< Back to GAD Home Georgia Academic Decathlon GAD: How Does It Work? How Decathlon Works Academic Decathlon is unique because it is not limited to high-achieving students. Preparation, participation, and competition include high school students from ninth through twelfth grades. A unique aspect of Academic Decathlon is the design to include students from all academic backgrounds. Each 9-member team consists of 3 Honor students (GPA 3.8 - 4.0), 3 Scholastic students (GPA 3.2 - 3.799) and 3 Varsity students (GPA 0.0 - 3.199). Often the Varsity students – perhaps never academically motivated before – perform the best. Some students who once performed average work excel in the competition and experience continued academic success after the event. One high school per school district represents the school district at the state competition. The nine-member team must be from the same school and be the same team members that won district-level competition. School districts with more than one high school participating in Academic Decathlon plan a district-level competition to determine which high school will represent the district at the state finals. For those school districts having only one high school participating in decathlon, that school should still participate in the district-level competition to provide an excellent experience in competition and preparation for the state competition and to be able to compare their district scores against all of the other schools. The state competition is held in the Atlanta area. Competition events include seven tests of academic strength, 3 demonstrations of communication ability and the Super Quiz – a team event held before a live audience. Seven comprehensive tests are given in the areas of economics, mathematics, literature, science, social science, music, and art. The 3 communication events include speech (prepared and impromptu), interview and a written essay. The competition concludes with the Super Quiz that is held in an arena/theater setting. A team coach or co-coaches lead each team. Coaches often depend on experts in fields outside their area of expertise to work with the team. So the concept of team and coach broadens to include all who work to support the team to their goal. Testing Students prepare for objective tests in the disciplines of: mathematics, social science, science, literature, music, art, and economics. Curriculum resources guides are purchased from USAD. Detailed outlines are provided in the USAD Study Guides. For additional information about the objective tests, consult the GAD Coaches' Manual. Speech The Speech event has two components - prepared speech and impromptu speech. Each speech is timed and scored by two to three judges using a formal rubric. The topic of the prepared speech is the student's choice but it must meet the approval of the team coach. Consult the USAD Practice Test Booklet and the GAD Coaches' Manual for more information about the Speech event. Interview Students are interviewed by a panel of two to three judges. The focus of the interview is centered on activities in which the student is engaged, college plans, preparations for Academic Decathlon®, and persons who have had an impact upon the student's life. Some questions may include topics that would require the use of "critical thinking" skills. The judges score the students using an official rubric. Consult the USAD Practice Test Booklet and the GAD Coaches' Manual for more information about the interview event. Essay The Essay event in the Georgia Academic Decathlon is conducted online before State Competition. Prior to competition, GAD will arrange for an online practice login session. It is imperative that all students test their usernames and passwords at that time. This is also an opportunity to allow students to familiarize themselves with the online platform. It is advisable to have the team use the practice prompts (samples from the WWI curriculum provided below) to type an essay in the time given, even though the prompts may have nothing to do with the current year's curriculum. Any essay practice is useful. The official essay writing for state competition must be held on one of two times provided. Students should arrive at least 25 minutes prior to the testing time. The entire team must write at the same time, including up to three alternates. Decathletes will type an essay in response to a prompt chosen from a set given to them. Students will be given 50 minutes for writing the essay. The essay will be scored in accordance with t he published essay rubric. Download the essay rubric here. Students should be given the following as they enter the testing room: 1) the Student Code of Conduct, 2) the student instructions. Students must sign the Code of Conduct and pass it back to the proctor before beginning the writing. The coaches may sign these forms after the testing. Example Essay Prompts Select one of the prompts for your essay. Write a well-organized essay in which you clearly respond to the question or direction that is presented in the prompt. Be sure to follow the accepted rules of standard English sentence structure, usage, spelling, and punctuation, and to use appropriate diction and style. Use specific information and examples from your studies to support your position. Provide a final paragraph to conclude or close your essay. Science Gregor Mendel made major contributions in the study of genetics. Even though he died in 1884, his work became important during World War I. Explain the impact of Mendel on genetics during and following World War I. Literature Any major historical or cultural event has a direct impact on the literature of the time period. World War I introduced the writings of soldiers and women. Explain the impact these new writers had on the existing trends in literature and the culture in general. Super Quiz Super Quiz is the only public event at State Competition. It is an event in which team members collaboratively answer questions from each of the seven academic decathlon curriculum areas (art, music, literature, economics, etc.). It is a public showcase of the academic decathlon curriculum. For more information consult the GAD Coaches' Manual. Forming A Team Schools, school districts, or coaches interested in forming a new team should first peruse this website for more information. Specifically you should watch the podcast episode "All About the Georgia Academic Decathlon" as well as read through the information in the GAD Coaches Manual and in the GAD Frequently Asked Questions. As you are perusing the website, jot down any questions you might have. Then contact us at gad@pageinc.org or 404-414-3041, to find out if there is a Coordinator already in place for your district. Once your school, or school district has decided to participate in decathlon, send in the registration form along with the $200 District Registration fee and complete the Testing Dates Notification form. A workshop for coaches and decathletes is held in late August or early September each year. This workshop has multiple sessions on topics related to the upcoming GAD season. There is always a round-table discussion for coaches and sessions led by Kennesaw State University professors for the various testing areas. Please visit the GAD Dates and Registration and GAD Fall Workshop pages while you are visiting the website. RETURN TO GEORGIA ACADEMIC DECATHLON HOME Back to Top CONTACT: Michelle Crawford GAD State Director mcrawford@pageinc.org 404-414-3041

Meet the Professional Association of Georgia Educators officers and directors.

