The State of Mathematics Competitions in 2025
On a Saturday morning in March 2025, a middle school cafeteria in Ohio is buzzing. Half the students are hunched over MATHCOUNTS tests, furiously scribbling on paper. At the same time, a handful of students in the corner quietly log into an online proctoring system for an international math challenge happening three time zones away. One coach walks between tables, answering questions about target rounds and scoring while another hovers over a laptop, troubleshooting a student’s webcam.
This scene captures the reality of mathematics competitions in 2025: in-person and online, local and global, deeply traditional and rapidly evolving. Here on ScholarComp, we’ve compiled an overview of how the competitive math landscape looks right now—what has changed, what has stayed the same, and what trends are likely to shape the next few years.
1. The Hybrid Era: How Competition Formats Have Settled in 2025
After the pivots of 2020–2022, 2025 is the year when math competitions have largely “normalized”—but not by returning to 2019. Instead, most major events have settled into hybrid ecosystems where in-person and online formats coexist, each serving different needs.
From emergency remote to intentional design
Consider a high school student named Maya preparing for the AMC 12. In 2021, she took the exam online at home, wrestling with a flaky internet connection. By 2025, her school offers the AMC 10/12 in person, but the math club also participates in several online leagues and regional contests.
This shift from “emergency remote” testing to purposefully designed hybrid structures shows up in several ways:
- Flagship contests returning to paper: Events like the AMC series and many national olympiad qualifiers have largely returned to proctored, paper-based formats for main rounds, prioritizing integrity of scores across years.
- Online preliminaries and qualifiers: Smaller contests often run early rounds online to widen participation, inviting top performers to in-person finals. Math Kangaroo centers combine local sites with online options for students farther from test centers.
- Permanent online leagues: Weekly or monthly online math leagues have become a regular part of math teams’ schedules, providing students frequent, lower-stakes exposure to competition.
A coach in 2025 might run MATHCOUNTS practice in person twice a week and have students log into an online problem series on weekends. Her students might also participate in Math Kangaroo at a local center while entering an online international challenge that requires no travel.
What this means for students and schools
In practice, 2025’s hybrid state brings several implications:
- Students can build a “competition portfolio” across formats—local, national, and international—without excessive cost or travel but must learn to manage different interfaces and rules.
- Schools with limited budgets can participate in many contests via online options but need to invest in basic technology and supervised spaces.
- Coaches are becoming logistics experts—juggling registration portals, test windows, online proctoring, and permissions for both online and physical events.
In short, 2025 is about curating the right mix for each student, school, and community.
2. Participation Trends: Who Is Competing—and How Much?
Behind every AMC score report or MATHCOUNTS team photo is a story about access, motivation, and opportunity. The last few years have reshaped participation patterns, revealing some clear trends.
Recovery and redistribution of participation
Many competitions saw participation dip during the chaotic years of online transition, then rebound as structures stabilized, but not uniformly.
Imagine two eighth graders: Ravi, who attends a large suburban school with a robust math team, and Elena, whose rural school barely has a math club. Ravi’s school returned to in-person MATHCOUNTS and AMC testing quickly and added several online contests. Elena’s school still doesn’t host major contests, but she discovered an online series and takes Math Kangaroo at a test center an hour away.
This redistribution shows up in three patterns:
- Established programs are “all in”: Strong math traditions often lead schools and regions to participate in more contests than ever—combining AMC, AIME, MATHCOUNTS, and local leagues.
- New entrants through online pathways: Students in schools without strong competition cultures increasingly enter via independent registrations for online or hybrid contests.
- Uneven recovery in under-resourced schools: Some schools that paused competition activities in 2020–2021 never fully restarted, often due to teacher turnover and budget constraints.
The result is a wider global reach but persistent local gaps. More students can enter competitions, while their experience still heavily depends on local support.
Demographics and diversity: gradual shifts
On the demographic front, 2025 shows meaningful progress:
- Gender representation: Girls’ participation is higher in broad-based contests than in elite tracks, but outreach and girls-only math circles are helping narrow gaps at higher levels.
- Geographic spread: Online formats have increased participation from smaller towns and underrepresented regions, although they remain underrepresented in top ranks.
- International reach: More competitions now attract multi-country participation, helping diversify the competitive community.
A coach organizing a regional AMC prep group in 2025 is more likely to see a mix of public and private schools, homeschoolers, and students who found contests through online resources.
3. Problem Design and Content Trends in 2025
As formats evolve, so do competition questions. The style of these problems in 2025 reflects both tradition and pressures from technology and curriculum changes.
Balancing speed, depth, and creativity
Picture Leo tackling an AMC 12 practice set. He breezes through early questions but struggles with a combinatorics problem about arranging books under specific constraints. The problem demands logical organization under time pressure.
This illustrates a broader trend: competitions are maintaining a balance between speed-based problem solving and deeper thinking. Several tendencies stand out:
- Richer problem contexts: Even entry-level contests shift toward questions that require interpreting narratives or nonstandard representations.
- Moderate computational load: Problems are designed so that insight reduces computation, rewarding understanding over brute force.
- Gentler entry ramps, steeper high ends: Early questions are slightly more approachable, while harder questions maintain or increase depth.
Curricular alignment and enrichment
Competition creators in 2025 are increasingly aware of how their problems align with school curricula:
- Broader topic representation: Contests now include discrete mathematics themes—graphs, invariants, and basic algorithmic reasoning.
- Careful use of off-curriculum topics: Problem writers are cautious about relying too heavily on specialized theory.
