The Presence of Gender Performance Differences in Secondary Mathematics Competitions

The presence of mathematics competitions originates from the International Mathematics Olympiad (IMO).  The IMO began in 1959 in Romania and is the largest, most prestigious scientific Olympiad for high school students around the world [1].  The competition consists of six, 42-point problems varying in subject.  The questions are primarily based on pre-calculus, which is a common level of mathematics for high school students.  Subjects beyond high school level are also incorporated into the competition such as projective and complex geometry, functional equations, and number theory [2].  MATHCOUNTS and the American Mathematics Competitions are just two examples of mathematics competitions open to middle school students.  MATHCOUNTS is a multilevel national program established in 1983 that provides students the opportunity to compete with their peers [4].  The American Mathematics Competitions (AMC) is a series of examinations based on curriculum materials that focus on building problem-solving skills and mathematical knowledge [5].  The most important value of a math contest is to kindle student’s interest in mathematics while encouraging them to value intellectual activities.  Students will often turn an activity into a contest; they love games and always want to be the best at what they do.  Mathematics competitions can inspire them to become good at mathematics in the same sense that sports encourage physical fitness.  Competitions train students to deal with success, failures, and prove that practice is effective to their performance.  In our daily lives, we often have to deal with elements of pressure.  Competitions can be a model by which students learn how to cope with and overcome pressure [3].  The discussion of our research is focused on extending friendly mathematics competitions to local and surrounding high school students in the 9th grade, examining how their mathematics knowledge plays a role in their competition performance, and discussing the importance of student participation in mathematics competitions.

Keywords: Mathematics Competitions, Student Performance, Problem-Solving Skills, Gender Performance