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Home » High School Contests & Programs » USA Mathematical Talent Search
 
USAMTS Grading Policy
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Thunder365
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#1
USAMTS Grading Policy
I know this topic has been done to death...
So I have a question about the USAMTS grading. Exactly how hard are the graders? Say you make relevant progress on #x and are on the right track, but by some misfortune you undercount or overcount. How many points will you receive? Also, if your solution is mathematically and technically correct but kind of awkward with the wording or length, will you still get full credit?
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 27, 2009 5:16 pm  Back to top 
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cyberspace
Riemann Hypothesis
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#2
The USAMTS website wrote:
Each solution will be given a score of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5. Solutions will be graded both on mathematical correctness and on writing style.
The grading criteria for each problem will be published on the USAMTS website at the conclusion of the grading.


Pretty much they want you to have as clear and complete an argument as possible. My advice would be not to worry about the grading policy and instead worry about making your proof rigorous. If you know that nothing is wrong with your argument, then you'll get a 5 no problems. Just do your best and you'll get exactly what you deserve Smile

(And btw I've never heard of someone getting points off because their solution was too long)
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 27, 2009 6:05 pm  Back to top 
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Brut3Forc3
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#3
Re: USAMTS Grading Policy
I know this topic has been done to death...
I concur with the post above mine, and to be more precise:
Thunder365 wrote:
Also, if your solution is mathematically and technically correct but kind of awkward with the wording or length, will you still get full credit?

Probably. To a certain extent, definitely. USAMTS grading is generally lax enough to forgive minor errors in wording, but if it gets to the point where it causes misunderstanding/confusion, you might lose a point or two.
Anyway, USAMTS is supposed to be a good source of practice for solutions--in particular, to work on fixing errors such as these. You should have plenty of time to write up and edit your solutions (unlike in an olympiad setting), so spend the time now to try and remove these minor errors!
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 27, 2009 6:52 pm  Back to top 
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mathemonster
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#4
Last year I undercounted on R1/#1 by 1, and received a 4 fyi
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 29, 2009 3:28 pm  Back to top 
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Thunder365
Yang-Mills Theory
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#5
Hmmmm now I have a question on the total opposite end of the spectrum. My solution for one of the problems is in depth....VERY in depth...in depth to the point of it being 5+ pages. However, I am sure that my wording is clear and there arent any errors in my proof. Would I still get 5 points because I arrived at the correct answer, or could the graders possibly take off points because of my long solution?
I know cyberspace already answered this, but I am talking about a VERY LONG solution (as I said before, possibly 5+ pages).
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 06, 2009 1:33 pm  Back to top 
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AwesomeToad
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#6
DEpends. If you are just putting steps that you don't need, you might be docked pts.

If you are just being rigorous, I wouldn't think so although they might comment on that.

PostPosted: Fri Nov 06, 2009 2:32 pm  Back to top 
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Erin J. Schram
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#7
Thunder365 wrote:
... but I am talking about a VERY LONG solution (as I said before, possibly 5+ pages).

I had to grade some ten-page solutions for Problem 1/1/21. Five pages does not seem long, in contrast.

We graders sometimes joke among each other about taking points off for overly lengthy solutions, because reading them slows down our grading, but we never do. For the most extreme cases I write a comment that we would prefer shorter solutions in the future.

Submissions lose points only because of errors and lack of rigor. Bad writing loses points only when it undermines rigor.

Erin Schram
USAMTS grader

PostPosted: Mon Nov 09, 2009 4:38 pm  Back to top 
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