How To Increase Your School’s Chances of Winning the Prodigy State Challenge

Prodigy is always hard at work thinking of new ways to get students excited about learning math. Now there's a completely new way to motivate students - while also competing for some incredible school prizes.

Introducing the Prodigy State Challenge and Prodigy National Cup!

So what exactly are these competitions?

The Prodigy State Challenge is a thrilling math competition designed to bring schools together in a fun, interactive way that turns every correct math answer into a point to help your school climb the leaderboard.

Participating in our State Challenge is an exciting opportunity for your school to showcase its mathematical skills and have a lot of fun with your students along the way.

State Challenge kicks things off with schools across each state competing monthly to be crowned math champions. Schools in each state will compete against each other to answer the most math questions correctly and win fun monthly prizes like pizza parties, Prodigy swag, and Prodigy Math memberships.

Your school’s monthly leaderboard ranking will also earn you points that determine which tier of prizes you get to compete for in the nationwide Prodigy National Cup, which kicks-off in May. The higher the tier, the bigger the available prizes–with the top prize for the platinum winner being a $100,000 technology grant! There are over 1 million dollars worth of prizes available to be won! 

And it’s free to participate for every school across the nation.

Through all of these challenges, students will develop their math skills while sharing in the excitement of representing their school.

Participating in these competitions is not just about the thrill of winning—it's about creating a culture of teamwork, celebrating growth and making math a highlight of the school day.

Ready to get started? So are we!

Success in State Challenge - and ultimately the Prodigy National Cup - is entirely dependent on how many math questions your students answer correctly when practicing with Prodigy.

So more students and classrooms usually equals more questions answered! 

Here are a few tips to enhance your school's chances of succeeding in State Challenge.

Start by encouraging all students in your class to actively engage with Prodigy and make sure students are connected to your classroom! Your class code can be found on your teacher dashboard. Regular participation not only boosts individual skills but can also contribute to the collective success of your school. To make this happen you can try:

• Integrating Prodigy into Daily Lessons:
  Make Prodigy a regular feature in your classroom by weaving it into your daily or weekly math lessons. For example, start or end the day with 15 minutes of Prodigy practice to help students warm up their math skills or reinforce concepts they’ve just learned. You can also use it as a station in your classroom rotation, giving students a chance to practice independently while you work with small groups.
• Setting Clear Expectations:
  Help your students succeed by setting clear expectations for their Prodigy practice. Let them know how often they should be playing and how it ties into their overall learning goals. For instance, you might encourage them to answer a certain number of questions each week or aim for a specific accuracy rate. Use charts, trackers or even a leaderboard to make goals visible and celebrate progress along the way.

The more students that are participating from your school, the higher the number of questions answered correctly will be. Encourage your colleagues to join the effort to win prizes for your school!

• Invite Teachers via the Dashboard
  Using Prodigy’s Teacher Dashboard is a simple and effective way to tell other teachers about State Challenge. You can easily send direct email invitations to colleagues, explaining how they can join the challenge and support their students’ math practice.
• Share Success Stories
  Nothing inspires action like a great success story! Share examples of how your students’ math skills have improved through Prodigy. You could even showcase data from your classroom, such as an increase in the number of questions answered correctly or improved test scores. Use these stories in emails, during staff meetings or on bulletin boards in your school to build excitement and show other teachers the tangible benefits of getting involved in the challenge. (Psst, we’d also love to hear these stories! Share them with us on social media using the hashtag #ProdigyStateChallenge.)
• Organize School-wide Challenges
  Turn State Challenge into a school-wide event by organizing friendly competitions between classes or grades! Set up weekly goals or create a leaderboard for some added excitement. These school-wide challenges not only drive participation but also create a buzz that keeps everyone engaged and excited about math practice.
• Partner with Your Principal
  Getting your principal on board can make a huge difference in rallying your school for State Challenge. A supportive principal can help promote the competition at staff meetings, in newsletters, and even during school announcements. When teachers see leadership embracing the initiative, they’ll be more likely to join in.

Take Prodigy home! Millions of students already practice math with Prodigy outside of class. And that extra time playing can mean a lot more questions answered.

Try these tips to encourage extra math practice at home with Prodigy.

• Assign Prodigy as Homework
  Encourage students to take their learning beyond the classroom by assigning Prodigy as part of their homework routine. This can include setting a Prodigy Assignment to master  a particular skill or completing a certain number of questions. You could also implement time-based goals like practicing for 20 minutes each evening.
• Engage Parents
  Parents play a crucial role in their child's learning journey, and involving them in Prodigy can make a big difference. Take time to inform parents about the benefits of Prodigy so they understand how it supports their child’s math development. Encourage them to attach their parent account to their student's account so they can easily track progress and celebrate learning milestones.
• Provide Support
  To ensure every student has an equal opportunity to succeed, address potential barriers to accessing Prodigy outside of school. This might mean providing printed instructions on how to log in, ensuring students have their login credentials or even offering access to school devices like tablets or laptops for those without home technology. If internet access is an issue, work with families to explore community resources like libraries or after-school programs.

Above all, be consistent! Regular and consistent practice every week beats a couple of days of intensive practice every single time.

Consistency is also key to mastering math skills. Make sure to:

• Establish a Routine Consistency is key to building strong math skills, and setting aside dedicated time each week for Prodigy practice helps establish a productive habit. Designate specific days or periods for Prodigy, whether during math class, as part of station rotations or even as a morning warm-up activity.
• Celebrate Milestones
  Recognizing achievements, no matter how big or small, is a powerful way to keep students motivated and engaged. Celebrate milestones such as mastering a challenging concept, answering a certain number of questions correctly or maintaining consistent practice over time. You can reward students with certificates, class shout-outs or small prizes like stickers or extra Prodigy playtime.

Tailoring Prodigy assignments to address the diverse needs of your students can lead to more questions answered correctly.

• Create Assignments: Design assignments that focus on specific skills or concepts where students may need additional practice. By tailoring these tasks to address gaps in understanding, you can provide targeted support that helps students build confidence and proficiency in challenging areas. For example, if a group of students struggles with fractions, create assignments that include a variety of fraction-based questions to reinforce their learning.
• Adjust Difficulty Levels: One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to learning, and that’s why adjusting the difficulty of questions is so important. With Prodigy, you can customize the level of challenge to meet each student where they are, ensuring they feel supported yet motivated. Striking the right balance ensures that every student experiences success while progressing at their own pace.

A positive atmosphere can significantly impact student motivation and performance.

• Encourage a Growth Mindset: Teach students that effort and persistence are the keys to improvement and success. Help them understand that mistakes are valuable learning opportunities and part of the growth process. By fostering this mindset, students are more likely to approach challenging questions with determination rather than frustration. 
• Celebrate Effort and Improvement: Recognize all forms of progress, not just the achievements of top performers. Highlighting effort and dedication sends a powerful message to students that hard work matters. Create opportunities to showcase improvements, such as "most improved" awards or classroom shout-outs for students who consistently put in their best effort.

By implementing these strategies, your school could enhance its chances of success in State Challenge and the Prodigy National Cup. 

Remember, while it’s always great to win, the goal is also to foster a love for learning, make math fun and improve math skills among students. 

We can’t wait to see the new skills your students will learn and the great achievements they will hit! Share your progress and milestones with us on Instagram, Facebook or X (formerly Twitter) using the hashtag #ProdigyStateChallenge. 

Want to learn even more about the Prodigy State Challenge? Check out this video.