· Math Explorers Club · Math Competitions · 12 min read
Best Math Competitions for 6th Graders
Sixth grade is when the elementary and middle-school contest lists overlap: MATHCOUNTS opens, MOEMS lets your child compete in either division, and every 5th-grade contest is still open. Here is how to pick one.
If you are looking up math competitions for 6th graders, you have probably noticed a few unfamiliar names on the list. That is because 6th grade is where the elementary and middle-school contest lists overlap. Every contest your child could enter in 5th grade is still open, and the middle-school contests start at the same time: MATHCOUNTS opens at grade 6, MOEMS lets a 6th grader compete in its middle-school division, and AMC 8 becomes a realistic first try. Your child is the oldest in one group of contests and the youngest in the other, and deciding which side to lean on is most of the choice this year.
This is the 6th-grade shortlist. The 5th-grade version covers the year before, our complete guide to math competitions for elementary students is the full catalog, and the decision guide helps you compare. Here we answer one question: what can a 6th grader enter, and which one should you pick?
The short answer: two menus at once
A 6th grader can still enter the contests from the 5th-grade list: Math Kangaroo, MOEMS Division E, the Noetic Learning Math Contest, the Continental Mathematics League (CML), the RSM International Math Contest, and MathCON. On the middle-school side, MATHCOUNTS, MOEMS Division M, and Math League’s 6th-grade contest are open, and AMC 8 (grade 8 and below) is a sensible first attempt for a strong student.
Three things change at grade 6:
- MATHCOUNTS opens. Its Competition Series is for grades 6–8, and each student can compete for at most three years, so 6th grade is year one.
- MOEMS gives you a choice. A 6th grader may be placed on either an elementary (Division E) or a middle-school (Division M) team. It is the only grade where either division is a routine choice.
- Math League moves to a new paper. The 6th-grade contest has 35 multiple-choice questions in 30 minutes, up from 30 questions in 5th grade, and it is held in February instead of April.
As with the earlier grades, the practical question is who signs up:
- You can register your own child: Math Kangaroo, RSM, Noetic’s At-Home Edition (if your school doesn’t run Noetic), CML’s home-school entry, and MathCON’s individual registration. MATHCOUNTS also has a non-school competitor route for students whose school doesn’t take part.
- An adult has to run a team or host site: MOEMS (a school or homeschool team), Math League (schools only), a MATHCOUNTS school team, and AMC 8 (given at a school or other host site by a competition manager).
MOEMS: Division E or Division M?
MOEMS (Math Olympiads for Elementary and Middle Schools) runs two divisions: Division E for grades 4–6 and Division M for grades 6–8. The overlap is grade 6. MOEMS’s rules for coaches say a team with any 7th or 8th grader must be in Division M, and that “6th grade students may be placed on either a Division E or Division M team.” If a school runs both divisions, it can even put a 6th grader on both teams.
The format is the same in both divisions: five contests, one a month from November through March, each with five problems in 30 minutes. Students work alone, score 1 point per correct answer, and can’t use calculators, rulers, or graph paper. What changes is the level: Division M problems are written for middle schoolers. More than 120,000 students take part each year.
The school’s coach (the PICO, or Person In Charge of the Olympiad) makes the call. How to think about it:
- Division E makes sense if this is your child’s first MOEMS season, or if the school’s team is mostly 4th and 5th graders. Being among the oldest builds confidence.
- Division M makes sense if your child did well in Division E last year, or if the school runs a middle-school team with 7th and 8th graders. It is also good preparation for MATHCOUNTS.
Entry is through a team (up to 35 students) run by a school or homeschool, so for a child in a regular school the path is the school’s team. The first contest window opens in November, so September and October are the months to ask. Our MOEMS preparation guide for parents explains how a season works, and we have prep guides for both Division E and Division M.
Math Kangaroo: the same paper, a year older
Math Kangaroo doesn’t let a child test below their school grade, so a 6th grader takes the Grades 5–6 level again, this time as the older student on that paper. It is 30 multiple-choice questions in 75 minutes, split into thirds worth 3, 4, and 5 points, for a maximum of 120. No points are taken off for a wrong answer, so a guess never hurts.
