March as “Math Madness?” No, it’s not an alternate calendar for those who tend more toward nerd than jock.
Today TenMarks, an education technology company acquired by Amazon a year-and-a-half ago, kicks off its fourth annual Math Madness competition for elementary, middle and high school students and teachers.
The idea, not surprisingly, is to get kids excited about math. Teachers sign up for free, kids solve math problems, and after April 12th prizes are awarded to the top three classes in each grade-level group that “have the highest average questions answered per student.” In 2014, TenMarks says “students raced to answer millions of questions with more than 83.9% accuracy.”
Grand prizes include sets of Fire HDX tablets, or a $500 Amazon gift card. Weekly prizes will be awarded to the class in each group that show the most improvement.
Why do Math Madness in March, aside from the alliterative basketball tie-in? Preparation for spring school testing, according to an Amazon spokesperson. As one fourth grade teacher, Terri Hanna of Placentia-Yorba Linda School District, put it, “It relieved end-of-year test anxiety for my students.”
Amazon acquired TenMarks in 2013 as part of its education market strategy. Over time, Amazon has made it easier for schools to buy Kindle eReaders and Fire tablets in bulk and has rolled out features — plus enhancements to TenMarks Math — that would appeal to K-12 schools.
