United States Academic Decathlon

Infobox generic
style0 = style="border: 1px solid #779FD5; float:right; font-size:90%; margin: 0 0 1em 1em; padding: 0.25em; width: 275px;"
color = #356AB3
name = United States Academic Decathlon|
img1 = Usadlogo fairuse.png width1 = 220px
cap1 = Official Logo|
lbl1 = Type:
row1 = Non-profit, public-benefit corporationcite web|title= United States Academic Decathlon : Frequently Asked Questions |publisher= United States Academic Decathlon |url= http://usad.org/faq.asp |accessdate= 2008-08-29 ]
style1 = style="vertical-align:top;"
lbl2 = Founded:
row2 = Orange County, California,
1968 as Academic Decathlon,
1981 as USAD
style2 = style="vertical-align:top;"
lbl3 = Founder:
row3 = Dr. Robert Peterson
style3 = style="vertical-align:top;"
lbl4 = Headquarters:
row4 = Council Bluffs, Iowa
style4 = style="vertical-align:top;"
lbl5 = Current champion:
row5 = Moorpark High School, California
style5 = style="vertical-align:top;"
lbl6 = Website:
row6 = [http://www.usad.org http://www.usad.org]
style6 = style="vertical-align:top;"

The United States Academic Decathlon (USAD; often abbreviated to AD, Acadeca, Acadec, AcDec, or AcDc) is one of the premier academic competitions for high school students in the United States. It consists of seven multiple choice tests, two performance events and an essay. The Academic Decathlon was created by Dr. Robert Peterson in Orange County, California for local schools in 1968 and was expanded to a nation-wide setting in 1981. In that inaugural year, 17 states and the District of Columbia vied for the first national title. As of 2008, the number of competing states sits at 42.

A unique aspect of the Academic Decathlon is that it is designed to include students from all academic abilities and achievement levels. Teams consist of nine members, who are divided in three categories based on grade point average: Honors (3.75–4.0 GPA), Scholastic (3.00–3.74 GPA), and Varsity (0.00–2.99 GPA). Each team member competes in all ten events against other students in his/her division. Overall team scores are calculated using the top two individual scores from each division. Gold, silver, and bronze medals are awarded for each individual event as well as overall scores. To earn a spot at the national event in April, teams must advance through local, regional, and state levels of competition. The reigning national champion is Moorpark High School from Ventura, California.

The ten events require talents from all forms of academia. Students must take seven multiple choice tests in Art, Economics, Language and Literature, Math, Music, Science and Social Science. These topics, with the exception of Math, are all tied together by a theme each year. For the 2008–2009 season, the theme is Latin America. Each year, one of the multiple choice events, usually Science or Social Science, becomes the Super Quiz. The Super Quiz topic generally becomes the focus of that year's theme. In addition to the seven objective events, there are three events graded by judges: Essay, Interview and Speech.

Over the years, there have been various small controversies in the world of Academic Decathlon. The most famous is the scandal involving Steinmetz High School of Chicago, Illinois. The school was caught cheating at the 1995 Illinois state finals. The story was dramatized in 2000 in the film Cheaters.

History

1968–2000

The Academic Decathlon was formed in 1968 by Dr. Robert Peterson, superintendent of schools in Orange County, California. [cite news |last=Caldwell |first=Tanya |title=L.A. High Wins State Decathlon Super Quiz |page=B3 |work=L.A. Times |date=2006-03-13 ] The inaugural competition was held December 1968, and played host to 103 students. [cite news|title=103 Participate in pioneer project |page=D2 |work=L.A. Times |date=1968-12-06] From this point to 1979, only regional contests were held, but as early as 1969 there was a push to make the competition state-wide. [cite news |last=Seelye |first=Howard |title=Statewide Academic Decathlon Urged |page=E7 |work=L.A. Times |date=1969-12-11 ] In 1979 the competition was made to include the entire state of California,cite web |title=Texas Academic Decathlon |publisher=Texas Academic Decathlon |url=http://www.txacadec.org/html/about_tad.php |accessdate=2008-09-02 ] and then in 1981, the United States Academic Decathlon Association was formed which encompassed the entire nation. In April 1982, the first United States Academic Decathlon national competition was held at Loyola Marymount University in California where 17 states and the District of Columbia participated. [cite news |title= Scholarship is smart busines |page= 29 |work= Industry Week |date= 1982-04-19 ] However, Dr. Peterson's vision was bigger than just a national event. Inspired by the presence of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, he sought to bring the competition to the international level. [cite journal|title=Move over Olympics; the thinkers are here |work=Industry Week |date=1981-06-15 |page=102 ] This goal was realized at the 1984 Nationals which drew teams from 32 states, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand and South Korea. [cite news |last= Singer |first= Amy |title= The Schools; Academia's Bruising Super Bowls |page= 12.19 |work= The New York Times |date= 1985-04-14 ] The inclusion of foreign countries is not a regular occurrence however. The next occurrence of international participation was at the 1989 national competition when teams from Northern Ireland and Rio de Janeiro competed. [cite news|last=Foster |first=Catherine |title=Decathlon for Mental Gymnasts |work=Christian Science Monitor |date=1989-04-26 |page=13 (Ideas) ] Since then, a school from British Columbia, Canada is the only foreign competitor to have made a grab for the national title, having unsuccessfully done so in 2004. [cite news|last=Fausset |first=Richard |title= Los Angeles; El Camino Real Comes in 2nd in Super Quiz |work=L.A. Times |date= 2004-04-17 ] It is unclear why international competition has been so minimal.

