
• Optimal Strategies to Solve Hard AMC Geometry Problems
• Why Discrete Math Is Very Important
• Mathematics competitions are NOT mysterious, and every student can attend them! — 数学竞赛绝非神秘，每个学生都可参加！
• Girls should attend math competitions — 女生更应参加数学竞赛

Click HERE find out more about Math Competitions

Click HERE to find out more about SAT Prep!

 

Our Uniqueness

We have a long history of close collaboration with the MAA‘s American Mathematics Competitions (AMC), which are dedicated to strengthening the mathematical capabilities of our nation’s youth, and are the first of a series of competitions in high school mathematics that determine the United States team for the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO). There are many math competitions in the United States. Of those, only AMC → AIME → USAMO sequence would take you to the IMO (International Math Olympiad), the highest level math competition for high school students in the world. We are only one in the Washington DC metropolitan area to offer elementary, middle, and high-school level competition math courses. Our students have received top scores and awards at prestigious national and math competitions. We have collected all AMC8/10/12 and AIME Official Problems and Official Solutions as shown in the article ” American Mathematics Competitions (AMC) Materials,” which have formed our “big data” system, a golden resource for our students, who are the ultimate beneficiaries.

The 2020 AMC 12A contest was held on Jan. 30, 2020. We posted the 2020 AMC 12A Problems and Answers at 12 a.m. (EST) midnight on January 30, 2020. You can click the following to download them:

• 2020 AMC 12A Problems and Answers
• 20 Sets of AMC 12 Mock Test with Detailed Solutions

More details can be found at:

• 365-hour Project to Qualify for the AIME through the AMC 10/12 Contests
• AMC 10 versus AMC 12
• American Mathematics Contest 10 (AMC 10)
• American Mathematics Contest 12 — AMC 12
• Notable Achievements of Our Students
• AMC 10/12 Historical Results
• The AMC 10 and AMC 12 Have 10-15 Questions in Common
• Some Problems on the 2016 AMC 10/12 are Exactly the Same as Previous AMC/ARML Problems
• Every Student Should Take Both the AMC 10A/12A and 10 B/12B!
• Students Can Easily Qualify for the AIME Through the AMC 12 During 11th and 12th Grade
• Premier National Mathematics Competition — AMC 8
• American Mathematics Competitions (AMC) Materials
• Great Benefits of Math Competitions
• The Big Value of Middle School Math Competitions
• A Little Competition can Inspire Math Students to Greater Achievement
• Optimal Strategies to Solve Hard AMC Geometry Problems
• Why Discrete Math Is Very Important
• Mathematics competitions are NOT mysterious, and every student can attend them! — 数学竞赛绝非神秘，每个学生都可参加！
• Girls should attend math competitions — 女生更应参加数学竞赛

Click HERE find out more about Math Competitions

Click HERE to find out more about SAT Prep!

 

Our Uniqueness

We have a long history of close collaboration with the MAA‘s American Mathematics Competitions (AMC), which are dedicated to strengthening the mathematical capabilities of our nation’s youth, and are the first of a series of competitions in high school mathematics that determine the United States team for the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO). There are many math competitions in the United States. Of those, only AMC → AIME → USAMO sequence would take you to the IMO (International Math Olympiad), the highest level math competition for high school students in the world. We are only one in the Washington DC metropolitan area to offer elementary, middle, and high-school level competition math courses. Our students have received top scores and awards at prestigious national and math competitions. We have collected all AMC8/10/12 and AIME Official Problems and Official Solutions as shown in the article ” American Mathematics Competitions (AMC) Materials,” which have formed our “big data” system, a golden resource for our students, who are the ultimate beneficiaries.

