WHAT IS THE NEBRASKA ACADEMIC DE

WHAT IS THE NEBRASKA ACADEMIC DECATHLON PROGRAM?

The Nebraska Academic Decathlon is an educational program requiring students to write an essay, give an interview, present both a prepared and an impromptu speech, participate in the Super Quiz and take multiple choice tests in the areas of art, social science, economics, mathematics, language and literature and science. The program is available to all students in all accredited high schools (both public and private). The Academic Decathlon is an approved activity by the National Association of Secondary School Principals.

A unique feature of the decathlon format is that it is designed to include students from all academic backgrounds. In order to participate, a school must have a minimum of six members. This team must have at least two students from each of the following grade levels: A; B; C or below. In Nebraska, a school is strongly encouraged to have at least six additional members on an alternate team with the same grade level breakdown.

In order to increase the involvement of more schools, the Regional competition in Nebraska is a one-day program. This one-day requirement means the essay, speech and interview events are not used. The other seven events are completed by the six regular team members, while the alternate team members only take the six objective tests. The students’ test results are NOT posted during the competition and are NOT provided to the media. The coach is provided a copy of the test results for the team members. The “A” students will compete against each other, the “B” students compete against each other, and the “C and below” students compete against each other. Medals are awarded for 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd place in each event and at each grade level. Every regular team member of the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd place teams at each Regional will receive a scholarship from the Nebraska Academic Decathlon Foundation or a sponsor.

The Regional competition occurs on the third Saturday in January starting at 8:00 a.m. and ending around 4:30 p.m. (CST). The Regional competition allows schools of similar size to compete against each other. Currently, there are four size categories in Nebraska: large, medium, small, and very small. As the number of participating schools has increased across the state, more than one Regional for a given size has been offered. The location of each Regional is established to minimize the travel distance of the competitors.

The State Final is held at Creighton University in Omaha on the third full weekend in February. The essay, speech, and interview events are held on Friday evening (6:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.) and the rest of the events are held on Saturday (8:00 a.m. –

4:30 p.m.). The regular team can consist of nine members. An alternate team of up to three members can compete by taking the six multiple choice tests. Gold, silver, and bronze medals are presented to winners in both the Large-school division (large and medium from the Regional level) and Small-school division (small and very small from the Regional level) at the State Final. Every regular team member of the 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd place teams will receive a scholarship. In addition, the regular team members and the coach of the Nebraska Championship team will have their travel and lodging expenses to the National Final paid by the Nebraska Academic Decathlon Foundation. Finally, the top scoring Medium sized school will be Nebraska’s representative for an Online Medium School National Final and the top scoring Small sized school will be Nebraska’s representative for an Online Small School National Final.

The purposes of the Academic Decathlon are: to develop a greater respect for knowledge; to stimulate intellectual growth and achievement; to emphasize the need for increased communication skills; to promote the development of team efforts; and to promote wholesome interschool academic competition. If a school is interested in providing its students an opportunity to be involved in any or all of these purpose areas, please contact Dr. John R. Anstey, Volunteer Executive Director at (402)498-0798.