The original Academic Decathlon was organized differently from its current structure. Initially, the ten events were Economics, Essay, Fine Arts, Interview, Language and Literature, Math, Science, Social Science, Speech and Super Quiz. It was not until 1998 that Fine Arts was split into its two constituent tests: Art and Music.cite web|title=1998 Curriculum |publisher=United States Academic Decathlon |url= http://usad.org/1998curriculum.html |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/19980111000902/usad.org/1998curriculum.html |archivedate=1998-01-11 |accessdate=2008-07-06] Due to the division of the Fine Arts event, Super Quiz now had to take the place of one of the subjects each year. In 1998, Super Quiz replaced, for the first and last time, Economics; 1999 and 2000 both featured Science-based Super Quizzes, and in 2001 and 2002 Super Quiz was Social Science based. From 2003 to the present, the Super Quiz has alternated between Science and Social Science.cite web |last=Quinn |first=Jessica |title=Super Quiz |publisher=Fresno County Academic Decathlon |url= http://www.fcoe.k12.ca.us/spc_proj/acadec/topics.html |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20060925233926/www.fcoe.k12.ca.us/spc_proj/acadec/topics.html |archivedate= 2006-09-25 |accessdate=2008-08-14 ]

In addition to shuffling subjects around, USAD has changed the amount of personal research required by students. From the Academic Decathlon's inception until the 1998–1999 season, students performed all their own research for each event. Because of this, test writers did not have to base their questions on material USAD published. However, this policy changed at the beginning of the 1999–2000 school year, and required that all test questions come strictly from USAD supplied materials. With the change in policy came a change in scores. Records were being set all across the country. [cite news|last= Wolcott |first= Holly J. |title=Simi High Advances to State Contest in Academic Decathlon; Education: Defending national champion Moorpark High places second at county level, but may compete further as a wild-card selection. |page=B9 |work=L.A. Times |date= 2000-02-07 ] [cite news |last=Hetzner |first=Amy |title=Waukesha's Catholic Memorial makes it a four-peat in Academic Decathlon, School sets state record for points, looks forward to national competition |work=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |date= 2000-03-11 ] [cite web |title=State_Records |publisher=Wisconsin Academic Decathlon |url= http://www.cesa7.k12.wi.us/newweb/content/acadec/State_Records.asp |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20060923012458/www.cesa7.k12.wi.us/newweb/content/acadec/State_Records.asp |archivedate= 2006-09-23 |accessdate=2008-07-07] That year at Nationals, James E. Taylor High School had the highest team score yet seen at the national competition: 52,470. [cite news|last=Bakalis |first=Anna |title=Moorpark wins state academic decathlon |work=Ventura County Star |date=2008-03-10 |url=http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/mar/10/no-headline---nxxfcdecathlonresults04/ |accessdate=2008-08-04 ] In addition to the change in stance on personal research, Math saw a change in subject matter. Previously, it was founded in the principles of algebra, geometry, and trigonometry. However, for the 1999, [cite web |title= 2000 Curriculum |publisher= United States Academic Decathlon |url= http://www.usad.org/2000curriculum.html |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20000229210659/www.usad.org/2000curriculum.html |archivedate= 2000-02-29 |accessdate=2008-08-21 ] 2000cite web|title=2001 Curriculum |publisher=United States Academic Decathlon |url= http://www.usad.org/2001curriculum.html |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20000510064403/www.usad.org/2001curriculum.html |archivedate= 2000-05-10 |accessdate=2008-07-07] and 2001 [cite web|title=USAD 2001-2002 Curriculum Preview |publisher=United States Academic Decathlon |url= http://www.usad.org/outline_math.html |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20010521065424/www.usad.org/outline_math.html |archivedate= 2001-05-21 |accessdate=2008-07-07] curricula, topics such as fractal geometry, chaotic dynamics, logic and set theory, and general statistics were used. In 2002, Math returned to its roots and again focused on algebra, geometry, trigonometry and differential calculus. [cite web |title= USAD 2002-2003 Curriculum Intro |publisher= United States Academic Decathlon |url= http://www.usad.org/curriculum/curriculum_0302.html |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20030210125803/www.usad.org/curriculum/curriculum_0302.html |archivedate= 2003-02-10 |accessdate= 2008-08-21]

