University of Central Arkansas

Proposed Revisions Underlined

State Director

It is the responsibility of the State Director to coordinate the Regional Contests and the State Contest. This responsibility includes the following:

1. Procure Regional Test Directors;

2. Set the dates for the Regional Contests and the State Contest and get them placed on the Arkansas Activities Association calendar (Regional Contests will be scheduled in March and the State Contest scheduled in April);

3. Procure test writers for both the Regional Tests and the State Tests;

4. Review Regional Tests and State Tests for accuracy and clarity;

5. Produce a clean copy of all tests;

6. Provide the Regional Directors with all the necessary materials to administer the Regional Contests;

7. Invite participants to the State Contest and send a copy of the invitation to the sponsoring teacher;

8. Prepare complete sets of all area tests and keys to be made available to teachers (one set per school) at the State Contest site at no charge;

9. Prepare score distributions on the provided form to be made available to teachers (one per school) at the State Contest site at no charge;

10. Administer the State Contest;

11. Prepare a list of the winners of the State Contest to be sent to the editor of the ACTM Newsletter;

12. Prepare a final report including a list of winners and a financial statement to be sent to the President and Treasurer of ACTM.

Regional Directors

It is the responsibility of the Regional Directors to administer the Regional Contests. This responsibility includes:

1. Notification of teachers in the region of the date and location of the Regional and State Contests;

2. Send a sample of the student registration form to teachers in their region;

3. Collect student registration fees;

4. After determining the number of tests needed in each area, prepare copies of the tests;

5. Procure proctors and graders for the tests;

6. Prepare complete sets of all area tests and keys to be made available to teachers (one set per school) at the Contest sites at no charge;

7. Prepare score distributions on the provided form to be made available to teachers (one per school) at the Contest sites at no charge;

8. Send the results, including score distributions, to the State Director on provided forms;

9. Send a financial report, on provided form, along with collected registration fees to the State Director.

Area Tests and Eligibility

1. Competition will be in five areas: tests in Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, Trigonometry/Pre-calculus and Calculus.

2. To be eligible to participate in any competition, a student must be enrolled in a course or have completed a course, during the current school year, described by the title of the area test.

3. Under no circumstance will a student be eligible to take any area test if they have placed 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in either a Regional or State contest for the area exam.

4. First, second, and third place winners of the Regional Contest will be invited to participate in the State Contest. Others may be invited at the discretion of the state contest director.

5. Students must attempt the tie-breakers to be considered for the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place.

Test Construction

1. Tests will be multiple choice format with the exception of tie-breaker questions.

2. Each test will consist of approximately 25 questions and 3 tie-breaker questions.

3. Tests will reflect the vision set forth by the NCTM Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (April 2000) and focus on problem solving and conceptual understanding rather than on routine manipulations.

Technology

Use of calculators which do not contain a subset of a computer algebra system (CAS) will be permissible. (In particular, the TI-82, TI-83, TI-83+, TI-85, TI-86 are permissible while the TI-89 and TI-92 are not permissible.)

Test Administration

1. The Regional Director will be the final authority in settling any disputes concerning the Regional Contest.

2. The State Director will be the final authority in settling any disputes concerning the State Contest.

3. The length of each test will be one hour.

4. Students are required to stay in the room in which they are taking a test for the entire hour.

5. Teachers will be provided with copies of the regional and state tests.

6. Test keys will be posted by the Director of the tests so participants may check their answers.

7. Students who do not attempt tie-breaker questions will be eliminated from consideration for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places.

8. Tie-breaker questions will be graded only in the event of ties for the top three positions. The tie-breaker questions will be graded sequentially until ties are broken. Every effort will be made to break ties.

Awards

1. In the Regional Contest 1st, 2nd, 3rd place winners of all area tests will be awarded trophies. Honorable mention certificates will be awarded to participants eliminated from the top three places by the tie-breaker questions. Regional Directors may present certificates of participation at their discretion. Special prizes and/or awards are not permitted.

2. In the State Contest 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners of all area tests will be awarded trophies. First place winners in Algebra I and Geometry will be awarded graphing calculators. First, second, and third place winners in Algebra II, Trigonometry/Pre-calculus, and Calculus will be awarded scholarships in the amount of $500, $300, and $200 respectively. Honorable mention certificates will be awarded to participants eliminated from the top three places by the tie-breaker questions.

3. To receive scholarships awards, winners must submit the proper form to the Treasurer of ACTM. Upon receiving the completed form, the Treasurer will mail a check to the student and notify the appropriate college official where the student is enrolled.

4. The State Director is responsible for purchasing and distributing all trophies for the Regional and State Contests.

5. The State Director is responsible for providing Honorable Mention Certificates for the Regional and State Contests.

Available Materials

1. Complete sets of all area tests and keys will be made available to teachers (one set per school) at the Contest sites at no charge.

2. Additional sets of all area test and keys will be available from the State Director for a $5.00 per set fee.

3. Sets of all area test and keys from previous years will be available from the State Director for a $5.00 per set fee.

4. Score distributions will be available from the Directors at no charge.

5. Individual Participants will not be notified of their scores.