PIMS eighth- grader fares well on math exam
PRESQUE ISLE — Though not his favorite subject in school, John Freeman, an eighth-grader at Presque Isle Middle School, does well with math. So well — in fact — that he scored the highest on an exam recently given in Aroostook County.
John Freeman
“Even though I’m an eighth-grader, I took the 10th grade exam,” said Freeman, 14, “and of approximately 30 students who took the test, I received the top score in The County.
“I feel good that I did so well,” he said. “It feels like I accomplished something awesome. My brother, Thomas, who is a sophomore, took the same exam and I beat him by like 20 points.”
The Mathematical Association of America’s American Mathematics Competitions 10 was administered locally Feb. 7 at the University of Maine at Presque Isle. The AMC 10 is a 25-question, 75-minute multiple-choice exam in secondary school mathematics containing problems which can be understood and solved with pre-calculus concepts.
According to the Mathematical Association of America’s website, the main purpose of the AMC 10 is “to spur interest in mathematics and to develop talent through the excitement of solving challenging problems in a timed multiple-choice format. The problems range from the very easy to the extremely difficult. Students who participate in the AMC 10 should find that most of the problems are challenging but within their grasp. The contest is intended for everyone from the average student at a typical school who enjoys mathematics to the very best student at the most special school.”
Freeman took a similar exam in the fall where he tied for second among eighth-graders at PIMS.
“Math has been a strong subject for me all along,” he said. “I like social studies the best, but math is my second favorite subject.”
Freeman said he took last year’s test to practice for this year’s exam.
“Other than that, I didn’t really do anything different,” he said. “I didn’t even go to bed any earlier; I kept the same routine. I guess I’m just pretty good at math.”
Freeman will receive a certificate of achievement and a school winner pin for his efforts.
