Contests by Grade Level
| Event | Grade | Team Option |
| Calculator Applications test consists of 80 math calculations, including punch problems, word problems and geometry. Only one hand held calculator is allowed, however, a TI-84 calculator is recommended. This test emphasizes both speed and accuracy. Students should have knowledge of formulas for simple figures, such as circles, squares, rectangles and right triangles. |
| Students are presented with five writing prompt pictures. The students select from one or more of the images to help create an original storyline and create rich characters. Stories should have a beginning, and an end. All stories must include a title. Stories without a title will be disqualified. Voice, creativity, expression, organization and grammar will be essential for Creative Writing. An example of a prompt page is on the following page of this handbook. |
| Students are presented with 30 multiple choice questions focused on testing their skills in finding information quickly in a dictionary. Students may bring ONE dictionary of their choice for use during the test. The Merriam- Webster Collegiate Dictionary, 11th edition, 2003 or newer is the official dictionary for this test and will be used to verify answers. Students may tab and write in their dictionary if desired, but no other printed material may be used in the contest. Students must supply all materials needed for this contest, except, the test and answer sheet. |
| Impromptu speaking gives the students the experience of organizing and formulating clear thoughts and delivering those thoughts to a live audience. |
| Students have the opportunity to show listening skills by taking notes while listening carefully to a recorded passage, primarily of objective material. Students may use notes to complete a thirty question multiple choice, true/false test. |
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Students have the opportunity to showcase their
ability to locate and interpret information in an
atlas or data provided in the form of maps,
graphs, charts, tables, etc. On this 50 question
test, students should be able to use a mapʼs
legend to calculate distance, locate specific
places, structures, and boundaries, and identify
locations of significance. Students may tab the atlas they bring to use during the test, but may not write on tabs or anywhere inside the atlas itself. Students will need to supply their own atlas, ruler, magnifying glass and writing utensil for testing. Calculators are NOT allowed. |
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Students have the opportunity to showcase their
ability to locate and interpret information in an
atlas or from data provided in the form of maps,
graphs, charts, tables, etc. Tests for grades 6-8
will be presented with the same 50 questions
given on the grade 4-5 test, plus an additional
25 questions that include general knowledge of
geography. These answers will not be in the
atlas. Questions will include countries of the
world, land structures and physical features,
people and geography as it pertains to current
events and news, climate, culture, and map
terminology, etc. Students may tab the atlas they bring to use during the test, but may not write on tabs or anywhere inside the atlas. Students will need to supply their own atlas, ruler, magnifying glass and writing utensil for testing. Calculators are NOT allowed. |
| Students have the opportunity to solve a variety of mathematical problems on this 40 question test. Problems on this test are at grade level and up to two years above. Test includes problems covering numeration systems, arithmetic operations involving whole numbers, integers, fractions, decimals, exponents, order of operations, probability, statistics, number theory, simple interest, measurements, and conversions along with other mathematical operations. Test may also include basic geometry problems; including application of the Pythagorean theorem, area and volume of polygons/polyhedra and circles/spheres. Students will need to supply their own writing utensil. No other material may be brought into testing area. Students may only use white space on test as working space to solve problems. No calculators are permitted. |
| Students have the opportunity to solve a variety of mathematical problems on this 50 question test. Problems on this test are at grade level and up to two years above. Test includes problems covering numeration systems, arithmetic operations involving whole numbers, integers, fractions, decimals, exponents, order of operations, probability, statistics, number theory, simple interest, measurements, and conversions along with other mathematical operations. Test may also include basic geometry problems including application of the Pythagorean theorem, area and volume of polygons/polyhedra and circles/spheres. For grades 6-8, 25% of the problems will require knowledge of Algebra I computation skills. Students will need to supply their own writing utensil. No other material may be brought into testing area. Students may only use white space on test as working space to solve problems. No calculators are permitted. |
| Modern Oratory gives students the opportunity to explore the use of voice and body language in public speaking situations. Students will organize ideas, prepare and deliver a researched speech to a live audience. After choosing from the topics, students will research the critical issues of the topic, present pros and cons, determine which side they will defend and support that side in their speech. The format of the speech should include an introduction, statement of the question, development of pro and con points accompanied by documentation, statement of the position the student will defend, defense of that position with documentation, and a summary and conclusion with a final statement. At the beginning of the contest, students will supply the judges with a copy of their speech. All speeches are to be presented from memory without the use of notes. |
| The Number Sense test presents students with 80 math problems covering applications of the four basic operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Number Sense problems are arranged in a sequential format. All problems must be done mentally. No markings other than the answer are allowed on test. No scratch paper is allowed. |
| The Number Sense test presents students with 80 math problems covering applications of the four basic operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. For middle school students, it also covers applications from whole number arithmetic to topics on the study of sequences in analysis, and topics relating to the efficient and/or high speed solution of mathematics problems. Number Sense problems are arranged in a sequential format. All problems must be done mentally. No markings other than the answer are allowed on test. No scratch paper is allowed. |
| Students are given the opportunity to show off their artistic abilities in the On-Site drawing contest. Students will complete a freehand drawing of a group of objects placed in the center of the room. Drawings should be a composition of all elements in the still life display. Each student has a different view point of what is to be drawn while seated in a circle surrounding the objects. Students will draw the objects from their viewpoint only using one or more approved drawing utensils. Acceptable utensils are pencils, charcoal, craypas, pastels, and ink pens that do not require a separate bottle of ink. No rulers or other mechanical drawing media will be allowed. Drawings will be judged by qualified artists then displayed in an art show for the remainder of the day. |
| Students are expected to write a formal essay on either of two topics supplied by ACA. Students should come ready to write an expository, narration or persuasion paper. Voice, punctuation and grammar are essential for Ready Writing. Judges will be looking for the students ability to adhere to the prompt chosen and creativity of thoughtful word choice. |
|
The Science test presents students with 50
multiple choice problems, with an emphasis on
the three main areas of Science; Knowledge of
scientific fact, understanding of scientific
principles, and the ability to think through
scientific problems. The test will also include a
variety of cognitive challenges, requiring
students to use a higher level of thinking in
order to arrive at an answer. The Science test
will be comprised of the following: Earth Science 40% Life Science 40% Physical Science 20% |
|
Each year the Spelling test will present students
with an array of new words to study. The
Spelling list and test is a different length for
each grade level as indicated below.
Grades 2-3: 600 word list / 40 word test /
10 tiebreaker words Official resource for this contest is the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition. |
|
Storytelling gives students the opportunity to
demonstrate their ability to speak before an
audience, organize detail, and creatively re-tell
a story they have heard. Students will hear a
short story and then be asked to retell the story
before an audience and a panel of three judges.
The panel of judges, nor the audience will have heard the story presented to students, therefore, they will be looking for expression, intonation, characterization, and enthusiasm in the studentʼs voice as he/she speaks. Eye contact, good posture, and articulation are also important to the retelling of the story. |
| Students will answer 30 multiple choice questions similar to what would be found on a SAT preparation test. Each year a new list of 300 vocabulary words will be available for study. Each test question will consist of at least one of the words on the vocabulary list. Students need be advised that many of the words used within the test are not used in everyday middle school language. The test consists of approximately 13 sentence completions, 13 analogies, and 9 questions based over a reading passage. |
