MacArthur High School’s Academic Decathlon Team Dominates Virtual District Competition

Disponible en: Español

Students from different academic backgrounds flex their mental muscles in 10 events.

The Academic Decathlon team from MacArthur High School demonstrated its “brainy” prowess. At the District Decathlon Competition in November, the campus placed first in team overall scores.

The U.S. Academic Decathlon® is a 10-event scholastic competition where high school students match their intellects with peers from rival schools. They each compete in art, economics, essay, interview, language and literature, mathematics, music, science, social science, and speech. In the Super Quiz, teammates take turns solving tough multiple-choice challenges — the event is the most intense, high-stakes celebration of all the subjects learned.

Teams of nine high school students battle in the 10 different events. The events are based on a college-level, academically rigorous curriculum-linked to a common theme. The USAD designed the competition to challenge students. Students who take part develop, connect, and communicate ideas under pressure.

Academic Decathlon® challenges students from different academic backgrounds. A typical team has three “A” students, three “B” students, and three “C” students.

Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals are awarded for individual events and total scores. Region and state contests are held for schools categorized as large, medium, and small. Based on a point system, the highest-scoring team represents Texas at the national USAD competition.

Every year, the USAD® selects a curricular topic. The 2020-21 theme is the Cold War. The following is some general information on the topics in each of the subject areas:

Science: The science topic will be an introduction to astronomy and will include sections on the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union.
Literature: The literature curriculum will include critical reading, one long work of literature, and selected shorter works. The long work of literature will be Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Art: The art curriculum will include a section on art fundamentals and focus on exploring art during the Cold War.
Music: The music curriculum will introduce students to various musical works from the Cold War era.
Social Science: The social science curriculum will introduce students to the history of the Cold War.
Economics: The economics curriculum will cover fundamental economic concepts, microeconomics, and macroeconomics. It will also include a thematic section on the economics of the Cold War.
Mathematics: The mathematics curriculum will cover general mathematics, geometry, and an introduction to differential calculus.

District Rankings

1st Place: MacArthur High School
2nd Place: Victory Early College High School
3rd Place: Carver High School for Engineering, Applied Technology, and the Arts