What Is the AMC 8?
The AMC 8 is the middle school contest in the American Mathematics Competitions, a series the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) has run since 1950. More than 300,000 students in 50 states and more than 30 countries take one of the three contests each year, according to the MAA. The other two are the AMC 10 and the AMC 12, which are held in November.
The contest has 25 multiple choice questions and lasts 40 minutes. The MAA describes the content as middle school mathematics: counting and probability, estimation, proportional reasoning, elementary geometry including the Pythagorean Theorem, spatial visualization, and reading graphs and tables. Some of the later questions touch on beginning algebra, such as linear or quadratic functions and coordinate geometry. Nothing on the test requires a course beyond a standard middle school sequence, but the problems reward a kind of reasoning that most school curricula do not practice.
Who Can Take the AMC 8?
The contest is for students in grade 8 and below who are under 15.5 years of age on the day of the competition. Both conditions apply. The MAA sets a ceiling and no floor, so strong students in grades 5, 6, and 7 sit the same paper as eighth graders. A student may take it only once each year.
Eligibility runs through the site, not the family. The student must be enrolled by a competition manager at a registered school, college or university, math circle, or learning center, and must take the contest in person under that manager’s supervision.
When Is the AMC 8 in 2027?
The 2027 contest window is January 21 to 27, 2027. The dates that matter to families come earlier, because a site has to register before any student can be enrolled.
| Milestone | Date | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Early bird site registration | October 28, 2026 | $55 registration fee |
| Regular site registration | January 5, 2027 | $75 registration fee; final deadline for new competition managers |
| Late site registration | January 14, 2027 | $115 registration fee; returning competition managers only |
| Additional student bundles | January 26, 2027 | Must be bought by 11:59 p.m. the day before the site gives the contest |
| Competition window | January 21 to 27, 2027 | Each site gives the contest on a day in this window |
These fees are paid by the school or site. On top of the registration fee, a site buys bundles of ten student licenses at $25 per bundle, which comes to $2.50 per student by Oriel Admissions calculation. A learning center or university that opens its site to outside students may add a charge of its own.
How Do Students Register?
Students and parents do not register with the MAA. A teacher or staff member at an accredited middle or high school, a college or university, a math circle, or a learning center registers as a competition manager, enrolls students, proctors the contest, and shares scores and awards afterward.
The first step is to ask the school whether it will host. If it will not, the MAA publishes a public list of sites registered for the 2026-27 cycle, and local colleges, math circles, and learning centers are the usual alternatives. A school that has never hosted needs lead time: January 5, 2027 is the last day a new competition manager can register, and the late deadline is open only to returning managers.
Oriel Admissions advises families to raise the question with the school in October. A math teacher who hears in the fall can register at the lowest fee and plan a testing day, while a request in mid January usually arrives too late for a school that is new to the contest.
How Is the AMC 8 Scored, and What Is a Good Score?
Each correct answer earns one point, and a wrong or blank answer earns nothing, so the score is a whole number from 0 to 25 and there is no penalty for guessing. Calculators are not permitted. The table shows the last four contests.
| Year | Students | Average score | Honor Roll (top 5%) | Distinguished Honor Roll (top 1%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 80,977 | 12.42 | 21 | 24 |
| 2025 | 79,524 | 11.74 | 19 | 23 |
| 2024 | 80,725 | 10.75 | 18 | 22 |
| 2023 | 74,380 | 10.26 | 17 | 21 |
Two points stand out. The average student answers about half of the questions correctly, even though the field is self-selected and mathematically strong. And the cutoffs have risen every year: the Honor Roll line moved from 17 to 21 in three contests, and the Distinguished Honor Roll line from 21 to 24. A student who practices on older papers should measure against the recent lines, not the old ones.
A good score depends on the grade. For an eighth grader, a score above the average of about 12 is solid, 18 to 20 is strong, and 21 or more has recently meant the top 5% nationally. For a student in grade 6 or below, 15 is the number to know, because it earns separate recognition.