• 

The 2020 AMC 10A contest was held on Jan. 30, 2020. We posted the 2020 AMC 10A Problems and Answers at 12 a.m. (EST) midnight on January 30, 2020. You can click the following to download them:

• 2020 AMC 10A Problems and Answers
• 20 Sets of AMC 10 Mock Test with Detailed Solutions

More details can be found at:

• 365-hour Project to Qualify for the AIME through the AMC 10/12 Contests
• AMC 10 versus AMC 12
• American Mathematics Contest 10 (AMC 10)
• American Mathematics Contest 12 — AMC 12
• Notable Achievements of Our Students
• AMC 10/12 Historical Results
• The AMC 10 and AMC 12 Have 10-15 Questions in Common
• Some Problems on the 2016 AMC 10/12 are Exactly the Same as Previous AMC/ARML Problems
• Every Student Should Take Both the AMC 10A/12A and 10 B/12B!
• Students Can Easily Qualify for the AIME Through the AMC 12 During 11th and 12th Grade

Click HERE find out more about Math Competitions!

Click HERE to find out more about SAT Prep!

Spring is the golden time to prepare for the American Mathematics Competitions!

Only undertake what you can do in an excellence fashion. There are no prizes for average performance.

See more at:

• 2019 USAMO and USAJMO Qualifiers Announced — Four Students Qualified for the USAMO and Four Students for the USAJMO
• 2018 AMC 8 Results Just Announced — Three Students Received Perfect Scores

Competitive Math Program — Spring Schedule

Class	Day/Time	Grade
High School Competitive Math	Spring Session I 9 Classes (Time: 6:00 – 8:00 pm) Total: 18 Hours  2/9, 2/16, 2/23, 3/1, 3/8, 3/15, 3/22, 3/29, 4/5 Spring Session II 9 Classes (Time: 6:00 – 8:00 pm) Total: 18 Hours 4/12, 4/19, 4/26, 5/3, 5/10, 5/17, 5/24, 5/31, 6/7 View Course Outline	6-11
Online High School Competitive Math	Spring Session I 9 Classes (Time: 6:00 – 8:00 pm) Total: 18 Hours  2/9, 2/16, 2/23, 3/1, 3/8, 3/15, 3/22, 3/29, 4/5 Spring Session II 9 Classes (Time: 6:00 – 8:00 pm) Total: 18 Hours 4/12, 4/19, 4/26, 5/3, 5/10, 5/17, 5/24, 5/31, 6/7 View Course Outline	6-11
Middle School Competitive Math	Spring Session I 9 Classes (Time: 6:00 – 8:00 pm) Total: 18 Hours 2/8, 2/15, 2/22, 2/29, 3/7, 3/14, 3/21, 3/28, 4/4 Spring Session II 9 Classes (Time: 6:00 – 8:00 pm) Total: 18 Hours 4/11, 4/18, 4/25, 5/2, 5/9, 5/16, 5/23, 5/30, 6/6 View Course Outline	4-8
Online Middle School Competitive Math	Spring Session I 9 Classes (Eastern Time: 6:00 – 8:00 pm) Total: 18 Hours 2/8, 2/15, 2/22, 2/29, 3/7, 3/14, 3/21, 3/28, 4/4 Spring Session II 9 Classes (Eastern Time: 6:00 – 8:00 pm) Total: 18 Hours 4/11, 4/18, 4/25, 5/2, 5/9, 5/16, 5/23, 5/30, 6/6 View Course Outline	4-8
Intensive AIME Prep	Spring Session 5 Classes (EASTERN Time: 3:00 – 5:30 pm) Total: 12.5 Hours  2/9,  2/16,  2/23,  3/1,  3/8 View Course Outline	6-11
Online Intensive AIME Prep	Spring Session 5 Classes (EASTERN Time: 3:00 – 5:30 pm) Total: 12.5 Hours  2/9,  2/16,  2/23,  3/1,  3/8 View Course Outline	6-11

We record all of our lessons as a big bonus so that our students can watch class videos after class for review and self-study.

There are many math competitions in the United States. Of those, only

AMC → AIME → USAMO sequence

would take you to the IMO (International Math Olympiad), the highest level math competition for high school students in the world!

Featured Math Instructors

All of our sessions are taught by highly qualified instructors who are excellent experts on preparing students for the exam. We distinguish ourselves by the high quality of our instructors. Finding top-quality instructors is no easy task. We’ve hand-picked some of the best, including graduates of Ivy League institutions.

