<p>My son is in 8th grade. He is 13 years old and has never skipped a grade. He is an excellent all around student and is currently taking Geometry in a private, college prep school. He is an excellent student and will finish middle school with five high school credits in math (2), science (1) and spanish (2). He is an athlete and a member of the school orchestra.</p>
<p>He came home with a letter from his math teacher inviting him to take the AMC 8 exam. I don't know much about the exam. His math teacher was at today's wrestling tournament and he specifically asked me to have him take the exam. He really thinks my son will do very well on it. My son said he was willing to take the exam since it is only forty minutes.</p>
<p>So-can anyone tell me anything about the exam? Do most kids prepare for it? There is nothing in the letter that his teacher sent home that said anything about preparing for the exam. </p>
<p>What are the benefits to my son of taking this exam? He is not really a math lover. He's just good at it.</p>
<p>You don’t need to prepare for it, but you can if you like. If your son is doing geometry he’s pretty advanced and probably will do well. I know my son got a pin for getting the best score in the school. There are more advanced versions of the test for high school and those got listed as awards on his college applications. He’d been on his school MathCounts team so he was familiar with the sorts of questions that get asked. Generally the problems aren’t hard, but can be tricky to figure out. There are some practice questions and more info at the AMC website: [AMC</a> USAMO/Test/IMO & APMO Math Problems Directory](<a href=“American Mathematics Competitions | Mathematical Association of America”>American Mathematics Competitions | Mathematical Association of America)</p>
<p>My son liked this sort of math much more than regular school math, but he liked computer programming best of all.</p>
<p>Another place that your son might look is the Art of Problem Solving web site. While I wouldn’t suggest that an 8th grader invest huge amounts of time in preparing for the exam, I do think there is an advantage to encountering a few problems at the AMC 8 level before taking the exam. In my state, there are about 5 school districts that offer the relatively challenging sorts of problems that are on the AMC 8 in the accelerated math track, as regular homework and problem assignments (in which case, no prep at all is needed)–and some much larger number of school districts that don’t (in which case, experience with a few problems of that type would be very desirable). The fact that the school offers the AMC 8 at all is a good sign.</p>
<p>Mathmom: Yes he is advanced. In our school the AMC 8 is offered to the top 8th graders who completed Algebra I. It is offered by teacher recommendation. 8th graders in Geometry are considered two years ahead of their college bound peers. My son has no desire to be on the math team. My oldest son was also recruited to be on the math team and he had no interest for the same reason the younger one is not interested which is that it interferes with athletics. I am sure my son will like this sort of math better than regular math but I am also sure that he will not want to give up wrestling and lacrosse to be on the math team. </p>
<p>QuantMech: This school offers every activity you can possibly imagine, academic or not. It can overwhelm the middle school kids because every coach/advisor wants the really smart kids to do their activity. My son is already involved with National History Day. My son has also been approached by the debate coach. He is not interested in debate or math team but he agreed to take this one test because it is short and a one time thing.</p>
<p>Thank you both. I will have him take a look at the problems over the weekend (not sure when as he has a lacrosse tournament) but I am not going to have him invest hours in preparation.</p>
<p>He doesn’t need to be on the math team unless he likes it. My older son didn’t stay on math team in high school, but did do Academic Team. I only mentioned math team, because it’s a place to see similar problem types. I agree with QuantMech, getting familiar with the problem types is probably a good idea just so he doesn’t panic.</p>
<p>I think in our school all the 8th graders in Algebra took the exam, and probably the top students in pre-Algebra (usually 7th graders). My son took the exam for the first time in 6th grade, but he was in pre-algebra. The school had given me no end of trouble about letting him get advanced even that much - so it was a big vindication when he did better than all but one of the 8th graders!</p>
<p>My S took AMC 8, did pretty well, and really enjoyed it – it got him very enthusiastic about math club. Certainly worth a try, if he likes it AOPS is good place to go.</p>
<p>AMC 8 is a great test to take if your child likes problem solving. The questions are a little out of the realm of what would usually be asked in a classroom setting. If he does well on it, he’ll be offered the chance to take the AMC 10, which is the first qualifying test on the Road to the US Math Olympiad team. Usually the 8 is given during school hours, so there’s no reason not to take it. There’s also no reason to stress out and spend a ton of time prepping, unless that’s what your kid wants to do.</p>
<p>My son, currently a 9th grader, took the AMC 10 last year as an 8th grader, qualified for AIME and took that. He got a 5 on the AIME, so that was as far as he went down the road. It was great experience for him; he wants to take the AMC 10 and 12 this year and requalify for AIME and up his score. </p>
<p>But, he doesn’t spend tons of time prepping – it’s something he does for fun and his own personal enjoyment. He likes problem solving. To do really well on those tests, you have to spend time prepping and he doesn’t want to do that just yet. Too much other stuff to do!</p>