What Awards Does the Contest Give?
Recognition is based on percentile, with one exception. The Honor Roll goes to roughly the top 5% of scorers and the Distinguished Honor Roll to roughly the top 1%. Students with a perfect 25 receive a separate certificate. The exception is the award for younger students: those in grade 6 or below who score 15 or higher are recognized whatever the national distribution looks like.
The contest does not lead to an invitational round. Only the AMC 10 and AMC 12 qualify students for the American Invitational Mathematics Examination, which is the next stage toward the national olympiad.
Does the AMC 8 Matter for College Admissions?
Not directly. College applications ask for honors earned from grade 9 onward, so a middle school result will not appear in the Common App Honors section. Its value is in what it leads to and where else it can be used.
It leads to the AMC 10. A student who has learned to work 25 contest problems against a clock in middle school arrives at the high school contest with years of practice, and the AMC 10 now carries a fixed qualifying score of 100 for the invitational round. That later result is the one admissions readers at mathematically serious universities recognize.
It can be used in applications that come before college. Selective private and boarding schools ask applicants for honors and activities, and so do the most selective summer mathematics programs. A national Honor Roll result is easier for a reader to place than a grade in a school course. Families weighing those schools can start with our guide to the top boarding schools.
In the experience of Oriel Admissions, the most useful way to treat the score is as a measurement. A sixth grader who scores 15 or a seventh grader who scores 20 is showing a level of ability that the regular school sequence may not be serving, and that is a reason to talk with the school about acceleration, a math circle, or outside coursework. Our overview of academic competitions explains where this contest sits among the others.
Should an Eighth Grader Take the AMC 8 or the AMC 10?
A strong eighth grader can take both, because they fall in different months. The AMC 10 is given on November 5 and November 13, 2026, and the middle school contest follows in late January. The AMC 10 is longer, at 75 minutes for 25 questions, and it reaches into high school algebra and geometry.
The two serve different purposes at that age. The January contest offers a field of students the same age and a realistic chance at national recognition. The November contest offers a first look at the paper that will matter in grades 9 and 10, with no cost to a low score.
How Should a Student Prepare?
Past contests are the best material, and they are public. Art of Problem Solving keeps an archive of earlier papers with solutions. A student should work them under real conditions: 25 questions in 40 minutes is 96 seconds per question, and pacing is as much a part of the result as knowledge.
The questions rise in difficulty, so most of the score comes from the first 15 to 18. Accuracy there matters more than reaching the last five. Because there is no penalty for a wrong answer, every question should be answered before time runs out.
Preparation that starts in the fall leaves about three months. Students who also compete in MATHCOUNTS will find that the two contests draw on much of the same middle school content, and chapter competitions follow in February.
Frequently Asked Questions About the AMC 8
The AMC 8 runs from January 21 to 27, 2027. Each school or site gives the contest on one day in that window.
Students in grade 8 and below who are under 15.5 years old on the day of the competition. A student may take it only once each year.
Families do not register with the MAA. A teacher or site manager registers the school, college, math circle or learning center and enrolls the students. Ask the school first, then check the MAA public list of registered sites.
There are 25 multiple choice questions in 40 minutes. Each correct answer is worth one point, and there is no penalty for a wrong answer.
In 2026 the average was 12.42 out of 25. A 21 reached the Honor Roll, the top 5% of scorers, and a 24 reached the Distinguished Honor Roll, the top 1%.
No. Calculators are not permitted on the contest.
No. Only the AMC 10 and AMC 12 lead to the AIME. The AMC 8 is a separate contest for students in grade 8 and below.
Not usually. College applications ask for honors from grade 9 onward, so a middle school result is rarely listed. Oriel Admissions advises families to use the score as an early read on mathematical strength and as preparation for the AMC 10.
Sources: Mathematical Association of America: American Mathematics Competitions, MAA: AMC Registration and Information, 2026-27, MAA: Competitions Policies, Art of Problem Solving: AMC 8, Art of Problem Solving: AMC Historical Results
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