•
ENTRIES. As many as THREE students from
EACH GRADE LEVEL (grades 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8) may be entered in the NUMBER
SENSE District Contest from each school. Designated adults
representing each school will select contestants to represent the
campus at the District Meet based on their abilities and interest in
mental math, as well as other factors, which are
decided upon by each school. Each grade level is judged
separately in contest.
• NATURE OF THE
CONTEST. The contest presents 80
problems. Elementary (Grades 4 and 5) problems requiring the
applications of the four basic operations (+, -, x, ÷) for their
solution constitute the core of what is commonly thought of as number
sense. The middle school contest may range from whole number
arithmetic to topics on the study of sequences in analysis, and
topics relating to the efficient and/or high speed solution of
mathematics problems.
• WHAT HAPPENS IN THE CONTEST.
The contest director will announce the time and place that contestants
and one adult should report for verification of the scoring of tests.
Tests will be distributed to contestants face up, and contestants will
be instructed to write their grade levels and their contestant ID
numbers in the spaces provided on the front cover. Contestants
must not open the test until the start signal is given. The contest
director will tell contestants their ID numbers, usually during roll
call. (Alternates taking the place of absent registered contestants
should be sure to let the contest director know as they enter the room
to save time in roll call.) No alarm watches or other devices
that emit sound are allowed in the contest room.
TIME ALOTTED. Contestants will have 10 minutes beginning at the
start signal. No time warning will be given. Contestants will remain
quietly in their seats until the time has expired.
MARKING ANSWERS. Contestants will use a BLUE ball point
pen to write answers in the blanks provided on the test. ERASURES
AND MARKOUTS IN THE ANSWER SPACE ARE NOT PERMITTED. Any marking
in the answer space will constitute an attempt. Number Sense
problems are arranged in a sequential format (see p. 43 of the PSIA Academic Handbook).
(a) Fractions. All fractions must be reduced
to lowest terms. Improper fractions are acceptable answers.
Decimal answers are permitted for the unstarred problems whose answers
are exactly expressible as decimals. For example, 3/2, 11/2, and
1.5 are all acceptable. Starred problems on the test sheets
require approximate integral answers, i.e., they permit 5% error;
unstarred problems require exact answers.
(b) Symbols. Symbols such as §
and % are usually printed on the sheet. Therefore,
answers require only the writing of numerals. If a symbol is
omitted from the printed sheet, it is not the responsibility of the
contestant to make sure the answer is complete. If not printed,
the student need not include it in the answer. (This rule
excludes dollars and cents markings.)
(c) Dollars and Cents. In agreement with the
philosophy that answers should be complete, all dollars and cents
problems must have complete answers. That is, twenty-three
dollars must be written as $23.00 (with $ and .00). Sixteen cents
must be written as $.16 or 16¢, depending on the answer blank
format. The contestant’s adding of a symbol, such as the $, to a
line that already has the symbol posted does not constitute an error.
(d) Efficient Forms. Numerical answers
should be written so that the answers are complete as in the two
examples above. However, the answer should be written in the most
efficient form possible. For example, if the answer is 16, the
written answer 16.000 is not acceptable for the purposes of the number
sense competition. Extraneous zeroes are not to be used.
For example, if .16 is the answer, 0.16 is not an acceptable format.
(e) Exponentials. An answer such as 3 x
103 should be expressed as 3000 and not left in exponential form.
• SCORING. Add 5 points for each
correct answer. Subtract 2 points for each wrong answer,
for each answer that was marked through or erased, AND for skipped or
unanswered test items.
• VERIFICATION PERIOD. No pens or
pencils should be in contestants’ hands while tests and answer sheets
with keys are reviewed. Contestants and ONE coach OR parent OR
adult have 15 minutes to check the computation of scores and ask
questions about items counted incorrect. If the contest is held
before March 31, tests must be turned back in to the contest
director. Contestants will be disqualified from the contest
should the paper be taken from the room prior to this date. After
verification has been completed, awards will be issued. (At State,
medals will be awarded through 6th place.)
MATERIALS
A variety of materials from a large number of sources is available for
those who wish to get involved in PSIA number sense competition.* Among
them
are:
Last year's PSIA District and State Number Sense tests are
included in both the PSIA Elementary and Middle School Academic Study
Materials booklets, which may be ordered on the PSIA Study Materials
Order Form.
Developing Middle School Number Sense Skills- This 1996
edition and a newer edition now available was written by Don Skow, a
UIL test writer.
Mental Mathematics for the Number Sense Contest. Frances
Walzel, Route 1 Box 173, Cameron, Texas, 76520.
Number Sense: A Starters Kit (booklet and sample tests),
RAM Elementary Number Sense (10 tests), and Junior High RAM Classics
(tests). Leo Ramirez, 3103 West Hwy. 83 #24, McAllen, Texas, 78501,
512/682-5185.
Number Sense Software (Commodore or Radio Shack). Janice Wilde,
Box 92, Munday, Texas, 76371, 817/422-4650.
