AMC 10 and 12 go virtual
The Mathematical Association of America runs the AMC, which is a math competition with many different levels for students from eighth grade to twelfth grade. The later stages of the competition, like the AMIE and the USAMO, are very difficult to get to, and they rely on getting a good score on the first stage: the AMC.
February 12, 2021
This year’s AMC10 and 12 were taken virtually this year, a feat that has also been accomplished by many other events, like HackTJ, a lot of debate tournaments, and quiz bowl tournaments. However, the AMCs are multiple choice exams, so compared to free response contests, the AMC10 and 12 are especially vulnerable to cheating. They are two different versions of the same test, and the B version is given to those who couldn’t sign up for the A version or wanted a second chance. The A version took place on Feb. 4 and the B version on Feb. 10.
Despite the fact that the AMC was in a novel format, students believe it went rather smoothly.
“I personally thought it went well; there weren’t any technical difficulties and it’s a math competition test, which is really easy to adapt to an online format,” junior Sahil Gupta said.
Still, the challenges of an online format made it more difficult for some people.
“I took the AMC10, and I thought it went fine, but it was a bit harder to take. [That was] reasonable because the exam is online,” freshman Max Yang said.
An article published by Ivy League Education Center said that the questions on one version of the AMC 12a questions were illegally leaked, but the article was later deleted. However, students believe that cheating was indeed a risk.
“My only concern was other [people] possibly cheating due to the virtual format, which is [something] that unfortunately happens and is very hard to control,” Gupta said.
Still, the AMC10 and 12 have gone on reasonably well for an online event.
“Even though we are in the virtual environment, tests such as the AMCs will still test one’s mathematical abilities and things will hopefully return to normal next year,” Yang said.
