CROWN POINT | More than 5,000 students in grades 4, 5 and 6 from throughout Indiana are busily adding and subtracting as they prepare for the 12th annual Math Academic Teams for Hoosiers (M.A.T.H.) competition, set to take place Tuesday at 31 host sites.

In all, 370 teams of up to 20 young mathematicians will compete.

Timothy Ball Elementary School, 720 W. Summit St., is one of the host sites, with registration set for 4 p.m. and competition starting promptly at 5 p.m. in the school gym, according to sire coordinator Linda Sullivan. Spectators are welcome to attend and cheer on their favorite team, she added.

Schools are separated into four divisions depending on enrollment and whether or not they have sixth graders on their team. Classes I and II include schools with sixth graders, while Classes III and IV include only fourth- and fifth graders

Merrillville Intermediate School is the only Class I school competing at Timothy Ball, while Central Elementary School of Lake Station is the lone Class II competitor.

In Class III are the hosts from Timothy Ball and neighboring Crown Point teams from Lake Street, Jerry Ross and Solon Robinson elementary schools. Class IV competitors include Eisenhower Elementary School from Crown Point, MacArthur Elementary School from Cedar Lake, and Alexander Hamilton, Carl Polk and Virgil Bailey elementary schools, all from Lake Station.

M.A.T.H. competition is a team concept with no individual winners. Each of the four rounds consists of three team members working on seven problems while competing against team members from the other schools. Students are seated at tables on the gym floor.

Each problem is graded immediately and a scoring chart for each school maintains a running team score as the evening progresses. While teammates wait to compete, they sit in a cheer block and root for their fellow competitors.

Team members from the schools with the highest scores in each of the four classifications at each site will be recognized with awards at the end of the competition. In addition, the top 10 teams in each enrollment classification statewide will receive either a plaque or certificate. Statewide results should be posted at www.iasp.org/dspcompetitions.aspx by noon Wednesday.

The competition is administered by the Indiana Association of School Principals, Department of Student Programs, to emphasize the importance of mathematics in upper elementary grades.

- The Times