Academic Decathlon for LAUSD

The Academic Decathlon is an educational competition designed for high school students from all academic achievement levels. Teams are comprised of 9 students, decathletes, who compete in 10 areas and an academic relay, Super Quiz, to demonstrate their knowledge and proficiency of a specific theme. Students participate in 30-minute objective tests covering Literature, Mathematics, Social Science, Science, Art, Economics, and Music separately. There is also a 50-minute essay, 3.5-4-minute prepared speech, a shorter 1.5-2-minute impromptu speech and a 7-minute interview for each student. A new topic of study is selected by the United States Academic Decathlon each year.

Founded in 1968 by the late D. Robert Peterson, a former Orange County Superintendent of Schools, the Academic Decathlon continues to be an asset for all students involved. It provides a platform for students to utilize 21st-century skills while challenging themselves and each other to be creative, think critically, communicate and collaborate to be a winning team. The program teaches practical life skills such as time management, organization, and interviewing. The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), has been involved with Academic Decathlon since 1981, hosting both state and national competitions at various times. LAUSD has sent the greatest numbers of high scoring teams to the state competition, 14 in 2018, and holds the record for the most state titles with twenty-three. District schools have won the National title nineteen times as well.

For more information visit the official website here.

X/5 = 5

Each school only has 9 students on each team and each participant must compete in 10 different categories. The variance in the information each competitor must know combined with the speech and essays skills required to win make this a difficult competition to succeed in. 

X/5 = 3 

It is free to sign up for the competition. Each school might just need money for transportation and food. If your team reaches the national level then your team will need to travel out of state which will incur greater costs. 

X/5 = 5 

Because of the variety of topics and presentations, each student needs a strong variety of skill sets to successfully compete. Altogether each student will compete in 10 categories. These are comprised of an academic relay, Super Quiz, to demonstrate the student's knowledge and proficiency of a specific theme. Students then participate in 30-minute objective tests covering Literature, Mathematics, Social Science, Science, Art, Economics, and Music separately. There is also a 50-minute essay, 3.5-4-minute prepared speech, a shorter 1.5-2-minute impromptu speech and a 7-minute interview for each student. A new topic of study is selected by the United States Academic Decathlon each year.

X/5= 4 

A good amount of preparation is required to acquire all of the knowledge each student will need for each competition. Students also have to commit to writing an essay and taking certain tests online. If your team reaches the national level this competition will be throughout the entire school year.

Registration Checklist

Competition Team roster

Quick Base registration confirmation

Student Registration forms

Student transcripts

GPA calculation sheet for each student

Team selection process documentation with signature

Volunteer list – (4 names)

Super Quiz ticket order (optional)