- Cross-competition influence: Problem styles from international contests and olympiads appear in mid-level contests, leading to more diverse question sets.
A 2025 middle-school contest might feature a problem about coloring vertices of a polygon under certain rules, using simple language that avoids formal graph theory jargon, while embedding combinatorics concepts.
4. Technology, Preparation, and Equity in 2025
By 2025, technology shapes who can prepare and how they study for competitions.
The new preparation ecosystem
Consider ninth grader Sofia preparing for the AMC 10. Her routine might look like this:
On Mondays, she attends her school’s math club, discussing past contest problems. On Wednesdays, she logs into an online practice platform that adjusts to her weaknesses, focusing on geometry when she struggles with it. On weekends, she watches Khan Academy videos and works through curated problem sets from ScholarComp.
Sofia’s experience highlights several major features of the 2025 prep landscape:
- Abundant online practice material: Past problems and solution write-ups are widely available, reducing dependence on costly textbooks.
- Adaptive and data-driven tools: Many students use tools that identify weak areas and adjust practice accordingly.
- Hybrid coaching models: Coaches combine in-person sessions with online practice, blending mentorship with scalable resources.
AI as a study partner and integrity challenge
AI tools are increasingly used to explain solutions and generate practice questions. A student struggling with geometry can now paste a problem into an AI assistant for a detailed walkthrough.
This capability offers both benefits and challenges:
- As a learning booster: Students without local coaches can get guided explanations, reducing mentorship gaps.
- As an integrity risk: In unsupervised settings, AI can be misused for answers rather than understanding.
- As a design constraint: Organizers must consider how easily AI could solve certain questions, influencing problem complexity.
The digital divide: more resources, uneven access
While the preparation landscape is richer, access is still uneven:
- Students with reliable internet and personal devices can access resources and online communities.
- Students with limited connectivity may struggle to access online contests and complete timed practice.
- Schools with strong tech infrastructure can host online sessions, while others may rely on individual devices, introducing inequities.
By 2025, many organizers acknowledge this divide. Some offer offline practice packets and flexible registration to mitigate barriers, but inequities remain a central challenge.
5. The Evolving Role of Competitions in Mathematical Development
The state of math competitions is not just about logistics and participation; it’s about their role in students’ mathematical lives. In 2025, there’s ongoing debate about the role of contests as both motivators and measures of ability.
Competitions as gateways to deeper mathematics
For many students, contests transform math into a sport or creative challenge. Jordan, a sixth grader, discovers Math Kangaroo through a flyer from his teacher. The playful problems hook him, and he starts attending a math circle weekly. Later, he joins a MATHCOUNTS team and explores number theory topics absent from his textbook.
Such experiences illustrate the positive developmental role competitions can play:
- Motivation: Time-bound goals provide structure that encourages consistent practice.
- Community: Math clubs and competition days help students find peers with shared enthusiasm.
- Exposure: Contest questions broaden students’ views of what mathematics can be.
Managing pressure and redefining “success”
In 2025, the intense preparation culture can create pressure and distorted perceptions. A student scoring in the middle may question their abilities, despite performing well in class.
Coaches and parents increasingly reframe outcomes:
- Process over prizes: Emphasizing improvement and enjoyment rather than just medals.
- Multiple pathways: Recognizing that some students thrive in contests while others excel in long-term projects.
- Balanced portfolios: Encouraging combinations of competitions with other engagement forms, like reading or mentoring.
Competitions as part of a broader learning ecosystem
By 2025, thoughtful programs treat competitions as one element of a larger ecosystem:
- Foundational learning: Solid coursework ensures contest participation is based on understanding.
- Enrichment environments: Math circles and clubs create spaces for exploration beyond tests.
- Strategic competition engagement: Students choose contests matching their interests and use results as feedback.
Practical Takeaways for 2025: Students, Parents, and Educators
For students
- Choosing a reasonable contest mix: Start with one or two main contests, then consider others as you understand your workload and interests.
- Focusing on fundamentals: Use resources to master core topics before tackling harder problems.
- Using technology wisely: Treat AI tools as coaches, seeking help only after attempting problems independently.
- Reflecting after each contest: Review answers and adjust your practice plan.
For parents
- Prioritize experience over score: Focus on what your child enjoyed in a contest, not just their scores.
- Support access: Aid with registrations and create quiet spaces for contests.
- Monitor balance: Watch for burnout signs, encouraging a mix of activities.
- Seek guidance: Use resources to understand age-appropriate contests.
For educators and coaches
- Building inclusive clubs: Encourage a diverse range of students to participate with approachable problems.
- Leveraging hybrid formats: Combine in-person sessions with online tools to maximize reach.
- Integrating contest problems into class: Use select questions to spark discussion and illustrate creativity.
- Advocating for resources: Work with administrators for budget and tech support, especially in under-resourced schools.
Conclusion: A Dynamic, Still-Evolving Landscape
In 2025, mathematics competitions stand at a fascinating balance. Hybrid formats are here to stay; participation is broader yet uneven; problem design evolves toward richer, more conceptual challenges; and technology continues to expand opportunity while complicating fairness issues.
For students, parents, and educators, the key is to make thoughtful choices: selecting competitions that fit learners, using technology to aid understanding, and emphasizing curiosity and growth rather than rankings. This snapshot provides a reference point as the “Mathematics Competition Trends” series continues—with deeper dives into technology, inclusion, and new contests.
Above all, the state of mathematics competitions in 2025 remains defined by possibility: more ways for students to discover that problem solving can be both demanding and deeply rewarding.
