"The Academic Decathlon is a ten-event scholastic competition for teams of high school students. Each high school enters a team of nine students: 3 "A" or Honor students, 3 "B" or Scholastic students, and 3 "C" or Varsity students.
"U.S. Academic Triathlon is a five-person challenge for students grades 5 through 12. The Triathlon rewards strong performance in the areas of general intellect; specific academic abilities; leadership and psycho-social dynamics; visual and performing arts; and creative/productive thinking."
Love math, and like a challenging competition? Test your way to the top with the American Mathematics Competitions.
Students have the chance to compete to be part of the USA Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO) or the American Invitational Mathematical Examination (AIME).
Such challenges include taking a "6 question, 2 day, 9 hour essay/proof examination." The top 12 scoring students from across the nation are invited to the awards ceremony in Washington, DC. Then, 6 of the 12 students will compete in the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO).
The Committee on the American Mathematics Competitions (CAMC) has three sections: the American Mathematics Contest 8 (AMC 8) for students through grade 8; the American Mathematics Contest 10 (AMC 10), for students through grade 10; and the American Mathematics Contest 12 (AMC 12) for students through grade 12.
This is an annual national mathematics competition. High school students form teams of 15 to represent their city, state, county or school and compete against the best students from the United States and Canada. The event consists of Team, Power, Individual and Relay rounds and usually takes place the first Saturday after Memorial Day. Currently, ARML is held simultaneously at three sites: Penn State, The University of Iowa and The University of Nevada - Las Vegas. The ARML Power Contest is open to classes of high school students and consists of several "long answer" problems to which the class submits a single solution written during a 45 minute period.
The U.S. National Olympiad (USNCO) is a multi-tiered competition designed to stimulate and promote achievement in high school chemistry. The Goals of the USNCO and the schedule are set by a subcommittee of the ACS Society Committee on Education (SOCED).
The purpose of the poetry contest is to bring recognition to poets both young and old. Winners share over $70,000 in prizes. With most contests regionally based, poets are competing against their peers in both age and location. In addition to the winning poems, other poems of high merit are accepted to be published in a hard bound anthology. Within the guidelines of accepting less than 50% of the poems that are entered in each contest, the contest is selective so that it is an honor to be accepted, yet not so exclusive that it is discouraging to enter. Unlike many other organizations who sponsor poetry contests, there is no entry fee and no required purchase in order to become published. We take pride in the fact that our staff is comprised of teachers, professors and poets. Creative Communication is devoted to the promotion of writing, teaching and appreciation of poetry. The intent of the poetry contest is to encourage creative writers. The top entries are published in an anthology that will record the poetic insights of today's poets. There is no requirement for a poet to purchase an anthology, however, if a poet wishes to purchase one, it is made available at an affordable price.
Destination ImagiNation is an international organization for kindergarten through college students and community groups that teaches life skills and expanding imaginations through team-based creative problem solving. Teams of five to seven members work together to apply creativity, critical thinking and their particular talents to solve a Team Challenge.
For students in grades 5-8, this contest fosters the exploration, understanding and communication of science. More than 60,000 children from around the country enter science projects in one of the science and engineering fairs affiliated with Science Service. Between June (the deadline for entering) and early September, judges choose 400 semifinalists among the entries. In October, 40 finalists receive an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C. for the competition finals, consisting of a series of team challenges and oral presentations. The winners receive scholarships and semifinalists receive prizes.
The U. S. Department of State is sponsoring the "Doors to Diplomacy" educational challenge - to encourage middle school and high school students around the world to produce web projects that teach others about the importance of international affairs and diplomacy. Each student team member of the winning "Doors to Diplomacy" Award team receive a $2,000 scholarship, and the winning coaches’ schools each receive a $500 cash award.
The DuPont Challenge is an essay of 700 to 1,000 words discussing a scientific or technological development, event, or theory that has captured your interest and attention. Winners of the DuPont Challenge Science Essay Awards Program receive national recognition and a significant financial grant. The program, sponsored by the DuPont Center for Collaborative Research & Education in cooperation with General Learning Communications, awards cash prizes totaling more than $13,000.
eCyberMission is a web-based science, math and technology competition for 6th through 9th grade teams. Compete for regional and national awards while working to solve problems in your community.
