ECML

Contest Writing Position

This is for those who are interested in writing a math contest for the Essex County Math League. This position will close on April 15th and reopen on September 15th each year. Any application submitted after between those dates will not be accepted.

Compensation:  $200 per contest

The Essex County Math League contest is held annually on the Wednesday before Memorial Day weekend.  All schools in Essex County, NJ are invited to participate.  The contest itself consists of 6 subject tests: Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, Advanced Math (Pre-Calculus), Calculus, and Statistics.  One of the most important roles is creating the contest questions that are challenging to the students, but still remain within the scope of the specific subject.  For more information about the contest, visit https://essexcountymathleague.org/.

All who are interested in applying for the position must complete the required Google Form.  Applications are accepted until all positions are filled.

Submission deadline for contests, answer keys, and detailed solutions no later than April 30th.  This is a hard deadline.

Contest Guidelines

  • Each contest is 50 minutes long and must be multiple choice and have 5 answer choices.  Except for the Statistics contest, option E is always Not Given (NG).
  • Each contest needs to have a tie-breaker question.  This needs to be a non-multiple choice question, but should have a definitive answer (either numeric or equation).  The tie-breaker should NOT require students to explain their solution.
  • The tests for Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, and Statistics have 20 questions each plus the tie-breaker.
  • The tests for Advanced Math (Pre-Calculus) and Calculus have 15 questions each plus the tie-breaker.
  • When creating the questions, please do not reuse questions from previous years.  See our website for previous contests (link to site).
  • All questions should be designed to challenge the student’s mathematical abilities.  Keep in mind that the students who take the contests are some of the top honors students at their schools.
  • No reference sheets are provided to the students.
  • Before submitting the contest, make sure to have someone proofread the questions and answers.
  • Try to avoid pulling questions directly from websites.  If it is easy for you to find it, then it is easy for students to find it too.  You may use them as inspiration.

Contest Writing Responsibilities

  • Create innovative, challenging, and creative problems that challenge students within their subject.
  • All contest writer submissions MUST include the contest, an answer key, and detailed solutions for each question.
  • Contests must be submitted as a Google Doc, Microsoft Word document, and/or a PDF.  Handwritten contests will not be accepted.
  • If you are submitting a PDF, please make sure all diagrams and text are clean and legible.
  • Questions need to be free of grammatical and spelling errors, solvable, and have a definitive answer.  This includes the tie-breaker. No short answer or open ended questions.
  • The contest and solutions need to be proofread before submission by at least 1 other person.  This ensures all questions are appropriate and all solutions are correct.  This does not include the ECML President.
  • Contest submissions are due no later than April 30th.  This includes the contest, answer key, and detailed solutions.  This is a hard deadline.
  • Each contest needs to have at most 1 person write the test.  Someone can write multiple contests.
  • Failure to follow the guidelines will result in your forfeit of compensation (see below).

Required Qualifications

1.  As a College Student

  • Pursuing a degree in Mathematics or Mathematics related fields.

2.  As a Post – College Professional (Educators/Administrators/Non-Education Based Field)

  • Degree in Mathematics or Mathematics related field.
  • If you are in the education field and in Essex County, you may only write contests as long as you are not the advisor of a math team in Essex County, NJ.  This is to prevent any potential conflict of interest.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Prior experience writing a mathematics contest
Submission deadline for contests, answer keys, and detailed solutions no later than April 30th.  This is a hard deadline.  

Forfeit of Compensation By accepting this position, you agree to complete all requirements as stated in the job description by the stated deadline.  Failure to do so will result in your forfeit of compensation and we reserve the right to keep all submitted materials.  In addition, you may not be allowed to write future contests.  Late submissions or failure to follow the guidelines/responsibilities will cause you to forfeit your compensation.