West Madison Math team scores again in tourney

“Amazing.” West Madison did it again.

That’s what teacher Minnie Driver had to say about the elementary school’s Math Team.

The West Madison fifth-grade team won the first-place team award at the Alabama Council for Technology in Education (ACTE) tournament.

In individual honors, fifth-graders David Li, Sam Ward and Joshua Byers tied for second place. Ange Long earned third place.

For the sixth-grade team, Kim Dang received second place, and Warren He took third in individual awards.

The ACTE tournament was based on Perennial Math, created by Dr. Sylvia Dean in Huntsville. For more than 20 years, Dean has coached and coordinated robotics, math and technology competitions. She received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science and Alabama’s Technology Teacher of the Year award, among other honors.

Perennial Math offers two types of competition. Its annual membership competition is open to grades 4-8. Separate exercises are given to fourth through sixth grades and another bracket for seventh- and eighth-graders.

A school can register 30 students maximum, or students can register individually. Dean said the competition includes five monthly tests, running from November through March. Each test has five questions and takes 30 minutes to complete.

Dean designed the program to simplify the administration and grading of math competitions, while attracting students with attractive prizes. Teachers can administer the tests online with automatic scoring or present a printed test.

Perennial Math also offers virtual tournaments, which are presented weekly in video-conferencing format. Teachers can register for tournaments with a four-member team or students can compete individually.

Students enjoy the virtual competitions, which add the element of fun to learning about math. Tournaments also include an element of ‘surprise’ that adds to the excitement for students.

For more information, visit perennialmath.com.