Students add national rankings to math team’s achievements

Pictured: Back row, left to right, with years in parentheses: Shaun Bardell, sponsor, Cody Wheeler (10), Mike Bizanis (12), Kenneth Fu (10), Matthew Goforth (12), Chris Elegante (11), Paul Barrett (11), Wayne You (12), Kimberly Cox, sponsor Front row: Claire Zhang (10), Priya Ganatra (10), Ananya Bandopadhyay (10), Eileen Lambert (11), Yoo-Jung Yang (10) Students who competed this year but are not pictured: Simon Lieu (12), Briana Miller (11), Ashutosh Gupta (12), Prianka Patel (10), Rain Li (10), Christopher Shriver (11), Martin Wang (10).

The Bob Jones High School Math Team’s rankings in the National Assessment & Testing organization’s competitions were exponentially better this year than in years past.

The Math Team ranked in three of the five competitions. The team has competed for the past five years, but this is the first year they have placed.

“We were third in the National Collaborative Problem Solving Contest, 18th in the Four-by-Four Competition and 19th in the Team Scramble,” said Kimberly Cox, math teacher at Bob Jones.

Participating students were given copies of the test in April and could work on them for one week.

“The National Assessment & Testing competition can be given at school, so they are an affordable way to compete nationally and minimize transportation costs,” Cox explained. “They are also great about providing solutions to their problems so that each competition is a learning experience.”

Cox said students join the Math Team because it’s fun. They can examine concepts that are no longer included in the curriculum.

“Students are challenged by each other, grow in maturity and develop reasoning skills beyond those of their peers,” Cox said. “These students enjoy learning and a little friendly competition among themselves, too.”

Requirements to join the Math Team, Cox explains, include being enrolled in or having completed precalculus and  enjoying mathematics.