Our instructors are dedicated to teaching and student success. They are very knowledgeable, patient, available, and willing to help our students. Our students receive a quality education that goes beyond the classroom.

Meet some of them here:

• Chief Math Instructor: Dr. Henry Wan
• Head Math Instructor: Dr. Natasha Khovanova
• Senior Math Instructor: Dr. Irina Kufareva

Our Students

In 2020, we had 82 students who are qualified to take the AIME either through the AMC 10A/12A or AMC 10B/12B. One of our students was among the 11 Perfect Scorers worldwide on the AMC 12A: Yiyang X, and one of our students was among the 13 Perfect Scorers worldwide on the AMC 10A: Jason W.. 43 middle schoolers and 9 elementary schoolers qualified for the AIME!

In 2019, we had 71 students who obtained top scores on the AMC 8 contest!

• 8 of our students were among the top 151 National Winners (Perfect Scorers), including 2 sixth graders.
• 36 students received National Distinguished Honor Roll Certificates awarded to top 1% test takers, as shown in Table 2.
• 27 students received National Honor Roll Certificates awarded to top 5% test takers, as shown in Table 3.
• 71 out of our 73 students (97.3%) received National Awards for the AMC 8 from the Mathematical Association of America

Read more at: 2019 AMC 8 Results Just Announced — Eight Students Received Perfect Scores

In 2019, we had 4 students qualified for the USAMO and 4 Students for the USAJMO.

• Of the 280 USA Math Olympiad national qualifiers, 4 are our students: Luke C., Zipeng L., Sameer P., and Peter P.
• Of the 235 USA Junior Math Olympiad national qualifiers, 4 are our students: Michael H., Noah W., Holden W., and Isabella Z.

Read more at: 2019 USAMO and USAJMO Qualifiers Announced — Four Students Qualified for the USAMO and Four Students for the USAJMO

In 2019, we had 76 students who are qualified to take the AIME either through the AMC 10A/12A or AMC 10B/12B. One of our students was among the 22 Perfect Scorers worldwide on the AMC 10A: Noah W.and one of our students were among the 10 Perfect Scorers worldwide on the AMC 12B: Kenneth W. Very impressively, 32 middle schoolers and 7 elementary schoolers qualified for the AIME!

In 2018, we had 64 students who obtained top scores on the AMC 8 contest!

• 3 of our students were among the top 44 National Winners (Perfect Scorers): Eric B., Kevin Y., and Isabella Z.
• 40 students received National Distinguished Honor Roll Certificates awarded to top 1% test takers.
• 21 students received National Honor Roll Certificates awarded to top 5% test takers.
• 64 out of our 66 students (96.5%) received National Awards for the AMC 8 from the Mathematical Association of America

Read more at: 2018 AMC 8 Results Just Announced — Three Students Received Perfect Scores

In 2018, we had 73 students who are qualified to take the AIME either through the AMC 10A/12A or AMC 10B/12B. Two of our students were among the 35 Perfect Scorers worldwide on the AMC 10A: Austen M. and Jason W.  and two of our students were among the 21 Perfect Scorers worldwide on the AMC 12B: Kaan D. and Edward W. Remarkably, 11 middle schoolers and 2 elementary schoolers qualified for the AIME!

In 2017, we had 63 students who earned top scores on the AMC 8 contest!

• 7 of our students were among the top 75 National Winners (Perfect Scorers).
• 34 students received National Distinguished Honor Roll Certificates awarded to top 1% test takers.
• 22 students received National Honor Roll Certificates awarded to top 5% test takers.
• 63 out of our 65 students (97%) received National Awards for the AMC 8 from the Mathematical Association of America

Read more at: 2017 AMC 8 Results Just Announced — Seven Students Received Perfect Scores

In 2017, we had 61 students who are qualified to take the AIME either through the AMC 10A/12A or AMC 10B/12B. One of our students was among the 28 Perfect Scorers worldwide on the AMC 10A: Austen M., and two of our students were among the 65 Perfect Scorers worldwide on the AMC 10B: Ashwin A. and Brad Z. Remarkably, eight middle schoolers and one elementary schooler qualified for the AIME, which is geared toward high school students. Very impressively, Bryan Z., a 6th grader, gained a score of 132 out of 150 on the AMC 10B.Read more at: 2017 AIME Qualifiers Announced — 61 Students Qualified for the AIME

