We regularly administer internal exams as part of the RMS math club. Every year begins and ends with an exam (Benchmark and Final, respectively), which are provided to give students an opportunity to measure their growth over time.
We also hold exams whenever there is a need to identify a segment of our membership as a preliminary round for a limited room competition, such as Mathcounts. In the case of Mathcounts, our school round exam is used to identify the top 10 individuals to represent our school at the Mathcounts chapter round. Another example would be if we have more than 8 teams registered to participate in Math is Cool for a given grade. An internal exam would be implemented to identify the top 32 per grade in order to meet the competition requirements.
Format & Instructions
In an effort to provide a consistent and predictable experience for all members, every internal test we run follows the same format, content domain, and level of difficulty. This provides an apples-to-apples comparison for all students to track their performance over time. However, it is important to note that this consistent experience means that our exams do not conform to other exam standards like Mathcounts or Math is Cool.
Exams include 30 questions that cover a wide range of middle school competition math topics. Students are given 40 minutes to complete. Instructions for each exam are printed on the cover page and should be reviewed prior to taking the exam. Students are required to bring their own pencils and blank scratch paper, which may be plain, ruled, or grid. They may also bring a ruler, compass, protractor, and/or an eraser. No other aids, including calculators, are permitted on any of our internal exams.
Exam Schedule
| Month | Exam |
|---|---|
| October | Benchmark |
| December | Mathcounts School Round |
| January | Math Is Cool (if necessary) |
| May | Final |
Exam Results
We expect to have the exams graded and results published within a few days. Since our exams are generally held on Fridays, we try to have the results shared with the membership by the end of that weekend. Top finishers will be published via email along with anonymous score data. Students can pick up their answer sheets to learn their scores at the next meeting.
Past Exams & Keys
| Date | Exam | Key |
|---|---|---|
| October 25, 2019 | 2019-2020 Benchmark | Answer Key |
| December 6, 2019 | 2019-2020 Mathcounts School | Answer Key |
| January 12, 2022 | 2021-2022 Mathcounts School | Answer Key |
| January 11, 2023 | 2022-2023 Mathcounts School | Answer Key |
| January 12, 2024 | 2023-2024 Mathcounts School | Answer Key |
Other Internal Competition Rounds
During the course of the season we may also administer additional competition rounds, such as mock team rounds. Those rounds may follow their own set of instructions, which will be explained in advance. These rounds are generally optional and do not impact placement for other events and/or Varsity.
If you would like to use our content for exams at your organization, please contact us at mathclubchair@rmsptsa.org.