This is the world's largest science competition for students in all grades. Entrants must be United States or Canadian citizens or legal residents, living within the United States, U.S. Territories, or Canada and enrolled full-time in a public, private or home school. The competition encourages students to combine their imaginations with the tools of science to create and explore a vision of a future technology. Students work in groups and compete in one of four grade-level categories.
Held annually in May, students from more than 40 nations compete for scholarships, tuition grants, internships, scientific field trips and the grand prize: a $50,000 college scholarship.
Since 1942, Science Service has been in the business of making dreams come true through the Science Talent Search (STS). In 1998, Intel became the new sponsor of this nationwide competition: America's oldest and most highly regarded pre-college science contest. Each year the STS helps the nation find and encourage especially talented high school seniors to pursue careers in science, math, engineering, and medicine.
The Kids Philosophy Slam is an annual program designed to make philosophy fun and accessible to all kids in grades K-12, as well as to help promote critical thinking skills and encourage dialogue with other students and adults. The Philosophy Slam asks kids to answer a philosophical question such as "What is the Meaning of Life?" Depending on their age, kids can express themselves in words, artwork, poetry or song. Each grade level has its own national winner, and the top four high school students debate the question at the national finals. The winner earns the title of "The Most Philosophical Student in America" Schools from across the country compete for the title of" The Most Philosophical School in America".
"Teams in the Knowledge Master Open receive curriculum-based contest questions (200 at secondary levels; 100 at elementary levels) on a disk and compete using a computer at their own schools. The event is held twice each year for both secondary and elementary level teams."
This is a competitive problem-solving program where students in teams of 2 to 6 work with corporate sponsors to find solutions for every day business challenges. Students in 6th through 12th grade at any school are eligible, and they can form teams that are not affiliated with a school. In other words, students home schooling, Scouts, neighborhood friends, etc. can form teams with an adult coordinator. There is no entry fee for teams. For more information on guidelines and applications, please visit the website.
LifeSmarts is a fun program, run by the National Consumers League, that encourages high school students to learn about the consumer issues they face today and the new challenges that are right around the corner!
The Mandelbrot Competition is voted the best round by round math contest in the United States according to a survey from the editors. In a nutshell, the goal of the contest is to introduce high school students of all ability levels to accessible new topics in mathematics while providing stimulating, challenging problems to stretch the best students in the country. The team test portion of the contest emphasizes mathematical writing skills and effective group work.
The Math League is dedicated to bringing challenging mathematics materials to students. The Math League specializes in math contests, books, and computer software designed to stimulate interest and confidence in mathematics for students from 4th - 12th grade. More than 1 million students participate in Math League contests each year. Contest problems are designed to cover a range of mathematical knowledge for each grade level. All of the problems on each contest require no additional knowledge of mathematics beyond the grade level they test.
MATHCOUNTS is a national math coaching and competition program that promotes middle school mathematics achievement through grassroots involvement in every U.S. state and territory. With over 20 years of experience, MATHCOUNTS is one of the country's largest and most successful education partnerships involving volunteers, educators, industry sponsors and students. Each year, more than 500,000 students participate in MATHCOUNTS at the school level. Those who do tell us that their experience as a Mathlete is often one of the most memorable and fun experiences of their middle school years.
Mathematical Olympiads for Elementary and Middle Schools (MOEMS), is a non-profit public foundation offering premier math contests for grades 4-6 and grades 7-8. Their goals include: To stimulate enthusiasm and a love for Mathematics; introduce important Mathematical concepts; teach major strategies for problem solving; develop Mathematical flexibility in solving problems; strengthen Mathematical intuition; foster Mathematical creativity and ingenuity; provide for the satisfaction, joy, and thrill of meeting challenges. Created in 1977 by Dr. George Lenchner, an internationally known math educator, the Math Olympiads went public in 1979. Schools can enter teams or parents can get excellent mathematical supplies for their children.
"Academic competition involves teams of students answering curriculum-based questions in an entertaining, fast-paced format."
Awarding achievement should not be limited to athletic abilities. Students of all academic and athletic levels should have the benefit of excelling in their own unique talents and passions. Academic sports motivate participants to compete for honors and awards while teaching them the skills of team work and discipline skills that sustain them to be productive and successful adults.
