Statistically Significant

By Hannah Fitzpatrick ’21, May 6, 2020

Ithaca College students excel on the notoriously challenging Putnam Exam.

The famous Putnam Exam is not your typical math test.

(Photo from Shutterstock.com)

It’s not often a student will be excited after earning three out of a possible 120 points on an exam.

But sophomore Jamie Woodworth’s exuberance upon learning of their score on the William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition, better known as the Putnam Exam, is a bit more understandable when you realize the Mathematical Association of America considers the exam, first administered in 1938, to be the “preeminent mathematics competition for undergraduate college students in the United States and Canada.”

It’s so difficult, in fact, that many students earn zero points. Which is why Woodworth was so excited to see how much their hard work paid off.

“Everyone thinks they’re bad at math, even people who love doing it and are actually kind of good at it,” they said. “Going into it, I told myself that I would be happy with getting any score, but taking this exam and scoring three points helped me to realize that maybe I do know math more than I thought I did.”

The Putnam Exam consists of two three-hour sessions, each consisting of six problems, which are scored from 0 to 10 points. In addition to individual scores, schools are ranked according to the sum of the scores of their three highest-scoring participants.

“When students are taking the exam, professors are cheering them on. These students did an amazing job, and hopefully they will inspire more students to take it next year.”

Melanie Stein, dean of the School of Humanities and Sciences

This year, students at 488 institutions took part in the exam. And thanks to Woodworth and Hazel Ward ’23 — who scored 10 points — Ithaca College’s total score of 13 points ranked in the top half of all competing schools.

Professor David Brown, who is the chair of the college’s mathematics department, has organized the college’s involvement in the competition for the past 17 years. For him, Woodworth and Brown’s performance showcases not only their natural talent, but the strengths of IC’s math department.

“I think what it says is we give them the opportunity to flourish, and that makes me feel good,” he said.

Melanie Stein, dean of the School of Humanities and Sciences, said that the results also show the commitment of professors like Brown, who are dedicated to helping students go above and beyond the typical classroom experience.

“When students are taking the exam, professors are cheering them on,” she said. “These students did an amazing job, and hopefully they will inspire more students to take it next year.”