A second year on a familiar paper is an advantage, and the 5-point questions at the end are more within reach. You register your own child at a proctored center, in person or online. (A self-proctored virtual option has been offered in past seasons, but it is listed as closed right now.) The contest is held every March; our Math Kangaroo 2027 page has the timeline, and the format guide shows what the paper looks like. For practice, try our free Math Kangaroo problems for grades 5–6, and our parent’s guide to preparing for Math Kangaroo lays out a plan.
MATHCOUNTS: the new option at grade 6
MATHCOUNTS is a national middle-school math program, and its Competition Series is open to students in grades 6–8. Each student can compete for at most three years, so a 6th grader who starts now has three full seasons ahead.
It works as a ladder: a school competition, then chapter, state, and a national competition. The competition has four rounds: Sprint, Target, Team, and Countdown. A school can send up to 14 students to its chapter competition: 4 who compete as the team (and individually) and 10 more who compete individually.
Schools register in the fall and a coach prepares the team. If your school doesn’t take part, MATHCOUNTS also accepts non-school competitors (NSCs), who register separately.
The rest, in one table
| Competition | How a 6th grader gets in | Format | Season |
|---|---|---|---|
| RSM Int’l Math Contest | You register; online or in person | One timed sitting | Early February |
| Noetic | School team, or the At-Home Edition you proctor | 20 problems, 45 min (50 online) | Fall and spring |
| CML, Grade 6 | Through the school, or as a home-school entry | 5 meets, 6 questions, 30 min each | Across the school year |
| MathCON | You register your child as an individual | 32 multiple-choice questions, online | Mid-January to mid-March |
| Math League, 6th grade | School only | 35 multiple-choice questions, 30 min | February |
| AMC 8 | Through a school or host site | 25 multiple-choice questions, 40 min | January |
RSM International Math Contest
The RSM Foundation’s contest is open to grades 1–8, with no requirement to be an RSM student, and a 6th grader can take it online from home or in person. It is one sitting in early February.
Noetic Learning Math Contest
Noetic gives 20 problems in 45 minutes (50 online), in November and April. A school registers a team, or, if your school doesn’t take part, you sign up for the At-Home Edition, proctor it yourself, and get back a raw score, a national percentile, and a certificate. School-team students earn awards per grade (medals for the top 10%, ribbons for the top half); At-Home scores don’t qualify for medals or ribbons. Our Noetic contest prep guide explains the season, and the Noetic guide for grades 5–6 is written for this level.
CML, Grade 6
CML’s grade-6 paper sits inside its Grades 4–9 program: five meets across the year, six questions per meet, 30 minutes per meet. The school enters one of two divisions, Euclidean (average reading and reasoning) or Pythagorean (above average). Families without a participating school can enter as home-school students. Our CML parents’ guide has the details, and the CML guide covers grade 6.
MathCON
MathCON is open to grades 4–12, and parents can register their child directly. Round 1 is an online test of 32 multiple-choice questions, taken during a window from mid-January to mid-March, and the top scorers are invited to a National Finals in May.
Math League, 6th grade
At grade 6, Math League’s paper grows to 35 multiple-choice questions in 30 minutes, so speed matters. It is held in February and is school-only: in Math League’s words, “only schools may purchase the current year’s contests.”
AMC 8
The AMC 8 from the Mathematical Association of America is for students in grade 8 and below: 25 multiple-choice questions in 40 minutes, held in January. A school, math circle, or other host site registers with MAA and runs the test, and the host sets any fee for families. A 6th grader will meet some topics they haven’t covered in class yet, but MAA keeps an Achievement Roll that recognizes strong scores by students in 6th grade and below (check maa.org for the current cutoff), so it is a fair first try. Our AMC 8 guide for parents walks through a first year, and our AMC 8 prep guide is written as a first-year course.
Dates and deadlines
As of September 2026. Confirm on each official site before you register.