In 2016, we had 36 students who are qualified to take AIME either through AMC 10A/12A or AMC 10B/12B. One of our students was among the 23 Perfect Scorers worldwide on the AMC 10A: Joel (Junyao) T. Particularly, seven middle schoolers and one elementary schooler qualified for the AIME, which is geared toward high school students. Pravalika P., a 6th grader, got a 115.5 out of 150 on the AMC10B, which is very impressive. Read more at: 2016 AIME Qualifiers Announced — 36 Students Qualified for AIME

2011 – 2015: In total, 37 students scored above 120 on the American Mathematics Contest 10 (AMC 10) and qualified for the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME); 26 students scored above 100 on the American Mathematics Contest 12 (AMC 12) and qualified for the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME); 3 students qualified for the USA Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO), the highest level of math competition for high school students in the USA

2011 – 2015: In total, 23 students achieved perfect scores of 28 on the AMC 8

Read more at: Notable Achievements of Our Students

Our Uniqueness

We have a long history of close collaboration with the MAA‘s American Mathematics Competitions (AMC), which are dedicated to strengthening the mathematical capabilities of our nation’s youth, and are the first of a series of competitions in high school mathematics that determine the United States team for the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO).

We are only one in the Washington DC metropolitan area to offer elementary, middle, and high-school level competition math courses. Our students have received top scores and awards at prestigious national math competitions.

Great Benefits of Math Competitions

In an increasingly competitive college application pool, the process of mastering math skills through our courses and participating in the American Math Competitions will help students strengthen and diversify their extracurricular activities. These contests can motivate students’ interest and passion in math, and they can discover their talent through solving challenging problems different from those in the school classes. Many top colleges also request AMC scores as part of the college application process. Both MIT and Caltech have entry blanks on their official admission application forms for the applicant to enter their best AMC and AIME scores. Ivy League Colleges and Stanford ask for to the AMC and AIME scores in their Supplement to the Common Application Forms. Your children deserve the chance to list these scores on their applications! Good AMC scores will greatly enhance admission opportunities for students to elite colleges.

Read more:

• Great Benefits of Math Competitions
• The Big Value of Middle School Math Competitions
• A Little Competition can Inspire Students to Greater Achievement
• Why Math Competitions are so Important to Girls?

Contact Information:

Ivy League Education Center
Tel:  301-922-9508     or        240-780-8828
Email:  chiefmathtutor@gmail.com

Click HERE find out more about Math Competitions!

Click HERE to find out more about SAT Prep!

Dave Peterson, Ph.D.

Spring is the golden time to develop students’ math skills and prepare for the American Invitational Mathematics Examination!

See: 2019 USAMO and USAJMO Qualifiers Announced — Four Students Qualified for the USAMO and Four Students for the USAJMO

Purpose: To prepare for the AIME I on Wednesday, March 11, 2020 or AIME II on Thursday, March 19, 2020

Five Weekends (EASTERN Time: 3:00 – 5:30 pm), Total: 12.5 Hours
2/9,  2/16,  2/23,  3/1,  3/8 (Final Review)

Online Registration is now open! Click HERE to to register and pay.
(Payment can be made by check or via PayPal)

Tuition (including all materials)

New Students: $625

Returning Students: $610

Location:
18206 Endora Cir, Germantown, MD 20841 (Two spots are available!)

A commitment to the whole course can maximize the benefit of learning all the math ideas, methods, strategies, tactics, skills, and techniques.

Click HERE to see payment and refund policy.

This program has been carefully designed for the students have higher expectation for their American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME) scores. While enriching their resume through the school classes, honing the test skill for AIME becomes even more critical.

The AIME is used to determine qualification for the United States of America Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO). There are many math competitions in the United States. Of those, only

AMC → AIME → USAMO sequence

would take you to the IMO (International Math Olympiad), the highest level math competition for high school students in the world!

