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The United States Academic Decathlon (USAD; often abbreviated to "AD", "Acadeca", "Acadec" or even "AcDec") is one of the premier academic competitions for high school students in the United States. USAD contests are held in 39 states, as well as in British Columbia, Canada.^[1] It consists of ten events, which include seven tests, two performance events and an essay. It was started by Dr. Robert Peterson in Orange County, California for local schools in 1968, but was expanded to a nation-wide competition in 1981^{[citation needed]}.

Contents 1 Events 1.1 Super Quiz 2 Study materials 3 Cheating and biases 4 Scoring and winning 5 Participation 6 Nationals winners 7 Trivia 8 References 9 External links

As in an athletic decathlon, USAD has ten events. They are language & literature, art, music, social science, economics, mathematics, science, essay, interview, and speech.^[2] Each year, a different subject is designated as the Super Quiz, which uses a slightly different format (see Super Quiz).

The topics of the events are known a year in advance of the national competition,^[3] which gives students time to prepare for the competition season. Generally, Language and Literature focuses on one or more books or plays and multiple poems, while the Art and Music competitions have compiled selections of pieces that students must familiarize themselves with. Other subjects, such as Economics, have a curriculum that is fixed on the most part and encompasses macroeconomics and microeconomics, with only small annual variations that relate to the central theme. Other subjects, such as Science and Super Quiz, have their curriculum vary greatly from year to year.

There are three "performance events" in the Decathlon competition: Speech, Interview, and Essay. In the Speech event, Decathletes are expected to write, memorize and deliver a speech with a duration of 3.5-4 minutes, and in some states, to perform an 1.5-2 minute impromptu speech about a subject assigned at competition time; one minute of preparation time is given for the impromptu. In the Interview event, the students are asked questions about the curriculum and their opinions in a formal environment. In the Essay event, students are given 50 minutes to write a well-organized essay about one of three or more prompts derived from the year's curriculum. Usually, those topics are obtained from the Language and Literature and Super Quiz material, although topics can be obtained from other events as well.

As the competition has evolved, more of the events have been tied into a central theme. For example, in the 2006-2007 season, the theme was "China and Its Influence on the World", and some of the themed events are as follows:

• Language & literature was based upon the featured novel The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck, as well as several poems by Chinese poets from different time periods and Western poems influenced by China.
• Economics focused on the market economy of China as well as basic economics.
• Art emphasized Chinese artwork throughout China's history; seventeen of the featured pieces were located at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. The other piece was a work of architecture in Beijing, China.
• Music covered traditional Chinese music, instruments, and musical genres, the influence of Western music on Chinese music, and the influence of Chinese music on Western music. Twenty-seven pieces showing Chinese music (instruments, tuning, style, etc.) were featured.
• Social Science introduced the history of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Topics included the founding and first years of the People’s Republic, Mao and Maoism, the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, and the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. It also covered a brief history of the Chinese dynastic periods.
• The Super Quiz topic was"An Introduction to Climatology," and the Super Quiz curriculum has a climate case study on China.

For the 2007-2008 season, the theme is "The Civil War", and the events will be as follows:

• Language & Literature is based on the novel The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane, as well as six shorter selections.
• Economics focuses on the fundamentals of economics and includes a section focused on slavery and the economy of the Civil War.
• Art focuses on 19th-century American art, including a study of 18 selected artworks.
• Music covers the music of the Civil War era, including a CD featuring 14 listening selections.
• Science focuses on the transmission, prevention, and treatment of infectious diseases, and includes a case study on infectious diseases during the Civil War.
• The Super Quiz topic (for this season, Social Science) focuses on certain aspects of the Civil War, including the causes of the war, critical battles, slavery's role in the war, Lincoln's leadership, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the Reconstruction following the end of the war.^[4]

The Super Quiz is one highlighted event out of the subjects, a special topic in relation to the theme. It usually alternates between social science and natural science each year, but other events (e.g., economics in 1998) have been used as well. The Super Quiz not only contains a written test, but also a quizbowl type competition, where students have seven seconds to answer a question. The amount of Oral Super Quiz questions vary, and usually account for 40% of the overall Super Quiz score. In the competitions held at counties across the United States, the Super Quiz competition is generally referred to as the Super Quiz Relay. Varsity students go first, and after that scholastics then honors. Each group of students is given 5 or 10 questions, depending on the format decided by the State Coordinator on each particular state.^[5] These questions are read aloud to the audience and are printed or projected for the competitors. After the questions and answers are read, the students are allowed seven seconds in which they have to circle the correct answer on their answer sheet and possibly enter it into a computer grading system, as was done at the 2006 National competition. Their answer is corrected on the spot, and their score is immediately known to everyone. This portion of Academic Decathlon has long been regarded as the most 'fun,' since parents and friends are welcome to watch, as schools cheer for their competitors.

