The L.A. County Academic Decathlon brought together some of the county’s brightest high school students for three intense days of competition, culminating in the crowd-pleasing Super Quiz on Jan. 31, 2026, at San Gabriel High School.

The Academic Decathlon is a team-based high school competition where students match their intellects against peers from across the county. This year’s event featured 36 high schools, 61 teams, and 475 students, all competing across 11 academic events during a rigorous three-day competition.

A Roaring ’20s Theme, a Modern Competition

This year’s theme, The Roaring 20’s, set the tone for the contest, challenging students to master content spanning several subjects including literature, social science, science, art, music, economics and mathematics through the lens of one of the most dynamic decades in American history.

The competition began on Jan. 24, when students completed objective exams online. On Jan. 28, they tackled essay writing, also conducted online. The final day, Jan. 31, brought students together in person for Speech, Interview and the highly anticipated Super Quiz.

Super Quiz: Fast, Loud, and Electric

The Super Quiz proved to be the most exciting event of the day. Competing in teams, students took turns answering rapid-fire questions covering multiple subject areas. Teams had 10 seconds to respond to most questions and 20 seconds for math problems.

With a clicker in hand, teams locked in their answers and found out instantly whether they got it right, prompting cheers or groans from the audience. Teams waved flags when their answers were correct, signaling success to coaches, classmates and family members watching from the stands.

While each question's outcome was revealed in real time, overall scores were not shown live. The Super Quiz results, along with scores from all other events, will be tallied after the competition as part of the final standings.

Winners of the 2026 L.A. County Academic Decathlon will be announced at an awards ceremony on Feb. 19 at the Queen Mary, where students will be recognized for their achievements across all events.