Instructors:

• Dr. Henry Wan
• Dr. Natasha Khovanova
• Dr. Irina Kufareva

Contact Information:
Ivy League Education Center
Tel:  301-922-9508        Email:  chiefmathtutor@gmail.com

Objectives

• Improve student scores by working on both fundamental theorems and ideas
• Develop and foster creative problem solving strategies
• Make the USA(J)MO!!!

For Whom?
This AIME course is aimed at those students with AMC 10/12 scores of 100+ to students who have scored around 4 on the AIME.

What?
This class will focus mostly on building strong basics in the five main pillars of Combinatorics, Number Theory, Geometry, Algebra, and Probability. The goal is for students to obtain the mental agility required to tackle these complex problems and hopefully get them within and past range of qualification for the USAMO and USAJMO, or around 9 problems.

How?
Focus on basic concepts and essential knowledge before moving on developing the skills and intuition to find and pursue good lines of attack for complex problems.

Class Outline:
In AMIE Prep Class, we will focus on efficient tricks, shortcuts, and strategies to solve AIME problems as well as test-taking tactics.

• This is a live class, not a pre-recorded one. Instructors will ask students questions, and students can also ask questions during the class or email their questions to instructors after class.
• We record all of our lessons as a big bonus so that our students can watch class videos after class for review and self-study.

Class Outline:
In AMIE Prep Class, we will focus on efficient tricks, shortcuts, and strategies to solve AIME problems as well as test-taking tactics.

Class	Date	Topic
1	2/9, Sun	Advanced Geometry: Plane Geometry, Spatial Geometry, and Analytic Geometry
2	2/16, Sun	Using the Advanced Algebra Toolkit to Solve the AIME Problems
3	2/23, Sun	The Comprehensive Art of Problem-solving in Number Theory
4	3/1, Sun	The Art and Craft for Solving AIME Counting and Combinatorics Problems
5	3/8, Fri	Tricks and Shortcuts for Solving AIME Probability Problems

Benefits:

• 5 tutorial handouts (>250 pages) developed by Dr. Henry Wan and 100 new problems at the AIME level from the licensed AMC Database
• 2 FREE mock tests that are intended to mimic an actual math competition exam, each of which has 15 questions similar to the AIME level taken from the licensed AMC Database. These simulated tests help students assess their level of preparation for the Math Competitions.

Homework: At least 3 hour of homework per class. Students are expected to complete the first eight problems of all previous AIME contests in the past 10 years. Our instructors are open to questions on any previous AIMEs.

All problems from all of the previous 54 AIME contests (1983-2019) form our “big data” system. We have used data mining and predictive analytics to examine the types and the frequencies of questions in all these materials, and then completely “decoded” the AIME. We will show all the “secret code” cracked from the above big data to students, and teach them to totally grasp and “control” the AIME. For all questions on the recent AIME contests, we can find their “ancestors” and “roots” from the old AIME problems. Therefore, the best way to prepare for the contest is to practice by solving old AIME problems.

Our Students

In 2019, we had 4 students qualified for the USAMO and 4 Students for the USAJMO.

• Of the 280 USA Math Olympiad national qualifiers, 4 are our students: Luke C., Zipeng L., Sameer P., and Peter P.
• Of the 235 USA Junior Math Olympiad national qualifiers, 4 are our students: Michael H., Noah W., Holden W., and Isabella Z.

Read more at: 2019 USAMO and USAJMO Qualifiers Announced — Four Students Qualified for the USAMO and Four Students for the USAJMO

In 2019, we had 76 students who are qualified to take the AIME either through the AMC 10A/12A or AMC 10B/12B. One of our students was among the 22 Perfect Scorers worldwide on the AMC 10A: Noah W., and one of our students was among the 10 Perfect Scorers worldwide on the AMC 12B: Kenneth W. Very impressively, 32 middle schoolers and 7 elementary schoolers qualified for the AIME!

In 2018, we had 64 students who obtained top scores on the AMC 8 contest!