"The National Engineering Design Challenge (NEDC) is an exciting high school level engineering-based program in which teams of students design, build, and demonstrate a working model of a new product. NEDC challenges students to apply mathematics, science, and technology."
"Le Grand Concours, or National French Contest, is a French event in the form of a 60 minute national examination, designed, written, financed, and disseminated by the members of the American Association of Teachers of French. Its purpose is to help stimulate further interest in the teaching and learning of French and to help identify and reward achievement on the part of both students and teachers."
The contest is designed to encourage teachers to include geography in their classrooms, spark students interest in the subject, and increase public awareness about geography.
The national mock trial championship was initiated in 1984 in Des Moines, Iowa. After the success of the tournament in Iowa, more states became interested in participating and the tournament became billed as an "All-State" Tournament. The tournament is hosted annually by different states. The National High School Mock Trial Championship is a way in which high school students can uses their reasoning and communication skills while experiencing the legal system. Students belong teams that can represent public or private high schools. Competition begins at the state level with a locally written case. Teams can then advance to a national competition where a new case is performed. Students can serve in roles as attorneys or witnesses. Often federal judges and state supreme court justices preside over competitions.
National History Day is not just a day, but every day! The National History Day program is a year-long education program that culminates in a national contest every June. For more than twenty-five years the National History Day program has promoted systemic educational reform related to the teaching and learning of history in America's schools. The combination of creativity and scholarship built into the NHD program anticipated current educational reforms, making National History Day a leading model of performance-based learning.
The Department of Energy's National Science Bowl® is a highly publicized academic competition among teams of high school students who answer questions on scientific topics in astronomy, biology, chemistry, mathematics, physics, earth, computer and general science. The teams are comprised of five students and a teacher who serves as an advisor and coach. The competition consists of a round robin followed by a double elimination final. Questions are submitted by scientists at all of Energy's facilities as well as from other federal agencies and university consortia. The questions are multiple choice and short answer in the categories of chemistry, biology, physics, mathematics, astronomy, and general, earth, and computer science.
"The Science Olympiad is an international nonprofit organization devoted to improving the quality of science education, increasing student interest in science and providing recognition for outstanding achievement in science education by both students and teachers. These goals are accomplished through classroom activities, research, training workshops and the encouragement of intramural, district, regional, state and national tournaments. The Science Olympiad tournaments are rigorous academic interscholastic competitions that consist of a series of individual and team events which students prepare for during the year. The competitions follow the format of popular board games, TV shows and athletic games."
This international, not-for-profit organization teaches students to learn creative problem-solving methods while having fun in the process. Students learn how to identify challenges and to think creatively to solve those problems. The creative problem-solving process rewards thinking "outside of the box." Memberships are purchased by a school or community group and then teams compete at the regional level, and/or at the state/province/country level. Teams that advance are eligible to attend the annual Odyssey of the Mind World Finals, usually held at a university campus somewhere in the United States. Five problems are produced annually and guidelines are available in the summer of each year.
Ole Miss Problem of the Week is an educational web site that gives kids the chance to win calculators by competiting in online math puzzles. The site features geometry, alegbra, and middle school problems. Students can submit their answers by email for a chance to win.
The Panasonic Academic Challenge is a highly academic national high school competition modeled after Florida's statewide tournament. Each team consists of six students (four players and two alternates) and one coach. As many as six teams may compete against each other in one competition. This is not a quick response, trivial pursuit contest. Instead, it is a slower-paced tournament in which players are asked questions from the areas of mathematics, science, language arts, social studies, the fine arts, foreign language (French and Spanish) and technology. The questions are written by educators from high schools and colleges throughout the nation.
"The Physics Bowl is co-sponsored by the American Association of Physics Teachers and Metrologic, a leader in laser and holographic technology. It is a 40-question multiple choice, timed test, supervised at your school and administered throughout the country in April of each year. The exam is designed to be challenging, with average scores of about 50%. Questions are based on topics and concepts covered in a typical high school physics course."
