The American Mathematics Competition AMC 8 has been held recently in various regions across the globe. However, on the first day of the exam in the Singapore district, it was reported that several Chinese e-commerce platforms were openly selling this year’s questions and answers. As a result, the Singapore organizer had to prepare alternative questions and let schools decide whether to replace them, affecting hundreds of students sitting for the test in Singapore this week.
According to media reports, the American Mathematics Competition (AMC), organized by the Mathematical Association of America, is a widely recognized international math competition. It is divided into three categories: AMC 8, AMC 10, and AMC 12 for different grades of middle and high school students, with about 300,000 candidates participating globally each year. The exam results are often considered a ‘key’ for admission to prestigious schools and a resume asset for applying to some U.S. universities, therefore receiving great attention from parents.
This year’s test is scheduled in the U.S. from January 22 to 28, and in Singapore from January 23 to 29. However, on the first day of the exam (January 23), it was discovered that this year’s set of 25 questions and answers were already being sold on several e-commerce platforms, with prices ranging from several dozen to 500 RMB (285 MYR), with the cheapest at just 9.8 RMB (5.6 MYR).
This year, a total of 879 candidates participated in Singapore’s AMC 8, coming from two “Integrated Program” secondary schools, Singapore American School, other international schools, as well as a few math olympiad training institutions. More than 500 candidates had completed the exam last week (January 23 to 25), while another 300+ students scheduled to sit this week in Singapore may be affected.
Zhou Xiuping, founder of the AMC Singapore official administrative body, Asia Mathematics Alliance, stated that new exam papers were prepared for last week’s testing schools, and it was up to each individual school to decide whether to change the exam questions and how many to change.
A parent surnamed Li angrily commented, “Cheating will affect children’s values. If parents only care about short-term gains and neglect the fundamental education that forms the basis of their children’s lives, I think it’s a very foolish thing to do.” Another parent, surnamed Mao, said that since AMC 8 is not held at exactly the same time in different regions, the risk of exam questions leaking increases. “This is unfair to those children who have prepared earnestly and take the exam with integrity.”