TAME’s annual Divisional and State STEM Competitions bring together thousands of high-performing TAME Club students in grades 6-12 from across the state to test their STEM skills through collaborative engineering challenges and individual timed tests. The competitions celebrate achievement in math and science, and encourage the development of a peer and mentor network.
Check out these resources below to get ready for TAME’s Divisional and State STEM Competitions!
Engineering Design Challenges
Over the three decades that TAME has been offering annual competitions, many alumni tell us that the Engineering Design Challenge portion of the competition was pivotal to building their confidence, meeting like-minded friends, prepare for college engineering projects, and helping them see themselves in a STEM career.
“TAME is an organization that helps me meet new friends, experience activities I wouldn’t do anywhere else, and learn new things. I went to the TAME State STEM Competition this year and had an amazing time there. I got to meet many different people from all across Texas and even got their phone number to stay in touch with them… [The Engineering Design Challenge] opened my eyes to different fields of engineering I didn’t know before, such as a safety engineer. I learned that it requires a large amount of different engineers to work together to produce a product.” -Britnie L., TAME Scholar, Texas A&M University
An engineer for an afternoon
At the 14 Divisional STEM Competitions that take place around the state in January or February, students compete individually in math and science, then team up in an Engineering Design Challenge to solve a real-world problem.
Team assignments are strategically balanced by race, gender, age, and geography to bring diverse voices to the table and give each student a fair chance to step into the role of a real engineer for an afternoon.
TAME develops each year’s Divisional and State challenges with engineers from our Presenting Sponsors, which in recent years have included ConocoPhillips, Raytheon, Boeing, and Lockheed Martin Aeronautics. After the events, we offer the materials as free downloads, including the presentation, student engineer career roles, student instructions, judge instructions, videos, and scoring sheet.
For the Channel Crossing Challenge, developed with engineers from ConocoPhillips and unveiled at the 2019 Divisional STEM Competition, students were asked to design and build a channel to transport fluids (represented by BBs) across the landscape.
Students choose from six different job descriptions relevant to this project. Each person takes on a vital role and builds confidence in what it might be like to have that career:
- Project Engineer – average salary: $76,000
- Civil Engineer – average salary: $73,000
- Construction Engineer – average salary: $80,000
- Environmental Engineer – average salary: $78,000
- Economist – average salary: $76,000
- Operations Engineer – average salary: $73,000
Past challenges to try in the classroom
Wind Turbine Design Challenge, from the 2017 State STEM Competition
Wrap A Fuselage Design Challenge, from the 2016 State STEM Competition
Jet Powered Blimp Design Challenge, from the 2015 State Math and Science Competition
Stunt Plane Design Challenge, from the 2014 State Math and Science Competition
Mars Rover Design Challenge, from the 2013 State Math and Science Competition
Aggie Crane Design Challenge, from the 2012 State Math and Science Competition
BB Coaster Design Challenge, from the 2012 Divisional Competition
Olympic Tower Design Challenge, from the 2014 Divisional Competition
Channel Crossing Design Challenge, from the 2019 Divisional Competition
Coming soon: Zipline on Target Design Challenge, from the 2011 Divisional Competition
Coming soon: Long-Spanning Wing Design Challenge, from the 2016 Divisional Competition
Coming soon: Fishing Design Challenge, from the 2019 State Competition
Math and Science Test Prep
2021 Tests
In the 2021 season, the Divisional STEM Competitions will not contain any testing.
At the 2021 State STEM Competition, all participants will take either a math test or a science test.
Please see practice tests from 2018 and earlier, which will be similar to the ones TAME’s test writer is creating for 2021.
2018 Practice Tests
2018 Practice Tests
These practice tests were designed to prepare students for the 2018 STEM Competition season. Learn more about the test development process, based on feedback from educators and students around Texas: No easy answers – but 3 big new experiments!
| Year | Level | Grade | Subject | Official or Practice | Downloadable PDF | Testing supplies |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | State | Middle School | Math | Practice | 2018 State MS Math Practice Test | this test is designed to be taken without a calculator |
| 2018 | State | Middle School | Science | Practice | 2018 State MS Science Practice Test | this test is designed to be taken without science tables |
| 2018 | State | High School | Math | Practice | 2018 State HS Math Practice Test | this test is designed to be taken with a graphing calculator |
| 2018 | State | High School | Science | Practice | 2018 State HS Science Practice Test | this test is designed to be taken with science tables (calculator allowed): Download tables |
| 2018 | Divisional | Middle School | Math | Practice | 2018 Divisional MS Math Practice Test | this test is designed to be taken without a calculator |
| 2018 | Divisional | Middle School | Science | Practice | 2018 Divisional MS Science Practice Test | this test is designed to be taken without a calculator or science tables |
| 2018 | Divisional | High School | Math | Practice | 2018 Divisional HS Math Practice Test | this test is designed to be taken with a graphing calculator |
| 2018 | Divisional | High School | Science | Practice | 2018 Divisional HS Science Practice Test | this test is designed to be taken with science tables (calculator allowed): Download tables |
2018 Official Event Tests & 
Kahoot! Quizzes
Released Fall 2018: the official event tests from the 2018 Divisional and State STEM Competitions. These are the tests that students took while competing.
