Math Kangaroo USA

Registration opens September 15, 2026 and the regular deadline is December 31, 2026 at $20 per student. Late registration runs January 1 through February 1, 2027 at $35 per student. The contest is March 18, 2027, with results released by May 1, 2027. There are no cancellations or refunds once you register, so confirm your child is free that day before paying.

No. The rules require testing at the student's actual school grade; sitting a lower level is not permitted. Kindergarteners are the sole exception and all take the Grade 1 paper. Papers are grouped — grades 1-2, 3-4, 5-6 and so on share a set of questions — but rankings and awards are computed separately for each grade, so the younger student in a pair is not disadvantaged.

Yes. EDUBUS hosts both the individual and the team Math Kangaroo contest, open to families across Irvine and nearby cities, not just our own students. The individual contest runs 12 grade levels ranked separately; the team contest is entered as a squad. Seats fill quickly, so book when registration opens in September.

You have options. Five formats are offered: in-person paper at a center, online proctored at a center, center-managed proctored at home, remote direct-to-home proctored, and virtual self-proctored. One important caveat: the virtual self-proctored option does not produce an official ranking, so if awards matter, choose a proctored format. Note also that not all formats stay open all season — remote and virtual channels can close early.

There is no penalty, so every question should be answered. The test is 75 minutes: 24 questions and 96 points for grades 1-4, 30 questions and 120 points for grades 5-12. Questions come in three difficulty tiers of equal count, worth 3, 4, and 5 points, and a wrong or blank answer simply scores zero. That no-penalty rule is part of why it works better than the AMC as a child's first competition experience.

Every participant receives a certificate, a pencil, a ribbon, and a mathematical keepsake gift. Formal awards go to the national top 20 in each grade and the top 3 in each grade within each state, with certificates, medals, and prizes such as math camp placements. There is no published score cutoff, because placement depends on that year's national distribution. Results are released by May 1 and local award ceremonies follow in May and June.

No refunds. Math Kangaroo states clearly that registrations cannot be cancelled or refunded, which differs from how many local enrichment classes work, so be sure before you pay. Moving centers is possible: log in to your account and transfer the registration to a different center, but this must be done by January 1, after which no change is allowed. If your location is still uncertain, decide early.

In elementary school, start with Math Kangaroo. It is open from kindergarten through grade 12, carries no penalty for wrong answers, and sits closer to classroom material, making it good for building confidence and gauging whether a child genuinely enjoys competition math. Add AMC 8 training around grades 5-6; AMC 8 stops at grade 8 and leans harder on multi-step reasoning and time pressure. They overlap in content but not in style, and neither replaces the other.