Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Prairie Grove Student Scores High On Math
PRAIRIE GROVE — Olivia Thompson, a sophomore at Prairie Grove High School, likes math because “there’ s always an answer.”
Her ability to figure out the right answer paid off recently when she placed in the top 10 at a Northwest Arkansas math competition, competing against students from all across the region.
The competition was hosted by the Arkansas Council of Teachers of Mathematics and the organization sponsors the regional contest every year. For the past couple of years, students have participated from their home schools because of covid-19. Before covid, students came to the University of Arkansas campus for the competition.
Melanie Nations, gifted and talented coordinator for Prairie Grove schools, said Thompson studied and took practice tests for the competition almost every day. She would show up before school at 6:45 a.m. and then finish in time for her first class.
Thompson competed in the Algebra II math test and finished seventh in the region, out of 65 students. Other students competing came from private and public schools in Northwest Arkansas.
The tests were mailed to the proctor, adminstered to the participants and then mailed back to the University of Arkansas, Nations said. Students were given a week’s time frame to take the 45-minute test. The Algebra II test was multiple choice with open response questions for any tiebreakers, Nations said.
Thompson said she likes math because it is objective, not subjective. She’s interested in a career that involves math, maybe being a neurosurgeon or an aerospace engineer. An engineering degree is on the table, she said, in case she finds out she doesn’t like “blood and guts.”
Thompson will receive a lanyard for being in the top 10 and this will be presented at the school’s awards ceremony.