In this competition, created by the National Endowment for the Arts and The Poetry Foundation, high school students memorize and recite the work of great poets. This competition helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence and learn about their literary heritage while competing at the classroom level, then moving on through school-wide, city-wide and regional competitions. Each state-level winner receives $200 and an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington (with a chaperone) to compete for the national championship. The state winner's school receives a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books. Finalists compete at the National Finals in May, where scholarships and school stipends totaling $50,000 are awarded.
The American Scholastic Competition Network is a non-profit organization dedicated to recognizing teachers and students and to promoting academic excellence. This is a triple-elimination tournament, which provides maximum opportunity for student participation. In addition to meeting students from around the country, there's plenty of time for sightseeing in the Chicago area.
The Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology recognizes remarkable talent early on, fostering individual growth for high school students who are willing to challenge themselves through science research. Through this competition, students have an opportunity to achieve national recognition for science research projects that they complete in high school. It is administered by The College Board and funded by the Siemens Foundation.
This K-12 sustainability challenge allows students to form teams of 2 or 3, work with a teacher/mentor to identify an environmental issue in their community, research it, develop a plan, collect data, analyze that data, and share the results they've found. Prizes include savings bonds, television appearances, Discovery Adventure Trips, and more.
"JETS, the Junior Engineering Technical Society, has a mission to guide high school students towards their college and career goals. JETS provides activities, events, competitions, programs, and material to educate students about the engineering world. Students learn how to apply high school mathematics and science to real life. "
This spelling bee is the nation's largest and longest-running educational promotion, administered on a not-for-profit basis by The E.W. Scripps Company and 238 sponsors in the United States, Europe, Guam, Mexico, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, The Bahamas, and American Samoa.
The ThinkQuest Competitions provide a highly motivating opportunity for students and educators to work collaboratively in teams to learn as they create web based learning materials and teach others. The competition is open to students and their teacher-coaches from anywhere in the world. The program promotes multicultural collaboration and learning by encouraging students to develop creative web sites focused on topic categories. Students between the ages of 9 and 19 are invited to form teams of three to six students, supervised by a teacher-coach. Teams will have approximately five months to work on their sites, focusing on their chosen topic area.
Since 1986, the National High School Essay Contest on the United Nations has inspired students to engage global issues and the work of the U.N. Each year, UNA-USA publishes a topic and question of particular importance to the international community. The purpose of the Essay Contest is not to summarize or evaluate the work of scholars, thinkers, government officials or authors. Instead, UNA-USA asks students to use these resources to structure their own arguments and reach their own conclusions.
This premier competition, hosted by the Center for Excellence in Education, allows top biology students the opportunity to display their talents on a national and international level. Over 70 countries participate in this competition, which is open to any high school students nominated by their teachers. USABO awards individual achievement in theoretical and practical biology knowledge and understanding.
Students in Western Tennessee can compete in this Regional Science Fair.
The YES Competition offers college scholarship awards to high school juniors and seniors who submit outstanding research projects that apply epidemiological methods of analysis to a health-related issue.
Opening doors to students' imaginations since 1974, Future Problem Solving Program International (FPSPI) offers new and exciting learning paths. Students experience the excitement of creative thinking and the thrill of solving difficult problems with unique solution ideas when they participate in FPSPI. Receptive to the needs of all students, FPSPI offers competitive and non-competitive components. Inspiring and motivating, FPSPI educational materials help students discover rich and varied ways of thinking. FPSPI teaches students how to think, not what to think.
The International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) is the World Championship Mathematics Competition for High School students and is held annually in a different country. The first IMO was held in 1959 in Romania, with 7 countries participating. It has gradually expanded to over 80 countries from 5 continents. The usual size of an official delegation to an IMO is (a maximum of) six student competitors and (a maximum of) two leaders. There is no official "team". The student competitors write two papers, on consecutive days, each paper consisting of three questions. Each question is worth seven marks. Students work individually over a two day period on six challenging problems, presenting their solutions as essay-style proofs akin to those produced by research mathematicians.
AGLOA is a non-profit organization formed in 1991 to encourage and conduct academic games competition at the local and national level. In academic games students try to outthink each other in the areas of mathematics, language arts, and social studies. Some games require a kit in which cubes are rolled and played on a board. Other games involve students answering questions read by a central reader. Currently, the games occur in only a limited number of states, but AGLOA encourages new communities to join.