• 3 of our students were among the top 44 National Winners (Perfect Scorers): Eric B., Kevin Y., and Isabella Z.
• 40 students received National Distinguished Honor Roll Certificates awarded to top 1% test takers.
• 21 students received National Honor Roll Certificates awarded to top 5% test takers.
• 64 out of our 66 students (96.5%) received National Awards for the AMC 8 from the Mathematical Association of America

Read more at: 2018 AMC 8 Results Just Announced — Three Students Received Perfect Scores

In 2018, we had 73 students who are qualified to take the AIME either through the AMC 10A/12A or AMC 10B/12B. Two of our students were among the 35 Perfect Scorers worldwide on the AMC 10A: Austen M. and Jason W.  and two of our students were among the 21 Perfect Scorers worldwide on the AMC 12B: Kaan D. and Edward W. Remarkably, 11 middle schoolers and 2 elementary schoolers qualified for the AIME!

In 2017, we had 63 students who earned top scores on the AMC 8 contest!

• 7 of our students were among the top 75 National Winners (Perfect Scorers).
• 34 students received National Distinguished Honor Roll Certificates awarded to top 1% test takers.
• 22 students received National Honor Roll Certificates awarded to top 5% test takers.
• 63 out of our 65 students (97%) received National Awards for the AMC 8 from the Mathematical Association of America

Read more at: 2017 AMC 8 Results Just Announced — Seven Students Received Perfect Scores

In 2017, we had 61 students who are qualified to take the AIME either through the AMC 10A/12A or AMC 10B/12B. One of our students was among the 28 Perfect Scorers worldwide on the AMC 10A: Austen M., and two of our students were among the 65 Perfect Scorers worldwide on the AMC 10B: Ashwin A. and Brad Z. Remarkably, eight middle schoolers and one elementary schooler qualified for the AIME, which is geared toward high school students. Very impressively, Bryan Z., a 6th grader, gained a score of 132 out of 150 on the AMC 10B.Read more at: 2017 AIME Qualifiers Announced — 61 Students Qualified for the AIME

In 2016, we had 36 students who are qualified to take AIME either through AMC 10A/12A or AMC 10B/12B. One of our students was among the 23 Perfect Scorers worldwide on the AMC 10A: Joel (Junyao) T. Particularly, seven middle schoolers and one elementary schooler qualified for the AIME, which is geared toward high school students. Pravalika P., a 6th grader, got a 115.5 out of 150 on the AMC10B, which is very impressive. Read more at: 2016 AIME Qualifiers Announced — 36 Students Qualified for AIME

2011 – 2015: In total, 37 students scored above 120 on the American Mathematics Contest 10 (AMC 10) and qualified for the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME); 26 students scored above 100 on the American Mathematics Contest 12 (AMC 12) and qualified for the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME); 3 students qualified for the USA Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO), the highest level of math competition for high school students in the USA

2011 – 2015: In total, 23 students achieved perfect scores of 28 on the AMC 8

Read more at: Notable Achievements of Our Students

Our Uniqueness

We have a long history of close collaboration with the MAA‘s American Mathematics Competitions (AMC), which are dedicated to strengthening the mathematical capabilities of our nation’s youth, and are the first of a series of competitions in high school mathematics that determine the United States team for the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO).

We are only one in the Washington DC metropolitan area to offer elementary, middle, and high-school level competition math courses. Our students have received top scores and awards at prestigious national math competitions.

Great Benefits of Math Competitions

In an increasingly competitive college application pool, the process of mastering math skills through our courses and participating in the American Math Competitions will help students strengthen and diversify their extracurricular activities. These contests can motivate students’ interest and passion in math, and they can discover their talent through solving challenging problems different from those in the school classes. Many top colleges also request AMC scores as part of the college application process. Both MIT and Caltech have entry blanks on their official admission application forms for the applicant to enter their best AMC and AIME scores. Ivy League Colleges and Stanford ask for to the AMC and AIME scores in their Supplement to the Common Application Forms. Your children deserve the chance to list these scores on their applications! Good AMC scores will greatly enhance admission opportunities for students to elite colleges.

Read more:

• Great Benefits of Math Competitions
• The Big Value of Middle School Math Competitions
• A Little Competition can Inspire Students to Greater Achievement
• Why Math Competitions are so Important to Girls?

