Fifth-Graders Top Nation in Math Contest

The Rail Ranch mathematicians are at it again.

Fifth-graders from the classroom os Jack Mitchell, Greg Lumsden, Ashlee Barrett and Julie Stewart competed in Mathletic.com's American Math Challenge, an online contest held Oct. 12-13.

In the nationwide contest, School had the highest score among 1,431 schools, putting them in the No. 1 spot. Rail Ranch also won the top spot among classrooms.

This marks the second year in a row the school has taken top honors, and the third year it has competed.

Additionally, out of 71,971 participants, 10 Rail Ranch students placed among the top 100 scorers.

It was a two-day contest.

The first day was all about the kids having to answer fifth-grade level math questions and the second day was all about answering basic math facts in timed, one-minute races, according to Mitchell.

The kids were on the computer approximately 12 hours the first day and three hours the second day, Mitchell said.

"We had such a big lead after the first day that we knew nobody would catch us," Mitchell said.

Macy Parris, 10, finished in 12th place. Macy prefers decimal problems, and thinks she may want to be a math teacher some day.

"It's just easy for me," Macy said.

She remembers competing last year as a fourth-grader.

"It's really fun."

In the spring, Rail Ranch will compete in an international contest through the same site. Last year, the school took fourth place in the international contest.

Editor's Note: This article was updated at 2:05 p.m. Oct. 23, to clarify that students in four classrooms competed in the contest, and to point out that the contest rules have changed since last year. Congratulations, Rail Ranch!