This organization oversees various invention competitions, such as BubbleWrap Competition, National Gallery for America's Young Inventors, National Gallery for America's Young Artists, and the Rubber Band Contest. The National Gallery for America’s Young Inventors is a museum of young Americans ideas that may positively impact society.
The Spirit of Community Awards are a terrific opportunity for kids to be recognized for service in their communities. Nominations are made through schools, Scout troops and 4H Councils. Awards are given at the organization level as well as on the state, regional and national levels.
The International Science Olympiads is an annual competition in which students are given problems from any of the categories described. The solutions to these problems require exceptional ability and excellent knowledge of the subject.
The USA Mathematical Talent Search (USAMTS) is a free mathematics competition open to all United States high school students. Students may enter the competition at any time of the academic year.
This program under the supervision of the Indiana Association of School Principals, is a unique inter-scholastic academic competition program which allows Indiana's senior high, junior/middle, and elementary school students an opportunity to compete in academics similar to the way they compete in athletics.
This competition is a non-profit, independent, educational service agency that provides a public forum to showcase academic excellence and places academic achievement in a position of prestige. This is an opportunity for students to succeed and excel in their academics along with promoting group membership and encouraging self-sufficiency. This competition is open to all public and nonpublic schools in Kentucky.
The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) is a coalition of organizations sponsoring academic and athletic competitions. Their website and Journal give a complete schedule of competition dates as well as descriptions of the participating organizations. Contact information is available for each organization. The following four competitions are those often used with gifted students, but many other options are available including science fairs and math competitions: Destination ImagiNation; Future Problem Solving (FPS); History Day; Centrum
"The focus on academics, characteristics of good competitions, and useful tips on selecting the right competitions make it unique and valuable. In addition to listing available competitions, this book will help parents and teachers minimize problems and maximize benefits of academic competitions for gifted learners." ~Jan Fall, GATE Coordinator Rochester Public Schools
Written for grades 7-10, this book by Frances Karnes and Tracy Riley, features more than 140 competitions focused on a wide range of academic subjects. In addition, a unique Competitions Journal that helps students record their progress and success is included.
"From competitions in general science and mathematics, to classical literature and art, this book offers students a listing of competitions in almost any talent area. The book is divided into three sections: Part I includes more than 275 competitions in the areas of academics, fine and performing arts, leadership, and service learning. Each competition has a minimum of a page dedicated to it, filled with details about the competition; Part II is a "Competitions Journal" which provides pages to record ideas about competitions; and Part III is a list of resource books specific to various types of competitions." Click here to read a review of this book.
The mission of this program is to further the education of gifted students and provide a variety of services to youth, parents and teachers. A biannual newsletter is published, which lists all events sponsored by the center. Frances A. Karnes was the recipent of the David W. Belin Advocy Award presented by the National Association for Gifted Children in 2002.
This is an online mathematics competition for teams of up to six students conducted by the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and the University of Texas at Dallas. The meet is open to all middle and high school students in North America, including home-schooled students. A registration form, rules and practice contests are available on the website.
A component of Stetson University's High Achieving Talented Students program, this workshop provides talented young writers the opportunity to study the life of Mark Twain, collaborate with other young writers, and create pieces of fiction while developing their writing voice. The program takes place in Mark Twain's hometown, Hannibal, Missouri.
This web site is a listing of many U.S. and International piano competitions.
This website is designed to bring together some of the brightest young minds in the nation in an effort to mentor younger students. Members of the online community can receive advice on topics ranging from academics, scholarships, contests and more.
The AMC is dedicated to strengthening the mathematical capabilities of our nation's youth. On this website you will find web resources on math-related links, contests and programs, publications and a student online math forum.
This website is a searchable resource for students, teachers, parents, and contest organizers that provides information about student contests and is free to use.
This website is designed to provide information for students, educators, institutions, and any others interested in National History Day in Washington State. It includes pages and links which will provide the necessary information for getting involved in the History Day program in Washington state and all that it has to offer Washington students and teachers. National History Day is a nationwide competition for students in grades 6-12 who are interested in improving their historical knowledge in a fun and challenging environment. Any student in this grade range who resides in Washington state is eligible to participate in National History Day in Washington State.