17/05/2019

This Tuesday, 18.1 million students will take the OBMEP exam.

Next Tuesday (21), 18.1 million students from public and private schools across all regions of the country (99.71% of municipalities) will be united by Mathematics. Enrolled in the 15th edition of OBMEP (Brazilian Mathematics Olympiad for Public Schools), they will take the 1st phase test of the largest student competition in the country, held by IMPA since 2005, with the support of the Brazilian Mathematical Society (SBM).

Each of the 54,830 schools participating in the 2019 OBMEP – a record number of registered educational units – will administer and grade the tests, according to the instructions and answer keys prepared by IMPA.

The student will have two hours and 30 minutes to answer the 20 questions on the exam, prepared at three levels according to the grade level: N1 (6th and 7th grades of Elementary School), N2 (8th and 9th grades of Elementary School), and N3 (High School). Students who qualify in this stage will take the second phase, which is a written exam, on September 28th.

“The OBMEP exam allows us to identify students with talent for mathematics. An award in the Olympiad opens doors. Participation in scientific initiation programs, for example, allows young people to interact with peers with similar aptitudes, interests, and ambitions,” observes Claudio Landim, deputy director of IMPA and general coordinator of OBMEP.

Aimed at students from the 6th grade of elementary school to the 3rd year of high school, OBMEP contributes to stimulating the study of Mathematics, identifying talented young people, encouraging students to enter scientific and technological fields, and promoting social inclusion through the dissemination of knowledge.

Independent studies prove the effective impact of OBMEP (Brazilian Mathematical Olympiad for Public Schools) on mathematics results in the country. Schools that actively participate in the academic competition show a marked improvement in their students' performance on the Prova Brasil (Brazil Test): the improvement is on the order of 26 points, which corresponds to 1.5 years of extra schooling.

OBMEP awards prizes separately to students from public and private schools. Students from public schools will receive 6,500 medals (500 gold, 1,500 silver, and 4,500 bronze) and up to 46,200 Honorable Mention certificates. Students from private institutions will receive 975 medals (75 gold, 225 silver, and 675 bronze) and up to 5,700 Honorable Mention certificates. The winners will be announced on December 3rd. Those awarded gold, silver, or bronze medals are invited to participate in scientific initiation programs.

OBMEP is promoted with resources from the Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communications (MCTIC) and the Ministry of Education (MEC).