MAA's middle-school entry point — 25 questions, 40 minutes, and no reason ever to leave one blank.
Grade 8 or below and under 15.5 years of age on the day of the competition. source
One point per correct answer, and zero for both a blank and a wrong answer. Because a wrong answer and a blank score identically, there is never a reason to leave a question unanswered. Note this differs from the AMC 10 and 12, which have historically paid marks for blanks. source
The under-14.5 figure circulates widely and is wrong. MAA's policies page and the 2026 Teacher's Manual both state grade 8 or below AND under 15.5 years on competition day. Both conditions must hold.
maa.org/math-competitions/past-competitions returns 404, and MAA sells its complete collections through its store. The free, complete archive everyone actually uses is the Art of Problem Solving wiki — which is community-run and not endorsed by MAA. We link it because it is what exists, and we would rather say that plainly than pretend an official archive is available.
The AMC 8 is a standalone competition. The path to AIME and USAMO runs through the AMC 10 and AMC 12 only.
Papers are copyright of the organiser, so we point you to the source rather than hosting copies.
View on Art of Problem Solving wiki (UNOFFICIAL — MAA's own archive 404s) →
This archive is not run by the organiser. We link it because no official archive is available.
Original CREST Champs problem sets built to match this competition's format, timing and difficulty — our own content, so you can sit one today rather than waiting for the real date.
Under 15.5 years old on the day of the competition, and in grade 8 or below. The widely-repeated 14.5 is incorrect — MAA states 15.5 on both its policies page and the current Teacher's Manual.
Always. A wrong answer scores 0 and a blank scores 0, so guessing is free. This is specific to the AMC 8 — do not carry the habit to other contests without checking, since several pay marks for blanks or deduct for wrong answers.
MAA's own archive has been taken down and now 404s; complete collections are sold through its store. In practice the free archive is the Art of Problem Solving wiki, which is comprehensive but community-run rather than official.