MATHCOUNTS Math Video Challenge

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“This program rocks! It has helped me so much with math and learning how to use technology. I did the competition last year and this year and I am definitely doing it next year. Thanks for having it!"

--Middle School Student Participant (anonymous survey)

Program Type

Curriculum/Instructional Materials
Hands on/Project-Based
Informal /Out of School

Target Audience

All Students

Low Socio-Economic Status

Location

Nationwide

Grades

Grades 6 - 8

 Accomplished link

Program Impact

MATHCOUNTS programs have reached over 6 million students since 1983, and teachers see the huge impact of the Math Video Challenge. In fact, 95% “strongly agree” with the statement that they will serve as a Team Advisor again! Teachers also rate the program highly for increasing students’ confidence in their math communication skills and for appealing to students who dislike math. Additionally, the program’s design results in high levels of participation of underrepresented populations in STEM (63% of participants are girls and most participants come from “schools with limited math resources”).  

 

Program Overview

The Math Video Challenge empowers students to be math teachers, video producers, actors and teammates by creating videos that explain and solve challenging real-world math problems.
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Teams of four middle school students create videos solving a problem of their choice from the MATHCOUNTS School Handbook and explain the real-world application of the math concept on which the selected problem is based.  The public can view these videos on the contest website, where they can vote on their favorites.  The 100 videos that receive the highest number of votes advance to an expert Judges Panel that selects the 20 semifinalist videos and ultimately the four finalists.  Each member of the four finalist teams receives an all-expenses-paid trip to the Math Video Challenge Finals at the MATHCOUNTS National Competition, where the 224 Mathletes competing in the MATHCOUNTS Competition Series vote for the winning video.  Each member of the winning Math Video Challenge team receives a $1,000 college scholarship.  

How To Get Involved

The Math Video Challenge is offered free-of-charge to all students and teachers. Therefore, MATHCOUNTS relies on corporate and individual donations to fund the program. We are fortunate to work with supporters who share our sense of urgency in addressing the need for more impactful STEM opportunities for all middle school students. With a focus on diversifying and growing its donor base, MATHCOUNTS offers a wide range of sponsorship levels and opportunities ranging from $5,000 to $500,000.  STEM professionals can get involved personally by volunteering to advise teams in their local areas and assisting with the video creation process.  

Funders and Partners

Raytheon Company, U.S. Department of Defense, Northrop Grumman Foundation, National Society of Professional Engineers, CNA Insurance, Texas Instruments Incorporated, 3Mgives, Phillips 66, Art of Problem Solving, NextThought, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics

Contacts

Amanda Naar

Deputy Director & Director of Strategy

development@mathcounts.org

(703) 299-9006

Visit Website

Design Principles

The programs in this database clear a high bar. STEMworks reviewed each program against the Design Principles for Effective STEM Philanthropy.

  • Accomplished
  • Developing
  • Undeveloped

Overarching Principles

  • Need

    Identify and target a compelling and well-defined need.

  • Evaluation

    Use rigorous evaluation to continuously measure and inform progress towards the compelling need identified.

  • Sustainability

    Ensure work is sustainable.

  • Replication and Scalability

    Demonstrate replicability and scalability.

  • Partnerships

    Create high impact partnerships

  • Capacity

    Ensure organizational capacity to achieve goals.

STEM Principles

  • Challenging and Relevant Content

    Offer challenging and relevant STEM content for the target audience

  • STEM Practices

    Incorporate and encourage STEM practices.

  • Inspiration

    Inspire interest and engagement in STEM.

  • Under-Represented Groups

    Identify and address the needs of under-represented groups.