Poplar Ridge student Landon Black tied for 11th in Canada during the recently administered Thales mathematics contest for Grade 3 students through Mathematica Centrum. 6,037 students wrote the test. Black also placed second in Alberta. Students were required to answer 30 questions in 45 minutes. Black scored 27 out of 30 on the test.
Overall, Poplar Ridge tied for 32nd place in Canada. Phillips said many of the schools that placed higher were private schools or “Spirit of Math” schools which emphasize the subject. Poplar Ridge has been participating in the contest for about seven or eight years, but Phillips said this might be the last year because of the cost.
Mathematica Centrum has developed a series of tests for various grades that are designed to challenge and promote the problem solving skills of students.