Deputy Head of the Organizing Committee of the Math Arena – AIMO: Impressed with the students' approach to math

TPO - Mr. Dang Minh Tuan, Deputy Head of the Organizing Committee of the AIMO Math Competition for the 2025-2026 school year, assessed that the results of the first round of the Preliminary Round showed that this year's contestants have great potential and many provinces and cities have an outstanding number of students registering for the competition.

Sir, how does the Organizing Committee evaluate the results and quality of the candidates' work in Round 1 of the Preliminary Round of the contest?

The results of the 1st Preliminary Round of the AIMO Math Arena this year show that the quality of the contestants is very potential and there is a clear differentiation by grade level.

Many students achieved high scores of 8-10, especially in grades 7, 8 and 9, of which grade 9 had up to 50% of candidates achieving 8 points or more. This was beyond the expectations of the Organizing Committee.

We found that the most outstanding point lies in the thinking ability of the group of secondary school students, that is, they have the ability to reason, analyze and solve problems faster than last year. At the primary level, many students in grades 2 and 5 also impressed with their creative and flexible approach to problems.

Mr. Dang Minh Tuan, Deputy Head of the Organizing Committee of the AIMO Mathematics Competition 2025-2026.

Overall, Round 1 shows a good academic foundation, while opening up opportunities to discover outstanding factors for further training in the next rounds.

What are the notable trends in student and school participation in the first phase?

Phase 1 recorded active participation from many provinces/cities, especially Hanoi , Ninh Binh, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Dak Lak, Cao Bang and private, bilingual and international schools. The number of registered students increased significantly compared to last year in grades 5, 7, 8 and 10-12, showing that the movement to train logical thinking is growing strongly in both high school and primary school.

Notably, this year, right from the first round of the Preliminary Round, there was a strong growth in students from grades 7-9, belonging to the group with many high-quality papers; Grades 2 and 5 had a large and stable number of participants, demonstrating the great interest from parents of primary school students. Many schools participating for the first time had very good results, creating a wider and more diverse academic ecosystem.

What feedback has the organizers received from parents and students about the online exam experience and what technical improvements will be implemented?

Parents and students appreciate the online testing format because it is convenient, flexible and easy to access. Many parents expressed their peace of mind that their children can take the test in a familiar environment, reducing exam pressure.

However, in addition, the organizers also recorded some feedback such as: Some students entered answers in the wrong format, such as adding units, long descriptions or entering symbols; some cases had spaces or hidden characters causing incorrect answers; some mobile devices automatically added special characters when entering numbers.

Based on valuable feedback from parents and candidates, the Organizing Committee has upgraded the system for the 2nd Preliminary Round to fix issues related to automatic removal of spaces, hidden characters, and units if detected. At the same time, the Organizing Committee has also improved the interface so that students clearly understand the requirement of "entering only one number"; increasing the stability and error resistance of the online exam platform.

Could you tell us what candidates should pay attention to in the second round, the Preliminary Round taking place on December 7 to avoid unfortunate mistakes?

The organizers emphasize four groups of technical errors that candidates absolutely need to avoid:

- Do not write units (cm, inch, inch, etc.). Only write results in numeric form.

- Do not describe the answer , for example "the sum is 85", "603 digits 3".

- Do not enter symbols like “n =”, “k =”, “th term...”.

- Do not enter spaces before or after the answer.

These are small mistakes but can cause your essay to lose points even though your thinking is completely correct.

The organizers hope that candidates will boldly register for the contest and show their best to get the best results, and have a chance to enter the next round. The second round, the Preliminary Round, will continue to be a playground to help students practice logical thinking - critical thinking - problem solving, the core competencies of the modern education program.

Students experience a fair, professional, transparent, and appropriate exam from elementary to high school; discover the joy of learning math and the feeling of conquering challenges.

Thank you!

According to the Organizing Committee, the scores for the first round of the AIMO Math Arena 2025-2026 Preliminary Round are now available. Candidates only need to log in to their accounts on the system to check the results. The second round of the Preliminary Round will take place on December 7.

Source: https://tienphong.vn/pho-truong-ban-to-chuc-dau-truong-toan-hoc-aimo-an-tuong-voi-cach-tap-can-toan-cua-hoc-sinh-post1801260.tpo