2000–2001

The 2000–2001 season witnessed a large number of changes to USAD. The program's executive director of four years, James Alvino, resigned. [cite web|title= Alvino to Leave Decathlon |publisher= United States Academic Decathlon |url= http://usad.org/alvino.html |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20010110153900/usad.org/alvino.html |archivedate= 2001-01-10|accessdate=2008-08-14] This followed controversy surrounding a religious article Alvino had written and had included in that year's "Super Quiz Resource". Alvino stated, "I think that misunderstandings surrounding that article helped precipitate these actions". [cite news|last=Raisin |first=Amy |title=Academic Resignation Decathlon Head Leaves Amid Dispute Over Article |work=Daily News |date=2000-09-20] In addition to the loss of the program's director, USAD once again altered their testing policies: 50% of test questions were to come from USAD published materials, and 50% were to come from other unspecified sources. [cite web |title=Program Materials |publisher=United States Academic Decathlon |url= http://www.usad.org/programmaterials.html |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20001119025800/www.usad.org/programmaterials.html |archivedate= 2000-01-11 |accessdate=2008-07-07] Economics focused on business organizations and profiles in individual enterprise rather than macroeconomics and microeconomics as it had for the previous 19 years. A decrease in scores followed these changes. The national winner that year, El Camino Real High School, scored 5,923 points less than the score put up by James E. Taylor High School the previous year.cite news |last=Ritsch |first=Massie |title=VALLEY NEWS; Real Genius; Competition: Woodland Hills' El Camino team captures the national Academic Decathlon title. It is the school's second title in three years. |work=L.A. Times |date=2001-04-22 |page=B1 (Metro)] The 2000–2001 season was also significant in that it was the first year that states were allowed to send their large and small school champions to the national competition. [cite web |title= USAD 2002 National Competition Results |publisher= United States Academic Decathlon |url= http://usad.org/competitions/nationals_results0203.html |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20021014141025/usad.org/competitions/nationals_results0203.html |archivedate= 2002-10-14 |accessdate=2008-08-17 ] However, this practice was short-lived and was discontinued after the 2002 season. Instead, a small school e-Nationals was introduced during the 2005–2006 school year.cite web |title= USAD 2006 National Finals Small School Virtual Competition |publisher=United States Academic Decathlon |url= http://www.usad.org/competitions/sm_school_virtual_rankings.html |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20060707070707/www.usad.org/competitions/sm_school_virtual_rankings.html |archivedate= 2006-07-07 |accessdate=2008-08-14] The medium school e-Nationals was establashed two years later.

2002–Present

The 2001–2002 season brought stability for the Academic Decathlon. That year the current system for organizing the curriculum was instituted: guides were published for each objective event with 75% of the test questions coming from these guides and 25% being independent research. This is also the year that saw the Super Quiz begin its tradition of alternating between Social Science and Science. Since 2002, the only significant change the program has seen is the increase in the number of Math questions from 25 to 35 in 2005cite web |url=http://usad.org/Curriculum/Math_Increase.asp |title=United States Academic Decathlon : Math Curriculum : Math Increase Announcement |accessdate=2008-06-07 |publisher=United States Academic Decathlon] and the change in calculator policy in 2007. [cite news |last=Petrie |first=Joe |title=Sharpen Your Pencils, Academic Decathlon is Back |work=Waukesha Freeman |date=2007-11-13 ] Previously, graphing calculators were not allowed during the Math event. [cite web |title= USAD 2003-2003 calc policy |publisher= United States Academic Decathlon |url= http://www.usad.org/curriculum/calcpolicy_new0502.html |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20020803025611/www.usad.org/curriculum/calcpolicy_new0502.html |archivedate= 2002-08-03 |accessdate= 2008-08-24 ]