Learn more about these tests and how to gamify your study sessions with our 
Kahoot! Quizzes: Your STEM Competition prep game just got stronger.
| Year | Level | Grade | Subject | Official or Practice | Downloadable PDF | Testing supplies | Kahoot Quiz |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | State | Middle School | Math | Official | 2018 State MS Math Official Test | this test is designed to be taken without a calculator | Kahoot Quiz |
| 2018 | State | Middle School | Science | Official | 2018 State MS Science Official Test | this test is designed to be taken without science tables | Kahoot Quiz |
| 2018 | State | High School | Math | Official | 2018 State HS Math Official Test | this test is designed to be taken with a graphing calculator | Kahoot Quiz |
| 2018 | State | High School | Science | Official | 2018 State HS Science Official Test | this test is designed to be taken with science tables (calculator allowed): Download tables |
Kahoot Quiz |
| 2018 | Divisional | Middle School | Math | Official | 2018 Divisional MS Math Official Test | this test is designed to be taken without a calculator | |
| 2018 | Divisional | Middle School | Science | Official | 2018 Divisional MS Science Official Test | this test is designed to be taken without a calculator or science tables | |
| 2018 | Divisional | High School | Math | Official | 2018 Divisional HS Math Official Test | this test is designed to be taken with a graphing calculator | |
| 2018 | Divisional | High School | Science | Official | 2018 Divisional HS Science Official Test | this test is designed to be taken with science tables (calculator allowed): Download tables |
2019 Practice Tests & Kahoot! Quizzes
2019 PRACTICE TESTS
Released January 2019: practice tests designed to prepare students for the 2019 STEM Competition season. Tests for this year’s event will have 50 questions each. Participants will have 45 minutes to take each test.
Learn more about these tests and how to gamify your study sessions with our Kahoot! Quizzes: Your STEM Competition prep game just got stronger.
| Year | Level | Grade | Subject | Official or Practice | Downloadable PDF | Testing supplies | Kahoot Quiz |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | State | Middle School | Math | Practice | 2019 State MS Math Practice Test NEW: updated 3/29/2019 |
this test is designed to be taken without a calculator | |
| 2019 | State | Middle School | Science | Practice | 2019 State MS Science Practice Test NEW: updated 3/29/2019 |
this test is designed to be taken without science tables | |
| 2019 | State | High School | Math | Practice | 2019 State HS Math Practice Test NEW: updated 3/29/2019 |
this test is designed to be taken with a graphing calculator | |
| 2019 | State | High School | Science | Practice | 2019 State HS Science Practice Test NEW: updated 3/29/2019 |
this test is designed to be taken with science tables (calculator allowed): Download tables |
Kahoot Quiz |
| 2019 | Divisional | Middle School | Math | Practice | 2019 Divisional MS Math Practice Test | this test is designed to be taken without a calculator | Kahoot Quiz |
| 2019 | Divisional | Middle School | Science | Practice | 2019 Divisional MS Science Practice Test | this test is designed to be taken without a calculator or science tables | Kahoot Quiz |
| 2019 | Divisional | High School | Math | Practice | 2019 Divisional HS Math Practice Test | this test is designed to be taken with a graphing calculator | Kahoot Quiz |
| 2019 | Divisional | High School | Science | Practice | 2019 Divisional HS Science Practice Test | this test is designed to be taken with science tables (calculator allowed): Download tables |
Kahoot Quiz |
2019 Official Event Tests (Coming Soon)
2019 Official Event Tests & <img src=”/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Kahoot_logo.jpg”> Kahoot! Quizzes
Coming in December 2019: the official event tests from the 2019 Divisional and State STEM Competitions. These are the tests that students took while competing.
Compete Like a Scientist
For over forty years, students have returned to TAME Competitions to build on what they’ve learned from past years. How do you talk to your students about winning and losing? We have seven recommendations that draw from the Scientific Method and research on growth mindsets.
Read the article: Compete Like a Scientist: How to Talk to Your Students About Winning and Losing
