The 2016 Los Angeles Academic Decathlon competitions concluded what was probably the busiest weekend of their season. More than 100 teams of students competed around the region for the title of “Super Quiz” champion as well as the right to move on to battle for the state championship.
There were three different events held last weekend in Los Angeles County, and the top teams as well as selected wild-card squads will meet during the state championship the weekend of March 17-20 in Sacramento.
The Los Angeles Unified School District competition drew 58 teams with Granada Hills Charter High School earning the title as the unofficial winner of the “Super Quiz” with a perfect 72 points. Franklin and Marshall high schools tied for second with 69 points, while El Camino Real Charter and Bell high schools tied for third place with 66 points each.
Fremont High led the local schools with 48 points followed by Harbor Teacher Prep with 38 points, Orthopaedic Hospital Medical Magnet High School: which compiled 34 points cumulatively as well as Bravo Medical Magnet and Crenshaw high who each tied with 30. Official team scores and individual scores will be released at the district’s decathlon banquet.
In the Los Angeles County Office of Education decathlon, Edgewood High from the West Covina Unified School District posted 64 points to edge out three other schools at 63 points for second place in the Super Quiz held at El Rancho High School in Pico Rivera. Mark Keppel High of Alhambra Unified, South Pasadena High, and West High from Torrance Unified finished in second place. Teams from Inglewood High and Lynwood High were among the 41 schools participating in the county’s competition.
In the Southern California Private Schools division, 44 teams squared off at Bishop Alemany High School and Mater Dei was the overall winner of the competition and claimed the Super Quiz title. Second and third place claimed respectively by Bishop Alemany and Flintridge Sacred Heart high schools.
In the private schools division, the decathlon is not a class so the students study extra hours on top of their regular school work.
The California Academic Decathlon created a separate competition open to all private high schools and magnet schools in Southern California. The private schools competition winner is invited to compete for the state championship along with the other 49 county competition winners and selected invited teams. The California State Champion competes in the United States Academic Decathlon competition, held annually in April.
Teams generally consist of nine members, who are divided into three divisions based on grade point average: Honors (3.75-4.0 GPA), Scholastic (3.00-3.74 GPA), and Varsity (0.00-2.99 GPA). Each team member competes in all 10 events against other students in his or her division. Overall team scores are calculated using the top two overall individual scores from each division. Gold, silver, and bronze medals are awarded for individual events as well as for overall scores.
The 10 events require knowledge in many academic disciplines. Students must take seven multiple choice tests in art, economics, language and literature, math, music, science and social science. These topics, with the exception of math, are thematically linked each year. One of the multiple choice events, usually science or social science, is chosen for the Super Quiz. In addition to the seven objective events, there are three subjective events graded by judges: essay, interview and speech.
This year’s overall curricular theme was India.