Participation

Team makeup and eligibility

The USAD requires breadth of knowledge and diversity of teams. Teams must have students that fall into three categories specified by GPA. The Honors category is composed of students with GPAs between 3.75 and 4.0, with a 4.0 being the highest possible. The next category, the Scholastic, is made of students with GPAs between 3.0 and 3.74. The final group, the Varsity category, consists of students whose GPA range from 0.00 to 2.99. USAD uses a modified GPA scale in which "performance-based" classes such as music, art or physical education are omitted from the GPA calculation. Additionally, a grade counts for face value regardless of whether it is advanced placement, honors, regular or remedial classification.cite book |title=USAD Study Guide 2003-2004 |publisher=United States Academic Decathlon |date=2003 |pages=6-7]

A team typically consists of 9 competitors: three honors, three scholastic and three varsity. However, since only the top two scores from each category count towards the team's total score, a team can compete with as few as six students. Students may compete in a higher category than the one they are assigned to, but generally it is to the students' advantage to compete in the lowest category they can. This is because the scores in Varsity are typically lower than those in Scholastic, and those in Scholastic are typically lower than those in Honors. For instance, a student with a GPA of 2.8 normally competes in the Varsity category, but has the ability to compete as a Scholastic or Honors. Conversely, an Honors student cannot compete as a Scholastic or a Varsity.

Levels of competition

There are four official levels of competition: local/scrimmage, regional, state, and national (Rounds 1, 2, 3, and 4 respectively). With the exception of Round 1, only the top finishers in each Round advance to the next level. Regional competitions only exist in states that have relatively large numbers of teams. As such, states with a small number of competing schools—for example, South Dakota,cite web |url=http://usad.org/Competition/Winners.asp |title=United States Academic Decathlon : 2008 Nationals Champs! |accessdate=2008-06-07 |publisher=United States Academic Decathlon NB: This is used as a source because it lists South Dakota as scoring only 11,474.4 at the national competition. With such a low score, it is logical to assume that Canton High School is the only team to have competed in South Dakota that year.] Missouri, [cite press release |title=Kansas Academic Decathlon Challenges Outstanding Students From Two States|publisher=USA Funds|date=26 February 2008 |url=http://www.usafunds.org/news/26feb2008/upd022608b.htm |accessdate=2008-06-07 ] Oregon [cite web|url=http://www.orad.us/events/results.html |title=Oregon Academic Decathlon: Results |publisher=Oregon Academic Decathlon |accessdate=2008-06-07] —do not require a regional competition. Many large states have local scrimmages using the Round 1 tests, but these are largely for practice and do not determine whether a team can compete at the regional level which uses Round 2 tests. [cite web|url= http://www.academicdecathlon.org/what.htm |title= California Academic Decathlon Website |publisher= California Academic Decathlon |accessdate=2008-08-04] In the 2006–2007 season, 39 states sent teams to the national finals. South Dakota joined in for the 2007–2008 season, as well as Oregon, which has not participated since 2003–2004, bringing the total number of participating states to 42. [cite web |url=http://usad.org/About/Participants.asp |title= United States Academic Decathlon : Participating States |accessdate=2008-06-07 |publisher=United States Academic Decathlon]

Events

As in an athletic decathlon, USAD has ten events. They are Art, Economics, Essay, Interview, Language and Literature, Math, Music, Science, Social Science, and Speech. [cite news |last=Erwin |first=Erica |title=Erie Team Snares Silver |page=1 |work=Erie Times-News |date=2006-04-30 ] Each year, one of the ten subjects is chosen as the Super Quiz, which uses a different format than the other events. The topics and theme of the competition are released in March of every year, giving students time to prepare for the competition season which runs from November to April.cite web |url=http://usad.org/Curriculum/theme.asp |title= United States Academic Decathlon : Curriculum Topics and Theme |accessdate=2008-06-07 |publisher=United States Academic Decathlon]

The events are split up into two groups: the seven objective tests (Art, Economics, Language and Literature, Math, Music, Science and Social Science) and the three subjective events (Essay, Interview and Speech). They are designated as such because the former seven are multiple choice tests, whereas the latter three are graded by judges. Students are given half an hour to answer each multiple choice exam. These exams consist of 50 questions, with the exception of Math and Super Quiz which have 35 and 40 questions respectively.cite web |url=http://usad.org/Directors/Essential.asp |title= United States Academic Decathlon : Essential Information |accessdate=2008-06-07 |publisher=United States Academic Decathlon]