| Competition | Register | Contest | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Math Kangaroo | Opened Sep 15, 2026; early rate to Dec 31; late rate Jan 1–Feb 1, 2027 | March 2027 (exact day on mathkangaroo.org) | $20 early / $35 late, per child |
| MOEMS (Div E or M) | Open now; the school or homeschool registers | Five contests, Nov 2026 to Mar 2027; Contest 1 window Nov 9–30, 2026 | Per-team fee, usually paid by the school |
| Noetic, fall | At-Home and team registration by Oct 22, 2026 | At-Home window Nov 27–Dec 4, 2026; school window Nov 12–25, 2026 | $29 At-Home / $129 per team |
| Noetic, spring | At-Home and team registration by Mar 11, 2027 | At-Home window Apr 16–23, 2027; school window Apr 1–15, 2027 | $29 At-Home / $129 per team |
| RSM Int’l Math Contest | $15 Oct 1–31; $25 Nov 1–Dec 14, 2026 | In person Feb 2, 2027; online Feb 7, 2027 | $15 / $25 |
| CML, Grade 6 | School, or email CML for the home-school rate | Five meets during the 2026–27 season | $100 per team / $25 per child |
| MathCON | On mathcon.org | Online test Jan 13–Mar 17, 2027; finals May 29, 2027 | $75 per student |
| Math League, 6th grade | School orders | February 2027 (dates not yet posted; last season it was the 3rd or 4th Tuesday of February) | School pays (about $45 per set of 30) |
| MATHCOUNTS | Schools: Early Bird to Nov 3, regular to Dec 15, 2026; NSC registration opens Nov 5, 2026 | School contests through Jan 2027; chapter Feb 2027; state Mar 2027; national May 9–10, 2027 | Schools $42 early / $48 regular per student; NSC $75 |
| AMC 8 | Through a host site (new hosts register by Jan 5, 2027) | January 21–27, 2027 | Set by the host |
Sources: mathkangaroo.org, moems.org, noetic-learning.com, contest.rsmfoundation.org, cmleague.com, mathcon.org, mathleague.com, mathcounts.org, maa.org.
Is your 6th grader ready for a middle-school contest?
Every contest here admits a 6th grader, so the question is whether to try the middle-school side this year. Signs your child is ready:
- They are comfortable with fractions, ratios, and percents, and can set up a multi-step word problem without help.
- They can stay with a 40-minute test (AMC 8) or a 75-minute one (Math Kangaroo) without losing focus.
- They enjoy a problem when they don’t know the method yet, instead of waiting to be shown.
- They did an elementary contest in 5th grade and found parts of it easy.
If most of those fit, lean toward Division M, MATHCOUNTS, or a first AMC 8. If only one or two fit, stay on the elementary side this year; waiting costs nothing. Our readiness checklist by grade goes into more detail.
How to choose: one anchor, one habit
With two menus open, pick one anchor:
- Your school runs MATHCOUNTS or MOEMS? Join that team. A group of classmates is one of the best motivators in middle school, and MATHCOUNTS only comes around for three years.
- You want to sign up yourself? Math Kangaroo, Noetic’s At-Home Edition (if your school doesn’t run Noetic), or MathCON.
- Your child is strong and wants a stretch? Add AMC 8 through a local host site, as a one-day extra alongside the anchor.
Then add the habit: fifteen or twenty minutes, two or three times a week, on problems that look like contest problems. That is what our weekly math worksheets for grades 5–6 are built for: a lesson, a worksheet, and full solutions by email each week, with a mock test every fifth week. If you’d rather start free, the Problem of the Week sends one good problem each week.
A bridge year
Sixth grade is a bridge: a child can finish the elementary contests as one of the oldest in the room, or step into middle-school competition while the stakes are low. Either choice is fine. Next year Division E closes and Math Kangaroo moves your child to the Grades 7–8 paper, so this is the last year to choose.
Pick one contest, keep the practice small and regular, and treat the first score as a starting point. The week before the first contest, read our guide to what to expect at your child’s first math competition.
This guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by Math Kangaroo USA or Kangourou sans Frontières. “Math Kangaroo” is a trademark of its respective owners. This guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by Math Olympiads for Elementary and Middle Schools (MOEMS®). “MOEMS” is a trademark of its respective owners. This guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by Noetic Learning. “Noetic Learning Math Contest” is a trademark of its respective owners. This guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by Continental Mathematics League. “Continental Mathematics League” is a trademark of its respective owners. This guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) or the American Mathematics Competitions. “AMC 8” is a trademark of its respective owners. It is also not affiliated with or endorsed by the RSM Foundation, Math League, MathCON, or the MATHCOUNTS Foundation. All competition details come from each organization’s official materials and can change. Confirm dates and fees on the official site before you register.
Once you’ve picked one, we make affordable, original prep guides to match: Math Kangaroo (Grades 5–6), MOEMS Division E, MOEMS Division M, Noetic (Grades 5–6), CML (Grades 2–6), and AMC 8. You can browse them all, subscribe to the weekly worksheets for grades 5–6, or start free with our Problem of the Week.