There will be two separate competitions at MathFest called the large group and team competitions. 

a.  Grade Level Competition. The primary competition of MathFest is the Grade Level Competition where students from each grade will be assembled in an exhibit hall at one time.  The schedule is provided on the front page of the website.  All students from each grade level will compete at the same time.  Students will be seated in the exhibit hall in chairs with 5-8 cards, a dry erase board, rag, and marker.  Students will be given a sheet of questions (approximately 8-10 on each sheet).  The moderator will tell the students which problem they are to work and how much time will be allotted.  For example, "You have 2 minutes to complete question #7."  Students will only work one problem at a time then put that answer on their dry erase board.  The dry erase board is turned upside down when the student is finished.  When time has expired, the students hold their dry erase board in the air to present their responses.  If the student's answer is correct, then he/she will be directed to erase their board.  If the answer is incorrect, then the student must surrender a card.  When the student runs out of cards, he/she must leave the competition.   The grade level competition will continue until there are only 15 students remaining.  The problems will begin at grade level expectations, but the difficulty will increase into other grade levels as the students are able to handle the work.  

b. Mathbating Team Competition.  Each school will be asked to develop a team of 5 students at each grade level to compete in the Mathbating Team Competition.  The Team Competition is limited to only 30 teams per grade level.  The Team Competition is conducted in smaller meeting rooms at a different time than the Grade Level Competition therefore students may compete in both competitions.  Students in the Mathbating Team Competition are given critical thinking questions that they must answer as a group.  The questions have four possible answers.  The students must work out each of the possible answer then choose the one that they believe is best.   The answers are placed on a board called a placard.  The team is required to select one of the answer choices and defend their answer choice.  When the students are ready to defend they must present their  answer choice that they believe is best to our judge(s).  Students are scored based on accuracy of their answer choices, use of the group, development of the argument, and oral presentation. The team presentation is limited to 2-3 minutes and the team may complete as many of the critical thinking questions as possible.  This competition lasts approximately 90 minutes. All team members on the winning teams will receive a plaque.

2.  What type of awards are given at MathFest?  

The top 15 students from each grade level during the Grade Level Competition will receive a medal and the Champion for each grade level will receive a distinctive medal and plaque.  In the Team Competition (MathBating), we will provide an individual award for all team members.

3.  Is there an admission cost for parents and others who accompany the students? 

MathFest is a community event, thus there is no charge for parents, teachers, or other visitors.

4.  Is there a cost for parking at the venue? 

We d not charge for parking, however, some of the venues like the Civic Centers may charge a small fee.  There is no charge for parking at the high school venues. 

5.  Will there be food and souvenirs that can be purchased or should schools bring student lunches?

There will be plenty of food on sale at the concession stand.  Food like hot dogs, chicken wings, fries, chips, pizza, soft drinks, etc.  There will also be vendors who will provide shirts, pictures, and small MathFest tokens that could also be purchased.

6.  We are a small school that has to travel a long distance with students from different grades, will there be activities for students from grades that are not competing until later?

All schools are asked to bring small card games and activities for your students while they are at the competition.  Due to our desire to keep the cost to schools low while maintaining the a quality competition, we have shifted the games to the schools.  We will provide an area, but schools must provide the games and supervise their students.

7.  Our school is very small so what is the least amount of students that we can bring to the competition?

Their is no minimal amount of students that a schools has to bring in order to compete.  Please remember that the Team Competition will require five students, but the Large Group Competition has no requirement.

8.  Are schools required to bring any materials for their students like markers, blank paper, etc.?

We will have all materials that are needed for the competitions.  Schools should bring small card games for their students.

9.  Will you post the standards for the questions that will be used at the Fest?

We will provide you a list of the skills that will be covered during the competition, however the list is not all-inclusive.   As you prepare for the end of the year assessment, remember that you are preparing for MathFest.  We wanted the competition to mirror what students are already expected to know. A copy of the math standards is posted on the main page.

10.  Can individual students be registered who are not coming with a school group?

Yes individual students can be registered.  Please go to the on-line registration listed on the main page of this site and register your child.  He/she must arrive at the competition at least one hour prior to the  Grade Level  Competition.  Individual students will not be allowed to participate in the Team Competition.

11.  How long has your company been operating the MathFest Competition?

This is the fifth year that we have operated MathFest as a State Math Competition.  We initially started with a session at Clayton State University with 1,500 guests.  The next year we moved to the Georgia International Convention Center and over 7,000 guests attended.  We are adding new sites everyday because our students need the opportunity to get excited about math.