Objective events

In general, the objective events follow a set organizational outline from year to year. Language and Literature focuses on a main novel or a set of plays in addition to multiple short selections which tend to be poems or excerpts from short stories. The Art and Music competitions have compiled selections of pieces with which students must familiarize themselves. Economics is largely static every year with 85% of the subject focusing on macroeconomics and microeconomics. [cite web |url=http://usad.org/terry/outlines_2008_2009/econ_outline.asp |title= United States Academic Decathlon : Economics Curriculum Outline |accessdate=2008-06-07 |publisher=United States Academic Decathlon] The remaining 15% of the event relates to that year's curriculum. For example, in the 2005 theme "Exploring the Ancient World", this 15% dealt with the economics of ancient Egypt and Rome. The Math curriculum has remained constant since 2002 dealing with general math, geometry, trigonometry, and differential calculus. Science and Social Science change completely each season and depend on that year's theme. Unlike the other events, there is no basic information that carries over.

ubjective events

The subjective events each have a separate set of rules, and allow the students far more creativity than the objective subjects. In the Speech event, a three and a half to four minute long prepared speech is delivered followed by a one and a half to two minute impromptu speech. [cite web |title= Speech Orientation Packet |publisher= California Academic Decathlon |url= http://www.academicdecathlon.org/Forms_PDF/Speech%20Orientation%20CAD08v01.pdf |format=pdf |accessdate= 2008-08-04 ] One minute is made available to prepare for this impromptu speech, which must be based on one of three random topics. Example prompts include, "It has been said about our modern times that, 'Invention is the mother of necessity.' Please discuss.", "Math has been described as the universal language. Discuss" and "Why is light, light and dark, dark?". [cite book|last=Berdichevsky |first=Daniel |title=Impromptu Speech Resource |publisher= DemiDec |pages=16, 24, 27 |date=2007 ] In the Interview event, the students are asked a wide variety of questions in a formal environment. Such questions range from, "Who is your role model?" to, "How would you alert someone that their zipper is down?". [cite book |last=Baranowski |first=Greta |coauthors=Daniel Berdichevsky |title=Interview Resource |publisher=DemiDec |pages=26, 28 |date= 2007 ] In order to discourage favoritism, the interviewers are not allowed to ask what school the competitor attends. [cite web |title= Interview Orientation Packet |publisher= California Academic Decathlon |url= http://www.academicdecathlon.org/Forms_PDF/Interview%20Orientation%20Packet%20CAD08v02.pdf |format=pdf |accessdate= 2008-08-04 ] In the Essay event, students are given 50 minutes to write a well-organized essay responding to one of three or more prompts derived from the year's curriculum. Usually, these topics are obtained from the Language and Literature and Super Quiz material, although topics can be pulled from other events as well. [cite web |title= Essay Reader Packet |publisher= California Academic Decathlon |url= http://www.academicdecathlon.org/Forms_PDF/Essay%20Reader%20Packet%20CAD08v01.pdf |format=pdf |accessdate= 2008-08-04 ]

uper Quiz

The competition format of the Super Quiz differs from that of the other subject areas. It was added in 1969 to add a championship feel to culminate the event. [cite news|last=Luo |first=Michael |title=Academic Decathlon Returns to Its Orange County Roots; Education: High school competition started there in 1968. Now, 35,000 students nationwide participate. |page=Metro-3 |work=L.A. Times |date=1999-03-11] The Super Quiz consists of a 40 question multiple choice test as well as an oral relay. This is generally referred to as the "Super Quiz Relay", and is unique in that it is the only event viewable to the general public. The relay starts with the varsity students answering their questions first. The scholastic division follows with the honors students going last. Each group of students is given 5 or 10 questions, depending on the format decided by the state coordinator. These questions are read aloud to the audience and are printed or projected for the competitors. After the questions and answers are read, the students are allowed seven seconds to select the correct answer. The answer is checked on the spot by a judge, and scores are immediately displayed to the audience. [cite web |title= SQ Proctor Orientation Packet |publisher= California Academic Decathlon |url= http://www.academicdecathlon.org/Forms_PDF/SQ%20Proctor%20Orientation%20CAD08v01.pdf |accessdate= 2008-08-24 ]

Themes

As the competition has evolved, more of the events have been tied into a central theme. The focus of the 2008-2009 curriculm is "Latin America" with an emphasis on Mexico. Language and Literature is based on six short selections as well as the novel "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya. The Art topic will focus on the art of Mexico featuring, among others, the artists Miguel Cabrera and Diego Riviera. The Music event concentrates on Latin American music which features 14 tracks including works by Manuel de Zumaya and Silvestre Revueltas. Social Science and Economics focus on the history and economy of Mexico respectively. The Super Quiz covers an introduction to evolutionary biology, the historical development of the theory of evolution, natural selection, speciation, mutation, gene flow, genetic drift, and evolutionary developmental biology. Information is also included on Darwin's voyages, as well as his work in Latin America.

