Competition Events 

The Academic Decathlon features ten individual events and a Team Super Quiz that challenge students' knowledge, communication skills, and teamwork.

Speech

Each decathlete will deliver both a prepared speech and an impromptu speech before a panel of two to three speech judges. For the prepared speech, students will give a 3½ to 4 minute presentation on a topic of their own choice, assessing delivery, content, structure, and stance. The impromptu speech follows, during which students are given an unannounced prompt and must quickly organize and clearly articulate their ideas and prepare a 1½- to 2-minute presentation on the given topic.
Interview

During interviews, students participate in a structured, face-to-face conversation with a panel of two to three interview judges. Students will have seven minutes to answer questions about themselves. Students should prepare to answer questions about their background, interests, and goals.

Essay

The Essay event challenges students to showcase their critical thinking, research, and writing skills beyond a multiple-choice format. Given a choice of prompts related to the annual competition theme, competitors must utilize a limited, timed window to analyze complex ideas, develop a clear argument, and compose a well-structured, persuasive, and informative response.

The Seven Objective Exams

The core of the Academic Decathlon curriculum consists of seven multiple-choice examinations: Art, Music, Social Science, Science, Economics, Literature, and Mathematics. These exams are carefully constructed to assess a student’s in-depth understanding, retention, and analytical command of the competition's annual theme.

Super Quiz

During the Super Quiz, teammates take turns solving tough multiple choice questions in a trivia-like format in front of a live audience. This component of the Academic Decathlon will not impact team scores, as it is designed in the spirit of sportsmanship and fun! This fast-paced, team-based event tests students’ multidisciplinary knowledge and their ability to collaborate under pressure as teams compete head-to-head.