The Los Angeles County Academic Decathlon is a local-county competition designed to promote self-assurance, academic enrichment and teamwork. The winners of the county participate in the State competition and then if they win at state, they participate nationally. Students of all achievement levels from all over the county participate in the highly anticipated three-day event. Teams are comprised of students from all grade-point averages — Honors (GPA of 3.85 or higher), Scholastic (GPA of 3.50 to 3.8499) and Varsity (GPA up to 3.499). Decathletes are challenged to use analytical skills, performance abilities and writing aptitude in seven knowledge tests (Art, Economics, Literature, Math, Music, Science and Social Science) as well as Interview, Speech, Essay and Super Quiz.

General Information

The Academic Decathlon competition is comprised of ten events. There are seven multiple-choice exams—one in each of the following subject areas: Art, Economics, Language and Literature, Mathematics, Music, Social Science and Science. Students will also take an Essay exam and will be judged in a Speech event as well as an Interview event.

The multiple-choice exams in Art, Economics, Language and Literature, Music, Social Science, and Science each have 50 questions. The Math exam has 35 questions. The Super Quiz has 14 questions per student.  Students will be given 30 minutes to complete each of the written multiple-choice exams. Students will have 50 minutes to complete the Essay exam.

The Team

A team consists of nine full-time students from the ninth through twelfth grades of the same high school; or, if there is no ninth grade, a team consists of nine full-time students from the tenth through twelfth grades of the same high school. A full-time student is defined as a student who is enrolled in four or more class periods per day. Each team is made up of three Honor students, three Scholastic students, and three Varsity students in accordance with the following grade point average definitions:

GPA Categories

Each student will be classified into one of three categories based on the unweighted cumulative GPA as documented on their high school transcript:
Honor (3.85 - 4.00)
Scholastic (3.50 - 3.8499)
Varsity (0.00 - 3.499)

Contestants may compete in a higher division than their own grade point average category but not in a lower division. The Academic Decathlon requires participants to prepare for ten academic events.  The Academic Decathlon does not permit participants to specialize but rather encourages academic versatility.  Changes to the team roster, after the deadline, are not allowed.  Under no circumstances will changes be allowed on or after the date of the first event. Each team member is eligible for individual medals in all ten events. Only six scores count for the final team standing in the competition—the top two Honor scores, the top two Scholastic scores, and the top two Varsity scores. Therefore, schools may enter with fewer than nine members and still be eligible for team awards as long as there are at least two Honor, two Scholastic, and two Varsity members.

Based on space and availability, schools are welcome to enter a complete second team in the Junior Division.  Teams in the Junior Division will not be competing for a seat in the State Competition.  The purpose of the Junior Division is to allow students to gain experience. It is then based on the date LACAD receives completed participation packet. The nine students who attend the State Competition must be the same nine students who participated in and won the County competition. In the case of an “extreme medical emergency”, LACAD may allow another student to replace the absent team member. The Los Angeles County Academic Decathlon organization has the full authority to declare the first-place team ineligible to attend the State Competition in accordance with the rules and practices of its organization and may send the second-place team to represent its county. In such cases, the decision of the LACAD organization is final.

Eligibility

Each high school must submit official transcripts to verify eligibility of team members. The school certification of transcripts will be the final indication of a student’s eligibility and GPA category. The LACAD Regional Director shall check the GPA computation in accordance with the guidelines and verify eligibility of each team member. The team coach shall be notified of any discrepancies. Foreign students are eligible to participate in the Academic Decathlon. A foreign student who does not possess a valid transcript may participate in the Honors category. If a coach wishes to qualify a foreign student for the Scholastic or Varsity categories, the coach must provide adequate evidence that the student performed at a relative B or C status within the foreign system during the two years prior to participation in the Decathlon. The LACAD Regional Director has final authority regarding the participation and classification of foreign students. Participation in the L.A. County Academic Decathlon is voluntary and open to all eligible students. LACOE is committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming program where every student has the equal opportunity to participate and succeed.

GPA Classification and Calculation

Students must be enrolled full time at the school they represent. A full-time student is enrolled in at least four classes per day and is in one of grades 9-12.

Students are assigned to Honor, Scholastic or Varsity categories based on the unweighted cumulative GPA shown on the student’s official high school transcript or district record. 

The GPA must include all eligible coursework completed before the current academic year, including classes completed during the summer immediately preceding it. Only letter-graded classes are included;  Pass/Fail and Credit/No Credit classes are excluded.

GPA eligibility is determined as follows:

• 9th Grade: For the L.A. County and California State competition, they are wild cards. They can be placed in any category. However, if your team would like to be eligible for Nationals, then 9^th Graders are required to submit their Eighth-grade coursework and eligible summer classes completed before ninth grade.
• 10th Grade: Ninth-grade coursework and eligible summer classes completed before ninth and tenth grades.
• 11th Grade: Ninth- and tenth-grade coursework and eligible summer classes completed before ninth, tenth, and eleventh grades.
• 12th Grade: Ninth- through eleventh-grade coursework and eligible summer classes completed before ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grades.

Summer grades are included only if they appear on the official transcript or district record. College-level classes are included only when the student receives high school credit and the class appears on the official high school transcript.

Weighted GPAs are not used. Additional points assigned for Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), honors or similar classes must be excluded. Plus and minus modifiers are included only if the school uses them in calculating its official unweighted cumulative GPA. If a school changes a grade after receiving AP (or other) exam results, the revised grade must be used to calculate the student’s GPA.

Verification of Eligibility

Each school must submit official transcripts to the LACAD Regional Director to verify each team member’s eligibility and GPA category. The Regional Director will review the transcripts, confirm each student’s classification under these guidelines and notify the team coach of any discrepancies. The school’s certified transcript or district record is the official documentation used to determine eligibility.