Topics, past and present

tudy materials

¹The first 10 questions are over a critical reading passage. The remaining 40 come from the selected works of literature, "Resource Guide" and "Basic Guide".

USAD publishes study materials for all the objective events (nothing is provided for Essay, Interview or Speech), with the sale of the materials supporting the program. [cite web |title= United States Academic Decathlon : Copyright Information |publisher= United States Academic Decathlon |url= http://usad.org/About/Copyright.asp |accessdate=2008-08-24 ] USAD publishes a variety of study materials, but the "Resource Guides" and the "Basic Guides" make up the majority of the USAD corpus. An art reproduction booklet and music CD contain that year's relevant pieces and are issued separately from the "Resource Guides". Study Guides are also published and contain detailed topical outlines for each objective subject. These outlines specifically indicate which topics will require independent research beyond the "Resource Guides".

"Resource Guides" are offered in Art, Economics, Language and Literature, Music, Science / Social Science, and Super Quiz. The "Super Quiz Resource Guide" is a compendium of previously published articles, whereas the other Resource Guides are written by individual writers under contract with USAD. The aim of the "Resource Guide" is to assist students in their study of the topics listed in the subject area outlines. As an example, in 2003 the Music topic was Romantic music. Subsequently the "Music Resource Guide" focused on the development of Romantic music, its characteristics and the influence of the Classical era on the Romantic era. A large part of the guide focused on information about that year's composers: Beethoven, Berlioz, Rossini, Chopin, Mendelssohn, Verdi, Mussorgsky, Wagner, Bizet, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Mahler and Strauss. [cite book | title=Music Resource 2002–2003| publisher= USAD Press | date=2002 | pages=2] Similarly, the Art topic being studied was Romantic art in the European tradition. The "Art Resource Guide" included sections detailing the lives and works of relevant artists such as Joseph Mallord William Turner, Claude Monet, Albert Bierstadt,and Camille Pissarro. [cite book | title=Art Resource 2002–2003| publisher= USAD Press | date=2002 | pages=2]

"Basic Guides" are issued for the independent research that, unlike the "Resource Guides", remains the same from year to year. The "Art Basic Guide" focuses on art fundamentals, looking at the elements of art, principles of composition and different 2-d and 3-d techniques. Additionally, a brief introduction to art history is included. [cite book | title=Art Basic Guide| publisher= USAD Press | date=2003 | pages=2] The "Economics Basic Guide" reviews fundamental economic concepts in addition to the basics of macroeconomics and microeconomics. The "Language and Literature Basic Guide" provides students with a basic grounding in the analysis of literature, as well as introducing a slew of key terms such as synecdoche, metonymy, assonance, and aphorism. The "Math Basic Guide" offers a general overview of major topics in high school math, including algebra, geometry, trigonometry, calculus, and statistics. The "Music Basic Guide" starts off introducing the student to topics in music theory such as harmonics, rhythm, tempo and the circle of fifths. It also includes information on a wide variety of instruments and a brief history of Western style music. [cite book | title=Music Basic Guide| publisher=USAD Press | date=2003 | pages=7, 11, 16, 23, 28-36]

coring and winning

Each of the Academic decathlon’s ten events is evenly weighted at 1,000 points for a possible 10,000 point individual total. Only the top two scores from Honors, Scholastic and Varsity are counted for the team score making 60,000 the maximum overall. With the exception of Math and Super Quiz, the objective tests have 50 items. The raw score for these tests is converted to 1,000 points with each question worth 20 points. The Math event has 35 items which breaks down to 40 points per question. The Super Quiz written test contains 40 questions, each worth 15 points. Depending on the state director, the oral Super Quiz contains either 5 or 10 questions, each worth 80 or 40 points respectively. Perfect scores of 1,000 in events are recorded regularly, and there have been cases of 10+ way ties at competitions because of perfect and near perfect scores. [cite web |title=Top 3 Individuals — Mathematics |publisher=California Academic Decathlon |url= http://www.stan-co.k12.ca.us/scoe/admin/cad03/pdf/19-TOP%203%20-%20Math.pdf |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20030822123702/http://www.stan-co.k12.ca.us/scoe/admin/cad03/pdf/19-TOP%203%20-%20Math.pdf |archivedate= 2003-08-22 |accessdate=2008-07-24 |format=pdf] Gold, silver and bronze medals are awarded in each event and for each category (Honors, Scholastic, and Varsity). All ties are awarded medals. [cite web |title= California Academic Decathlon 2003 results Modesto Centre Plaza Double Tree Hotel Johansen High School March 7 |publisher= California Academic Decathlon |url= http://www.stan-co.k12.ca.us/scoe/admin/cad03/ |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20030822123702/http://www.stan-co.k12.ca.us/scoe/admin/cad03/ |archivedate= 2003-08-22 |accessdate= 2008-08-24 ]

