RHS Academic Decathlon

The Academic Decathlon competition is composed of ten events. Each decathlete takes seven multiple choice tests in the subjects of Art, Economics, Music, Language and Literature, Mathematics, Science, and Social Science. In addition, each decathlete gives a planned 4-minute speech and a 2-minute impromptu speech, participates in a 7-minute interview, and is given 50 minutes to write an expository essay.
 
An Academic Decathlon team may have up to nine members. The team is divided into three categories with up to three students per category. The three categories are based upon a student’s cumulated unweighted GPA. The three categories are:
 
  • Honors GPA : 3.85+
  • Scholastic GPA : 3.50 – 3.8499
  • Varsity GPA - 0.00 – 3.499
 
The U.S. Academic Decathlon® curricular theme for 2026–2027 will be Journeys of Transformation: An Exploration of Travel and Transportation.
 
  • ART: The art curriculum will explore themes of travel and transportation in art.
  • ECONOMICS: The economics curriculum will cover fundamental economic concepts, microeconomics, and macroeconomics and will include a thematic section on the economics of transportation.
  • LITERATURE: The literature curriculum will explore journeys, quests, and travel in literature and will include critical reading, one long work of literature, and selected shorter works. The long work of literature will be The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro.
  • MATHEMATICS: The mathematics curriculum will cover general mathematics, geometry, and an introduction to differential calculus
  • MUSIC: The music curriculum will focus on travel and transportation in music.
  • SCIENCE: The science topic will be an introduction to animal behavior and migration.
  • SOCIAL SCIENCE: The social science topic will be an introduction to human geography and migration.
 
The Academic Decathlon team, as well as all other academic competition teams, should be viewed as just that – a team.  And as such, success is based upon hard work and a time commitment to the program. Because of this, it is also one of the most rewarding and enjoyable experiences one can undertake while in high school.
Club Advisor
 
Slideshow