AMC 8 Contest info and FAQs

What is the AMC 8?

AMC 8 is a 25-question, 40-minute, multiple-choice Math Contest for middle schoolers organized by the Mathematical Association of America. The contest is open to students in 8 grade and below. The Contest is designed to promote the development of problem-solving skills in students and enhance their analytical thinking capabilities. The AMC 8 provides an opportunity for middle school students to develop positive attitudes towards analytical thinking and mathematics that can assist in future careers. Students apply classroom skills to unique problem-solving challenges in a low-stress and friendly environment.

The material covered on the AMC 8 includes topics from a typical middle school mathematics curriculum. Possible topics include but are not limited to : counting and probability, estimation, proportional reasoning, elementary geometry including the Pythagorean Theorem, spatial visualization, everyday applications, and reading and interpreting graphs and tables. In addition, some of the later questions may involve linear or quadratic functions and equations, coordinate geometry, and other topics traditionally covered in a beginning algebra course.

Please visit the MAA website for general information on the AMC 8.​

How hard is AMC 8? What is the average score of students for AMC 8? What is considered a good score for AMC 8?

The level of problems in AMC 8 is considered difficult as the problems check students' critical thinking and problem-solving skills in depth. You need to do lots of practice problems and solve all the papers from past years to prepare well for AMC 8. The average  AMC 8 score scored by students in the last few years is 10. A score of 20 or above is considered a good score. With every passing year, the AMC 8 Contest problems are getting harder.

​What are the Age Requirements for AMC 8?

To participate in the AMC 8, a student must be in grade 8 or below and also under 14.5 years of age on the day of the competition.

What materials can we bring to the exam? are calculators allowed?

For digital administration of the competition, a student may use a laptop or tablet with one tab open to the competition. Otherwise, the only materials that students are allowed to have on themselves during the competition are writing utensils, blank scratch paper, rulers, and erasers. NO CALCULATORS OR PHONES AND SIMILAR ELECTRONIC DEVICES OF ANY KIND ARE ALLOWED. No questions require the use of a calculator.

What are the scoring criteria for AMC 8? Is there any penalty for guessing or wrong answers?

AMC 8 is scored based on the number of questions answered correctly. Each question is of the same number of points and the good news is that there is no penalty for answering a question wrongly so you can guess the answers.

What are the awards for top performers on AMC 8?

Here is the list of awards that the top performers will be awarded for doing exceptionally well on AMC 8.

Distinguished Honor Roll: recognizes students who scored in the top 1% ( score around 21 or above)

Honor Roll Certificate: recognizes students who scored in the top 5% (score around 17-21)

Achievement Honor Roll: recognizes students in 6th grade and below who scored 15 or above on AMC 8 ( score around15-25)

Check this link to see how top-performing girls on AMC 8 are honored:   https://maa-amc.org/amc-8-awards-and-certificate-program/

AMC 8 Past Official Test Papers

Links to official AMC 8 question papers from the previous years are given below.  You can practice these questions and if you need to refer to solutions, please click here.​

Note : All the links will divert you to artofproblemsolving.com website. 

AMC 8 Practice Problems

AMC 8 Practice Problem Sheet 1

Topicwise AMC 8 Practice Problems Sheet 2