The Interview and Speech events are graded by two to three judges. The scores from the judges are averaged to give a maximum of 1,000 points per event. The Essay is graded with a rubric, and is read by two different judges whose scores are then averaged. If the difference between the judges' scores differs by 200 points or more, then a third reader is asked to grade the student's essay. The two scores that are closest in value are averaged to give the final score.cite web |title=Arizona Academic Decathlon Coach's Handbook |format=doc |publisher=Arizona Academic Decathlon |page=21 |url=http://www.azacadec.org/Downloads/Handbook%202008-09.DOC |accessdate=2008-06-07 ]

A benchmark for the Decathlon elite is obtaining an individual score of over 9,000 points. [cite news|last=Landsberg |first=Mitchell |title=El Camino quiz kids win again; The Woodland Hills high school takes its fifth National Academic Decathlon title. |work=L.A. Times |date=2007-03-29 ] [cite news|last=Proctor |first=Charles |title=Granada Hills wins its first area decathlon; The charter high school will join seven other L.A. Unified campuses at the state academic contest next month. |work=L.A. Times |date=2007-02-07 ] [cite news |author=Carmen Ramos Chandler |title=Taft Academic Decathletes Celebrate Win |work=Daily News of Los Angeles |date=1993-12-02 ] It was not until 1992, 24 years after the program's inception, that Tyson Rogers achieved this feat at the National competition. [cite news|title=Academic Decathlon Championship Teams Honored by President |publisher= PR Newswire |date= 1992-04-21 ] Since then, numerous students have broken the 9,000 point barrier. The current highest individual score is 9,321, achieved by Alli Blonski from Waukesha West, Wisconsin at the 2008 national competition. [cite news|last=Michalets |first=Katherine |title= West takes second at Academic Decathlon |work=GM Today |url=http://www.gmtoday.com/news/local_stories/2008/May_08/05032008_11.asp |accessdate=2008-09-20] State champion scores vary greatly from year to year. As an example, for the 2002–2003 season, scores ranged from 24,785 to 49,910 points. [cite web |title= USAD Competition: Winning State Scores |publisher= United States Academic Decathlon |url= http://usad.org/competitions/statescores.html |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20030412182601/usad.org/competitions/statescores.html |archivedate= 2003-04-12 |accessdate= 2008-08-24 ] National champion scores have been as low as 45,857.0 points and as high as 53,119.4 points. The 53,119.4 score produced by the 2008 Moorpark High School team stands as the record for the highest team score.cite news |last=Bakalis |first= Anna |title= National fame could await decathlon champions |work= Ventura County Star |date= 2008-05-06 |url=http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/may/06/national-fame-could-await-decathlon-champions/ |accessdate=2008-09-30 ]

Nationals winners

The National Championship has the winning school from each state pitted against each other for an overall title. Schools also compete based on school population and are divided into three divisions (I, II, and III). However, this separation is only limited to overall team score and overall individual score. Nine overall team medals are awarded: gold, silver and bronze for each division. Similarly, 27 overall individual medals are awarded: gold, silver and bronze for Honors, Scholastic and Varsity in each division. The rest of the medals—for example, gold in Art for Honors, or silver in Math for Varsity—are awarded to the top scoring persons regardless of division. [cite web|title=United States Academic Decathlon : 2008 Nationals Champs! |publisher=United States Academic Decathlon |url=http://usad.org/Competition/Winners.asp |accessdate=2008-10-08 ] Since the first national event in 1982, there have been 26 national champions, all of which have come from three states: California, Texas and Wisconsin. The reigning national champion is Moorpark High School from Ventura, California, led by coach Larry Jones.

