The Tulare County Academic Decathlon acknowledges, encourages, and rewards academic excellence by preparing and motivating high school students to achieve through scholastic competition.

 

 

The Academic Decathlon is a student competition in which 9th- through 12th-grade high school students compete as individuals and as team members in a series of 10 academic tests and demonstrations. Students take seven 30-minute, multiple choice tests in the subjects of art, economics, music, language and literature, mathematics, science, and social science. Students will also have 50 minutes to write an essay on one of three given prompts. In addition to the tests and essay, each student will give two speeches and participate in a seven-minute interview. "The Academic Decathlon embodies a partnership of business, foundations, and individuals in cooperation with the education community and county offices of education." (California Academic Decathlon)

 

 

California counties hold local Academic Decathlon competitions for the high schools in their county/region. The winning team from each county is then eligible to compete in the California State Finals, along with "invited teams" with the next highest scores in the state. A total of 60 teams participate in the State Finals.

 

 

A team consists of nine full-time students in 9th through 12th grades from the same school. The nine-member team is comprised of three Varsity, three Scholastic, and three Honor students as indicated by the following categories:

 

 

A student may compete in a higher division than their own GPA, but not in a lower division; i.e., a Scholastic student may compete as an Honor student, but not as a Varsity student. Freshman may compete in any category as a wildcard student.

 

 

Only high school teams may attend the test-taking portion of the Academic Decathlon. The Super Quiz competition and Awards Ceremony are open to the public.

 

 

The California Academic Decathlon (CAD) State Finals will be held March 18-21, 2027 in Santa Clara, CA. Visit the CAD website for a schedule.

October 1, 2026

Day 1 – Online Essays

January 13, 2027