Click HERE find out more about Math Competitions!

Click HERE to find out more about SAT Prep!

 

Dave Peterson, Ph.D.

From time to time, a student will write to us asking for advice on studying, rather than on math itself. As either successful students, or teachers, or (quite often) as adults who recall overcoming difficulties in the past, we have some good advice to offer. Today, I want to look at three answers, by three Math Doctors, over a span of more than a decade, all answering the basic question, How can I stop making these careless mistakes? In each case, the answer is long and I will only summarize the main points; to get the full benefit, you will have to read the whole answers.

Slow down!

The first is by Doctor Ian in 2002:

Avoiding Careless Mistakes

How to avoid careless mistakes? I have tried do as many problems as possible, but mistakes are constantly made just because of carelessness!

Doctor Ian makes three main points, each illustrated by detailed examples that I will omit:

1. Realize how important it is

Once I became convinced of the importance of what he calls ‘the habit of correctness and precision’, I found that I started adopting it quite naturally, without much effort at all.

2. Don’t do too much in your head

Write more steps than you think you need to, so that you can see what you’ve done. (My personal version of this is: Until you write something, you can’t tell whether it’s wrong; writing clarifies what you are thinking.)

Having said that, it seems to me that many, if not most, of the careless mistakes that we see here at Ask Dr. Math are caused by trying to do too many steps at once. …

A good rule to keep in mind that you can’t make mistakes fast enough to get a correct answer. :^D

3. Always check your answer

(That is, make sure it really does what you were asked to do.)

I also make it a point _always_ to check my answer, after I think I’ve found it. At first this is something you have to remember to do, but after a while it becomes natural.

In addition, doing a check with actual numbers sometimes clarifies what you should have done with variables.

4. Translate “word problems” into equations in small steps

A second kind of careless error, which sort of falls into the same category, is caused by translating story problems too quickly into equations. …

5. But there’s a trade-off:

The less you write, the more easily you can make a mistake, but the more you write, the more places there are to make a mistake! (I just said this to a student yesterday!)

On the one hand, working ‘in place’ is an easy way to get sucked into making careless mistakes; but on the other hand, the more times you copy something, the greater the error that you’re going to copy it incorrectly. With a computer, you can simply copy the old line and change it, which is what I’ve done here. Without a computer, you have to use your judgment about whether working in place or copying is more likely to cause a problem. To make that judgment, you have to have some idea about the kinds of mistakes that you tend to make, and how often you make them.

6. Keep a record of the kinds of mistakes you make

Which leads to my final recommendation, which is that you might want to keep a notebook of the careless mistakes you make. Keeping track of them would allow you to observe patterns, and figuring out what you’re doing is the first step towards changing _any_ kind of behavior.

Develop routines

The second answer was written by Doctor Rick to a different student just a few days later:

Careless Mistakes

No matter how hard I try it’s not good enough. I understand the material – it’s the other stuff, like when it asked me for the range, domain, and inverse of ordered pairs, I just put the inverse because I misread the question. Or like when I had the right answer on scrap paper but I left off part of the answer when I wrote it on the answer sheet. It makes me feel really stupid.

I’ve had this problem with careless mistakes since 6th grade, but it’s getting worse. Proofreading my work helps very little and sometimes I don’t have time when I’m done with the test. What do I do?

Doctor Rick has two main suggestions for this student, who clearly is a diligent student with good observations of his own.

1. Learn from your mistakes

(I ask my own students to rework any problems they get wrong on a test and turn it in for partial extra credit; you should do this yourself even if there is no external reward.)

You have observed some specific kinds of mistakes you make, and that’s a great way to start. One step in problem solving that many people forget about – even after checking your work, which is easy enough to forget – is to look back on what you’ve done and see what you can learn from it. Sometimes you see something positive that you’ll be able to use again – a trick that worked, or a pattern you saw (“when I see this, I can try that”). Other times, as in your case, you see something to avoid next time. The question is, how can you avoid these sorts of mistakes?