Virtual competition

In 2006, the small school virtual competition was created for schools with 650 or fewer students.cite web |title= United States Academic Decathlon : Small Schools Competitions |publisher= United States Academic Decathlon |url= http://usad.org/Competition/Small_Schools.asp |accessdate= 2008-10-08] Two years later, the medium school virtual competition was added to accommodate schools with a student population between 650 and 1300.cite web |url=http://usad.org/Competition/Medium_Schools.asp |title=United States Academic Decathlon : Medium Schools Competitions |accessdate=2008-06-20 |publisher=United States Academic Decathlon] These two separate contests are held via the internet and as such, the Interview and Speech events are excluded. The remaining eight tests are completed on the computer and results are submitted electronically to USAD for scoring. Because only the seven multiple choice tests and Essay are used, team scores are out of 48,000 points instead of 60,000. Despite it being a virtual competition, winning schools are awarded trophies and medals for their efforts. [cite news|last=Vance |first=Christina |title=University High wins U.S. contest: Fresno students take Academic Decathlon in small schools category. |publisher=Fresno Bee |date=2007-05-05 |url=http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-30694557_ITM |accessdate=2008-07-23] According to USAD, the goal of the small and medium school competitions is to "enhance learning, growth and recognition" for more schools participating in Academic Decathlon.

Controversies

The United States Academic Decathlon has been host to a number of controversies. The most notable case took place at the 1995 Illinois state finals. Three days before the competition, Steinmetz High School was able to secure copies of the tests [cite news |last=Josephson |first=Michael |title=Personal Story: Interview with Michael Josephson, Jolie Fitch. |publisher=The America's Intelligence Wire |date=2002-10-29 |url=http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-9883108_ITM |accessdate=2008-08-16] from the DeVry Institute of Technology where the state finals were being held. [cite news |last=Walsh |first=Edward |title=Students' Stellar Showing Was a Sham; Chicago Teacher Helped Academic Decathlon Team Study Stolen Test |work=Washington Post |date=1995-04-11 ] With the tests in hand, they were able to look up the answers which they then memorized. The first clue pointing towards foul play was that a mere 12 students in the nation had scored over 900 points on the Math test. Six of those scores came from Steinmetz High School. [cite news |last=Johnson |first=Dirk |title=Chicago's 'Cinderella Team' Scholars Are Suspected of Cheating |work=Chicago Sun-Times |date=1995-03-31 ] The cheating resulted in Steinmetz beating perennial powerhouse Whitney Young Magnet High School who has won the Illinois state finals 22 out of the last 23 years. [cite news |last=Thomas |first=Monifa |title=Whitney Young tops battle of brains again |work=Chicago Sun-Times |page=A18 |date=2008-02-17 |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CSTB&p_theme=cstb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=11EE067DA68B6A98&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |format=fee required |accessdate=2008-10-07] The incident was dramatized in the movie "Cheaters". If cheating is suspected, USAD's official stance is that the team will have to take another set of tests of similar difficulty, or face disqualification. [cite news |title=Student: High School Accused of Cheating This Year Did it Last Year |publisher=The Associated Press |date=1996-03-25 ]

Previous Catholic Memorial High School coach John Burke was at the center of a dispute over the results of the 2003 Wisconsin state final. Confusion arose over a Catholic Memorial student's essay after the results of the competition were released. Burke contested that there was a possibility that the essay had been scored incorrectly as it had received 390 points out of a possible 1000. The Catholic Memorial coach was well within his rights to contest the score; however USAD official, Gerhard Fischer, said that the way the appeal was handled was "highly questionable."cite news |last= Hetzner |first= Amy |title= Academic Decathlon investigated: Catholic Memorial coach at center of controversy |work= Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |date= 2003-03-21 ] The coach was disciplined for the way he dealt with the situation; however, parents of Catholic Memorial students believed the penalty was due to personality differences between coach Burke and Academic Decathlon officials. [cite news |last= Sink |first= Lisa |title= State Academic Decathlon disciplines school coach |work= Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |date= 2003-03-24 ] The dissension eventually led to a more thorough investigation of previous issues involving Burke. He was accused of " [m] ore than a year of repeated 'attacks' on another school's pupils, including allegations of cheating on tests and ineligibility." [cite news |last= Hetzner |first= Amy |title= Decathlon board speaks out on coach's discipline |work= Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |date= 2003-05-31 ] All of these things factored into Wisconsin Academic Decathlon's final decision on the situation. Burke was banned from coaching for three years and Catholic Memorial was barred from competition for a year. [cite news |last= Seibel |first= Jacqueline |title= Coach vows to defy 3-year ban |work= Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |date= 2003-05-28]

References

External links

* [http://www.usad.org/ USAD] - The official website of United States Academic Decathlon
* [http://www.acadectalk.com/ Message board] - Academic Decathlon related message board
* [http://acadecscores.gilslotd.com/wiki/Main_Page ADSIC - "AcaDec Scores and Information Center"] - A compilation of Regional, State, and Nationals competition scores