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About Academic Decathlon
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USAD overview

USAD provides students of all learning levels the opportunity to excel academically through team competition.

The Academic Decathlon® is a team competition wherein students match their intellects with students from other schools. Students are tested in ten categories:

Art, Economics, Essay, Interview, Language and Literature, Mathematics, Music, Science, Social Science, and Speech.

Gold, Silver and Bronze medals are awarded for individual events and total scores. Winning teams advance through the local, regional, and state levels of competition. The state champions compete at the national finals.

USAD Mission Statement

The mission of the United States Academic Decathlon® is to promote learning and academic excellence among students of varying achievement levels by developing and providing multidisciplinary academic competitions using USAD-based curricula.

USAD Vision Statement

The vision of the United States Academic Decathlon® is to provide students the opportunity to excel academically through team competition.

USAD Core Values

As a premier national scholastic competition for high school students, United States Academic Decathlon believes in:

  • The academic growth of students;
  • Challenging multidisciplinary learning;
  • Teamwork as a means to achieve self-knowledge and life-skills development;
  • Providing equal opportunities for students of varying achievement levels;
  • The inclusion and diversity of students that enrich learning and the human experience;
  • High standards of honesty and integrity;
  • Transparency in our relations and interactions with all of our stakeholders;
  • Excellence in our programs, services and activities; and,
  • Respect for diverse points of view.