Past Super Quiz topics
2008	The Civil War
2007	Climatology (Theme: China and its Influence on the World)
2006	The European Renaissance: Renewal and Reform
2005	Astronomy---From Empty Space to Incredible Universe: The Sky Is Not the Limit (Theme: Exploring the Ancient World)
2004	America, The Growth of a Nation: The Lewis and Clark Expedition
2003	Understanding the Natural World, The Blue Planet: Beneath the Surface
2002	Understanding Others, E-communications: The Internet & Society
2001	Understanding the Self, Concepts of the Self: Philosophy, Psychology, and Religion
2000	Looking Forward, Creating the Future: Sustainable Earth
1999	Looking Inward, The Brain
1998	Looking Outward, Globalization: The New Economy
1997	Information Revolution
1996	The United Nations: Cooperation and Competition
1995	Biotechnology: The Next Frontier
1994	Documents of Freedom
1993	A Diversity of Achievers
1992	Habitat Earth
1991	Space Exploration
1990	American Indians: Our American Heritage
1989	The Presidency
1988	The History of Flight
1987	We The People
1986	The Constitution
1984	The Olympic Games

USAD publishes study materials for all the events. The sale of these materials supports USAD economically. USAD has gone from publishing no materials, to publishing materials for all the subjects, to currently having a part of the questions drawn from independent research and the rest coming from the USAD materials. USAD publishes two types of materials:

• Resource Guides in each subject, for those parts of the curriculum that are not drawn from independent research.
• Basic Guides, for some of the independent research topics that remain the same from year to year. (Examples: math, economics, theory of art and music.)

In the early 1990s, various third-party companies, most notably DemiDec and Acalon, began preparing study materials. These study materials provided students with potential test questions and ways to think about the subjects in a different way. These materials, including flash cards, practice tests, and even board games were used by top state winning and national ranking teams leading to increased profit for these companies and a schism with USAD.

In a response to these companies providing extra materials, USAD began providing extra materials, at a cost, to schools. Third party companies still remain popular, however. Most teams order the USAD materials (because the tests mostly come from their contents, especially opinions on things such as the underlying meaning of plays, etc.) but some also rely on a third party source. As of 2004 the largest company providing third party materials is DemiDec.^{[citation needed]}

There have been some cases of cheating in the history of the decathlon, the most notable being the 1995 Illinois state finals, in which Steinmetz High School was able to secure copies of the test in advance and defeat perennial powerhouse Whitney Young Magnet High School. This was dramatized in the movie Cheaters. If suspected of cheating, the team will have to retake the test, take a retest of a similar difficulty, or face disqualification.

Since part of the Super Quiz event takes place on a stage in front of an audience and other teammates, there have been instances of cheating occurring at all levels. In order to prevent this, USAD officials have asked that competition venues either have students sit with their back to the crowd or position lighting in such a way that students cannot see the crowd.

There are three official levels of competititon: regional, state, and national, with top finishers advancing to the next level. Regional competitions only exist in states with relatively large numbers of teams competing, and as such some states do not have regional competition. Additionally, many large competition states have school, multi-school, or citywide unofficial competitions for practice.

Each event is worth 1,000 points, with a theoretical maximum individual score of 10,000. For Art, Music, Language and Literature, Economics, and Social Science/Science (whichever is not Super Quiz), each test is composed of 50 questions, each question being worth 20 points. The Interview and Speech events are graded by a team of judges (usually three, although it is not uncommon for competitions to have two judges), whose scores are averaged to give a maximum of 1000 points per event.^[6] The Mathematics event contained 25 questions, but beginning with the 2005 National competition, the number of questions was increased to 35.^[7] The Super Quiz written test contains 40 questions, each worth 15 points; the oral Super Quiz contains 5 questions, each worth 80 points.

The Essay is graded with a rubric, and it is read by two different judges, whose scores are then averaged. If the difference between the judges' scores differs by 200 points or more, then a third reader is asked to grade the student's essay, and the two closest scores of the three are averaged to give the student's score.^[6]

The overall team score is composed of the overall scores of the top two performers in each grade category. With the theoretical maximum individual score of 10,000, a theoretical maximum team score is 60,000, though it is highly unlikely that either of these scores will ever be achieved, especially since the Subjective portions are, of course, highly subjective to the unbiased, but human (a.k.a. fallible) judges. However, a few students have actually managed to break 9,000 points in Decathlon history, and James E. Taylor High School was the first school in USAD history to break 50,000 at a national competition. It still holds the record for the two highest scores in Decathlon history. In competitive states, an average individual gold-medal score typically ranges between 7,500 and 8,500, and state winning team scores are usually around 45,000 to 50,000 (7,500 to 8,000 for each member on average). National champion scores typically range between 48,000 and 53,000.

States with large numbers of schools competing may have district and regional competitions, with winners advancing to the state finals competition. State winners advance to the national finals, which are hosted in different states from year to year.

Perfect scores of 1,000 in events are recorded regularly, and in some cases there have been 30+ way ties at the national competition because of perfect and near perfect scores. This phenomenon was common in the math event before 2005, and was the main reason for the increase in the number of math questions.

