Academic Decathlon

Twelve Raiders who aren’t afraid of a little revolution flexed their mental muscles and brought home some gold … and silver and bronze … during three months of decathlon competition.

The United States Academic Decathlon^® program provides students of all learning levels in any size school an opportunity to excel academically through theme-centered team competition. Two teams of Logan View students participated in 2009-10 local and regional competition.

Team One	Team Two
Leah Harmon, a junior Honor competitor	Brittany Epperson, a junior Varsity competitor
Adam Kruger, a senior Honor competitor	Nate McCormick, a sophomore Honor competitor
Jake Kment, a junior Scholastic competitor	Kaleigh Nemec, a junior Scholastic competitor
Tanner Kremke, a junior Scholastic competitor	Marisa Ruwe, a junior Honor competitor
Alex Liston, a senior Varsity competitor	Jordan Schlueter, a senior Varsity competitor
Cody Weltttikol, a senior Varsity competitor	Abby Stollberg, a junior Scholastic competitor

Math teacher Sharon Rief initiated the USAD program at Logan View. Not an activity currently directed by the Nebraska School Activities Association (NSAA), she said that Nebraska class C schools compete in an equivalent USAD “small” schools division and all Nebraska schools currently compete under the direction of the Optimists Club.

Competition guidelines are complex and layered and allow for some variation by state directors, said Rief. To fully appreciate this sport, some of that background is helpful.

Individually, students compete at specific achievement levels: Honor, Scholastic, Varsity and Novice. These levels are based on grade point average and grade standing. For example, freshmen and sophomores typically take novice level exams, while students with a GPA of 3.75 take honor exams, Rief said. A student may choose to take an exam above his or her level, but may not take an exam below level. Each team member takes all the multidisciplinary exams that have been developed around an annual topic, this year the French Revolution. Students receive comprehensive study guides and sample exams in preparation for competition, and all materials are distributed through USAD.

In local competition, also referred to as a scrimmage, each student takes seven multiple-choice exams—one in each of the following subject areas (events): Art, Economics, Language and Literature, Mathematics, Music, and Science. All exams are 50 questions with the exception of math at 35 questions. In regional competition, three more event categories are added: a Social Science Super Quiz™, an essay exam, and a speech or interview. Hence, decathlon.

Students are eligible for individual medals in all 10 events, the top three exam scores receiving a gold, silver and bronze, respectively. However, only six individual scores count toward the final team standing in a competition: the top two Honor scores, the top two Scholastic scores, and the top two Varsity scores. And a team can have no more than nine members. Gold, silver and bronze medals are awarded for total team scores.

Rief said Logan View students were competing against a minimum of 19 other students in the small schools division at scrimmage competitions held on Nov. 14 at Creighton Prep High School and on Dec. 12 at Lincoln Northeast High School. Logan View recently competed in regionals, held on Jan. 16 at Midland Lutheran College, where the school placed 6^th in the small school division.