The ladder above the AMC 8 still runs AMC 10 or 12, then AIME, then USA(J)MO — but two of its three gates were rewritten by MAA in August 2026. AIME entry is now a fixed score rather than a percentile, the old AMC-plus-AIME index is gone, and there is an age floor of 13. This is a planning page, not a readiness test: gates, dates, and the questions to put to your test centre.
Two things to hold steady before anything else. The AMC 8 itself is unchanged — 25 questions, 40 minutes, no calculator, grade 8 and under, sat in person during a January window, with registration in China running through authorized centres rather than individual sign-up (the practical steps are in our 2026-27 in-person AMC 8 guide). And the AMC 10 and 12 are also unchanged this cycle; MAA’s own wording is that they “will be administered in 2026 as they were in 2025”. Everything that moved, moved one rung further up.
The gate table
| Gate | When | How you get in | What changed for 2026-27 |
|---|---|---|---|
| AMC 8 | A January window; confirm the date on maa.org and with your centre | Grade 8 and under; sat in person; in China, through an authorized centre | Nothing in this planner touches the AMC 8 itself |
| AMC 10 / AMC 12 | MAA has published 5 November 2026 (A) and 13 November 2026 (B). Your centre publishes its own calendar | Open sitting; eligibility rules on maa.org | No change. 150 maximum, 1.5 points for a blank, Honor Roll top 5%, Distinguished Honor Roll top 1%, and the 90-point achievement award all stand |
| AIME | A single window, 5–6 February 2027. AIME I and AIME II are retired | A fixed score: 100 or above on the AMC 10, or 85 or above on the AMC 12. Candidates must be 13 or over | Rewritten. Fixed thresholds, two 90-minute parts (8 questions then 7), answered electronically, nothing brought into the room, US$85 plus tax |
| USAMO / USAJMO | Selection after AIME | MAA: selection is “primarily based on AIME scores; AMC scores will no longer be a factor” | The AMC-plus-twenty-times-AIME index is dead |
The three changes that actually rewrite a plan
1. A fixed number replaces a moving line. MAA’s wording is that “the thresholds for qualifying for AIME will be set numbers rather than based on percentages”, and the numbers are 100 on the AMC 10 and 85 on the AMC 12. For a family planning two years out, this is the single most useful change on the page: a target that does not drift with the strength of the cohort. You can write 100 on a wall in September 2026 and it will still be 100 in November.
2. Honor Roll and AIME entry have come apart. They used to sit on the same line and are now two different measurements: Honor Roll is the top 5% of AMC 10/12 sitters and Distinguished Honor Roll the top 1%, while AIME entry is a fixed score. In a strong year a student can clear 100 without being in the top 5%; in a weak year the reverse. Never again write or read them as the same achievement. If you see a guide treating “Honor Roll” and “AIME qualifier” as synonyms, it has not been updated since August 2026.
3. The AMC score no longer banks toward USAMO. Under the old index, a big AMC score carried real weight into olympiad selection, which made squeezing the last few AMC points worth a great deal. MAA now says selection is primarily based on AIME scores and that AMC scores will no longer be a factor. Practically: the AMC 10/12 has become a gate rather than a bank. Clearing 100 by four points and clearing it by forty points open the same door. For a student two years out from all of this, that argues for moving preparation earlier onto AIME-style work once the gate looks safe, instead of grinding for a higher AMC number that no longer carries.
The age-13 floor, which is the part that bites AMC 8 families
Most gates above the AMC 8 are about mathematics. This one is not. MAA states that AIME candidates must be 13 or over. That is a new sentence in the rulebook, and it matters most for exactly the students this site serves: strong grade 6 and grade 7 sitters who move up to the AMC 10 early.
Picture the sequence. A student sits the AMC 8 in January, does very well, and moves up to the AMC 10 in November of the same year. Suppose they clear 100. The AIME window then falls on 5–6 February 2027. A student who is eleven or twelve at that point runs into an age gate rather than a mathematics gate — and no amount of preparation moves it.
