United States Academic Decathlon
Academic Decathlon was created by Robert Peterson in 1968 for local schools in Orange County, California. The competition consists of seven objective multiple choice tests, two subjective performance events, and an essay. The U.S. National Championship is held in April and the District of Columbia Nationals are held in May and June. In 2015, the first ever International competition in Shanghai, China, was held.
About United States Academic Decathlon in brief
Academic Decathlon was created by Robert Peterson in 1968 for local schools in Orange County, California. The competition consists of seven objective multiple choice tests, two subjective performance events, and an essay. Academic Decathlon has been criticized by educators for the amount of time it requires students to spend on the material, as it constitutes an entire curriculum beyond the one provided by the school. To earn a spot at the national competition in April, teams must advance through local, regional, and state competitions, though some levels of competition may be bypassed for smaller states. Online competitions, separated into small, medium, and large categories, are also offered. The ten events require knowledge in art, economics, language and literature, math, music, science and social science. There are three subjective events graded by judges: essay, interview and speech. Gold, silver, and bronze medals are awarded for individual events and for overall scores. The most infamous was the scandal involving the Steinmetz High School team, which was caught cheating at the 1995 Illinois state finals. This event was later dramatized in the 2000 film Cheaters. Since then, the USAD has expanded to include an International Academic Decathlete and has created an Academic Pentathlon for middle schools. In 2015, the first ever International competition in Shanghai, China, was held. The event is designed to include students from all achievement levels and is open to students of all grade levels. The first competition was held in December 1968, hosted by 103 students from 20 local high schools.
At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, Peterson hoped to make the event an international event. After a trial competition, Dr. Dr. Peterson founded a Academics for Academic Decathlon for a handful of international schools in 1990, but a number of foreign countries did not become a regular occurrence, however there was no more international participation until 1989, when teams from Northern Ireland and Rio de Janeiro competed. In 1991, the International Competitions were held in 1990 and 1992, but since then only a few international schools have competed. The U.S. National Championship is held in April and the District of Columbia Nationals are held in May and June. The winner of the National Championship receives a $1,000 cash prize and the chance to attend the Olympics in 1984. In 2013, the United States National Championship was held at Loyola Marymount University in California, and the winner received a $2,500 cash prize. In 2014, the National Championships will be held at the University of California, San Diego, and in 2015 the National Nationals will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada, and New York City, New York, and Washington, D.C. The National Championship will also be held in August and September of that year. The national championship will be the first time the event has been held in a city other than Los Angeles or Washington, DC. It has been a national competition since 1981. In 1981, 17 states and the D. C. participated, a number that has grown to include most of the United states and some international schools.
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