2. Make a habit of writing what you are asked to find

(I commonly list the “givens” and the “goals”, with blanks next to the latter; I may also underline these things in the original problem.)

You say that you misread a question, so you didn’t give all the answers that you should have. This is a reminder that another important step in problem solving – the first, and sometimes the most important – is to ask, “What am I supposed to find?” Try making a ritual of starting a problem by listing exactly what you are supposed to find. Then when you finish your work, write each answer next to the list, or at least check off your list as you copy the answers. This will also solve your other observation: that you forgot to copy all the answer from your scratch paper.

Develop a growth mindset

Finally, in 2016, Doctor Floor gave a very helpful answer to a long and thoughtful question:

Coping with Carelessness: Strategies, Stresses, and Mindsets

Our son, a high school junior, is currently taking Advanced Placement BC Calculus. He has always excelled in math (and all other subjects), and never had to study much, because he easily understands concepts. He has, however, always had a tendency of making careless mistakes.

This year this tendency has become a particular problem, with his grades suffering for the first time. Part of his tests are multiple choice — no calculator allowed. Here, he does not have to show any work. But this part needs to be turned in prior to starting on the next section, one where calculators are allowed. On the calculator section, he does need to show his work; and the brevity of the short answers often belies the many intermediary steps they required. …

My son’s teacher says all his mistakes have been careless ones, not conceptual ones: he makes simple calculation errors, or misreads questions, or omits units, or runs out of time, depriving him the opportunity to check his work.

Doctor Floor lists three observations:

1. Smart kids often have surprisingly poor strategies

Smart kids often have learning strategies that seem lazy or careless, due to the fact that they haven’t been really challenged in younger years. Because of this lack of challenge, there has never been any motivation to develop learning strategies or solving strategies. Easy tasks pave the way for good grades, and the cycle reinforces itself.

But at some point in a school career, relying on talent alone turns out to be not enough. Even worse, teachers often think that by high school, high-performing kids must have good strategies. …

So the key is in his homework. Do not only complete homework, but *review it.* Learn from your mistakes. Even when you do it correctly, wonder if you could have done it smarter, or quicker. If you encounter a trick or novel thought, make a note. Be concentrated and targeted in your review.

2. Too much stress holds you back

People cope with this very differently, so consider these as only the most general of observations:

• Be confident. If you know you are well-prepared, there is no need to be stressed. …
• At the same time, be realistic about what to expect. This is particularly important if the test turns out to be more difficult than you thought, or time pressure is higher than you thought.
• Force yourself not to think of any consequences while taking the test. Just take your test, and stick with taking the test. Other thoughts will only break your concentration. Prepare ahead of time so that if you do lose concentration, you already have a way to re-focus and get back on track. …
• If you can show your abilities in a test, that is the best you can do.

3. Mindset matters

Quite a few kids have a mindset that holds them back. It is called fixed mindset, and comes with the thought, “It doesn’t really matter if I do the homework or not; either I will understand it or I won’t.” Often kids who are labeled as “smart” or “intelligent” develop such a mindset. These kids think their intelligence is fixed, learning is understanding, and that developing intelligence does not exist (e.g., by homework).

By contrast, a “growth mindset” posits that developing intelligence is possible. Research shows that there is indeed a correlation between mindset and intellectual development.

The parent responded:

We can’t thank you enough for your response! It was spot-on!

I feel all your points are excellent and will be very useful. I can’t wait to share your response with our son (he came home with the flu yesterday), because I think he will now understand the underlying issues, make the adjustments needed, and as a result cope better. The difficulty will be for him to accept that he needs more practice even if he already “understands” concepts, and to figure out how to change his habits.

While we were familiar with “smart kid” issues and the danger of not being challenged, we had not anticipated that this would become THE instant when everything would back-fire.

As you can see, there are a wide variety of ways in which careless errors can arise; each of us has to be aware of our own personal issues, and make a strategy. I hope these three discussions will help others.

I’ll add something I’ve been telling students recently, which summarizes many of the points made above: In order to solve a problem well, you have to

• Think.
• Write what you thought.
• Think about what you wrote.
• Then fix it!