Here is the discipline we would ask of any family building a two-year plan around this: get the rule in writing. MAA has stated the floor of 13, but the exact as-of date and how it is applied are not things to infer from how other competitions handle age. Ask, in writing, before you build a route on the assumption. And note that several 2027 policies are marked by MAA as “will be posted soon” — the complete AIME policy, the detail of USAMO qualification, and the exam-room rules among them. Anything you read that states those confidently today is running ahead of the source.
The China route: what not to copy from US coverage
Most English-language commentary on the 2027 change is written for families in the United States and Canada, and it describes a booking flow: AIME moves to Pearson Professional Centers, and students schedule their own seat. That flow is real, and it is not a description of what a student in Shanghai or Shenzhen does.
What MAA actually says about international candidates is narrow: participants in the AMC international program should follow the policies of the International Group Leader for their country or region. It has not said that China-based candidates book at a Pearson centre. So do not build a plan around self-scheduling a seat, and do not let a student conclude from a US blog that a venue near them exists. Ask your regional Group Leader or your authorized centre, and get the answer before November rather than after results come out.
The same discipline applies one rung lower, and it is the mistake we see most often. MAA has published 5 and 13 November 2026 for the AMC 10 and 12. Test centres in China publish their own calendar for the same competition. Those are two different things that are both correct, and copying MAA’s date into a family calendar is how students end up revising toward the wrong week. Ask your centre for the date you will actually sit.
Six questions to put to your centre or Group Leader, in writing
- Date. What is the local sitting date for the AMC 10/12 at this centre, and is it the same as MAA’s published date?
- Venue for AIME. If a student qualifies, where is the AIME administered for our region, and who arranges the seat — the family, the school, or the centre?
- Window. Does the 5–6 February 2027 window apply to our region as published, and is there any local variation?
- Age. How is the age-13 requirement applied — as of which date — and how should we evidence it?
- Fee. The published AIME fee is US$85 plus tax. How is it collected locally, by when, and in what currency?
- Format. Is the two-part electronic format used at our venue, and what identification and materials policy applies on the day?
Put these in one message and keep the reply. In our experience running registration through authorized centres, the families who ask in September get a clear answer; the families who ask in January get an answer that arrives after the decision window has closed.
What this changes for an AMC 8 student this term
- Nothing about the January paper. Same format, same length, same window. Prepare for it exactly as you would have.
- Write 100 down. If AMC 10 is the next rung, the target is now a knowable number instead of a rank you cannot see. That is a better thing to train toward.
- Stop optimising a number that no longer banks. Once the gate looks safe, AIME-style practice earns more than another five AMC points.
- If the student is young, ask the age question first. Before booking anything, before promising anything.
- Do not import a US booking flow. Your route runs through your regional Group Leader and your authorized centre.
- Treat unpublished policy as unpublished. Several 2027 rules are still to be posted; plan around what exists on maa.org today.
One last framing point, because it comes up in every parent conversation at this time of year. A ladder with clearer gates is easier to plan, not easier to climb. What a fixed threshold gives a family is honesty about where a student currently stands and how far the gap is — which is a much better basis for a two-year plan than an unpredictable percentile ever was. Start from the January paper, keep the in-person AMC 8 arrangements straight, and confirm every date and rule in this planner on maa.org before you act on it.
Frequently asked questions
Has AIME qualification really stopped being a percentile?
Yes. MAA now sets fixed thresholds: 100 or above on the AMC 10, 85 or above on the AMC 12. Confirm the detail on maa.org.
Does a high AMC score still help USAMO selection?
No. MAA says selection is primarily based on AIME scores and AMC scores are no longer a factor, so the old index is gone.
Do China-based students book an AIME seat at a Pearson centre?
Do not assume so. MAA points international participants to their regional Group Leader; ask your centre where AIME is administered.
Is my child too young for AIME even if they qualify?
MAA states candidates must be 13 or over. Confirm the exact as-of date on maa.org before planning a young student’s route.
This is an independent guide operated by Hanlin Education for China-based international-school students. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the Mathematical Association of America (MAA). Competition rules, dates, thresholds and fees change, and several 2027 policies remain to be published: confirm current details on maa.org and with your authorized test centre or regional Group Leader before acting on anything here. Any error reported to us is corrected within 7 working days.