Grading programs are available both from the USAD company and independent programmers to facilitate scoring and awarding of medals.

In the 2006-2007 season, 39 states sent teams to the national finals. Arkansas and South Dakota have joined in for the 2007-2008 season, as well as Oregon, who joins for the first time since 2003-2004, bringing the total number of participating states to 42.

The 2008 event is planned to be held the week of April 30, 2008 in Garden Grove, California. Previous winners of the competition are listed in the table below:

Year	Location	Winner	State	Score
2008	Garden Grove, California	TBD	TBD	TBD
2007	Honolulu, Hawaii	El Camino Real, Woodland Hills	California	52,148.2
2006	San Antonio, Texas	W.H. Taft, Woodland Hills	California	51,659.7
2005	Chicago, Illinois	El Camino Real, Woodland Hills	California	49,009.4
2004	Boise, Idaho	El Camino Real, Woodland Hills	California	50,656.8
2003	Erie, Pennsylvania	Moorpark, Moorpark	California	51,423.5
2002	Phoenix, Arizona	Waukesha West, Waukesha	Wisconsin	48,871.0
2001	Anchorage, Alaska	El Camino Real, Woodland Hills	California	46,547.0
2000	San Antonio, Texas	James E. Taylor, Katy	Texas	52,470.0
1999	Orange County, California	Moorpark, Moorpark	California	50,225.0
1998	Providence, Rhode Island	El Camino Real, Woodland Hills	California	52,131.0
1997	St. George, Utah	James E. Taylor, Katy	Texas	52,260.0
1996	Atlanta, Georgia	J. Frank Dobie, Houston	Texas	49,835.0
1995	Chicago, Illinois	John Marshall, Los Angeles	California	49,935.0
1994	Newark, New Jersey	W.H. Taft, Los Angeles	California	49,372.0
1993	Phoenix, Arizona	Plano East, Plano	Texas	47,485.0
1992	Boise, Idaho	J. Frank Dobie, Houston	Texas	49,710.0
1991	Los Angeles, California	J.J. Pearce, Richardson	Texas	48,946.0
1990	Des Moines, Iowa	Lake Highlands, Richardson	Texas	46,627.0
1989	Providence, Rhode Island	W.H. Taft High School, Woodland Hills	California	45,857.0
1988	San Antonio, Texas	J.J Pearce, Richardson	Texas	46,669.0
1987	Irving, Texas	John Marshall, Los Angeles	California	49,369.0
1986	Los Angeles, California	J.J. Pearce, Richardson	Texas	46,435.0
1985	Los Angeles, California	J.J. Pearce, Richardson	Texas	46,976
1984		J.J. Pearce, Richardson	Texas
1983		Palo Alto, Palo Alto	California
1982		Palo Alto, Palo Alto	California

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• The all-time high scorer is Daniel Berdichevsky (DemiDec Dan), who scored 9297 points at the Los Angeles City Competition in 1994, competing for William Howard Taft High School in Woodland Hills (part of Los Angeles). He later went on to found DemiDec (see study materials).
• The schools with the most National Titles are J.J. Pearce High School of Richardson, Texas and El Camino Real of Woodland Hills, California, both claiming five championships since the competition began.
• J.J. Pearce High School is the only school to have achieved a National Championship "Hat Trick" of sorts, winning three in a row during the 1980s. Pearce is also one of the few schools to have won the National Championship every time the school has made it to nationals, but the last time it qualified for nationals was in 1991.^{[citation needed]}
• Moorpark High School's 2007 Team is the only school in USAD history to get 60 out of 60 questions correct on the floor Super Quiz Event. In addition, Moorpark High School's team achieved the highest overall Super Quiz score in history at the time, scoring 5745 out of 6000. This score has only been beaten by El Camino Real at the 2007 Nationals Competition. (NOTE: Not all competition formats follow the 60 question relay format, some use 45 or 30 questions.)
• Waukesha West High School, from Wisconsin is the only team from outside the states of Texas and California to win an overall national title. They took this surprise underdog win in 2002, their first trip to the national competition. They have returned and placed within the top three overall every year since.

1. ^ http://www.usad.org/general/statedirectors/statedirectors.html
2. ^ About USAD at official site
3. ^ USAD 2006-2007 Curriculum Topics at official site (accessed March, 2006)
4. ^ http://www.usad.org/curriculum/theme08.asp
5. ^ United States Academic Decathlon Study Guide, 2004-2005.
6. ^ ^{a b} http://www.usad.org/competitions/nationals_packet/downloads_06/22_explanation_scoring.pdf
7. ^ http://www.usad.org/competitions/math_increase.html

• USAD - The official website of United States Academic Decathlon
• DemiDec - A third party company providing supplemental materials for schools
• Message board - Academic Decathlon related message boards
• ADSIC - "AcaDec Scores and Information Center" - A compilation of Regional, State, and Nationals competition scores