< Back to GAD Home Georgia Academic Decathlon GAD As An Elective Course High schools and/or school districts wishing to offer the decathlon curriculum in an academic elective course can do so through courses approved by the Georgia Board of Education. These courses are listed in Rule 160-4-2-.03. A review of this rule and the courses listed for grades 9-12 yields some of the following as options (certain options are specific to certain years and certain curricula; others are general and could be used any year): 35.05100 – Study Skills I 35.05200 – Study Skills II 35.05300 – Study Skills III 35.05400 – Study Skills IV 45.01100 – Comparative Religions 45.01200 – Current Issues 45.01300 – Technology and Society 45.01400 – The Humanities/Social Studies 70.03100 – Directed Study I 70.03200 – Directed Study II 70.03300 – Directed Study III 70.03400 – Directed Study IV 44.00100 – Humanities 23.32110 – Mythology 23.32300 – Comparative Literature 40.32110 – Astronomy: Stars and the Cosmos 40.37110 – Oceans: Living Space for the Future 45.07200 – Asian Studies Schools/Districts should attempt to match the Academic Decathlon curriculum with potential courses annually to achieve the best correlation of standards for the selected content for that year. Courses should not be randomly selected. Matching the Academic Decathlon curriculum to a different course each year enables interested students to receive elective credit in four different elective courses should a student choose to be a part of this curriculum each of his/her four years in high school. The rationale for offering the decathlon curriculum through an academic elective course is to: provide opportunity for a whole class (20+) of students to engage in this rich and rigorous curriculum, motivate underachieving students through a rich and rigorous course content, broaden student research, study, and communication skills through a thematically planned curriculum, and provide an opportunity to bridge the achievement gap for participating students. The nine students who may make up the Georgia Academic Decathlon team may come from those who participate in the course, but there may also be other students who would like to be a part of the team but who are not able to work the elective course into their schedule. To meet the requirements of Rule 160-4-2-.03, students who are members of the GAD team should not be required to take this course. Coaches shoulld see positive benefit for students who engage in this challenging curriculum. Spillover effect is to be expected. Some coaches have reported that students’ grades went up significantly as a result of studying the Decathlon curriculum. Please visit the GAD Coaches Manual page for more in-depth information regarding Academic Decathlon as an academic elective course. Additionally you may visit http://www.gadoe.org/Curriculum-Instruction-and-Assessment/Curriculum-and-Instruction/Pages/default.aspx then scroll down to the link “Course Numbers and Descriptions” located toward the bottom of the page under the “Frequently Requested Information” section. The PAGE GAD office requests that any school offering an academic elective course share with us which course you are using. RETURN TO GEORGIA ACADEMIC DECATHLON HOME Back to Top CONTACT: Michelle Crawford GAD State Director mcrawford@pageinc.org 404-414-3041

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< Back to GAD Home Georgia Academic Decathlon GAD Interview Judges Volunteer Information Date: Saturday, February 24, 2024 Time: 8:00 a.m. - 1 p.m. Location: Kennesaw State University Download 2024 Interview Judge Letter below GAD Interview Judges Packet 2023-2024 .pdf Download PDF • 151KB Thank you for agreeing to be a judge for this year's Interview competition for the PAGE Georgia Academic Decathlon. We will have 12 teams of judges with as many as 36 volunteers, therefore, it is crucial that we have consistency in judging for a fair competition. This video shows some examples of "good" and "bad" interview interactions and gives you an idea of what to expect. A training session will be held just prior to the competition where you will get more detailed information and be able to ask questions. We ask that you take a moment to look at the video sample (below) of an average interview for Academic Decathlon. Some of the interviews during competition will be better and some not as good as this one. A completed score sheet for the sample interview is also available by clicking on Sample Score Sheet (below the video). Click here to download the Sample Interview Sheet. This is just a sample. All interviews will be scored electronically using personal devices on a Google form. Important points for Interview judges: Leave your emotions at the door. Their coaches will make them feel good, you judge them. Coaches need honest judging in order to help students improve. Each student will provide copies of his or her resume for each of the judges. You will get a list of sample questions that you may ask. Begin scoring each interview as an average interview (5 or 6) and go up or down from there. Scores range from 1 to 10. Sincerely, David Holland GAD Interview Coordinator Return to Volunteer Information Page RETURN TO GEORGIA ACADEMIC DECATHLON HOME Back to Top CONTACT: Michelle Crawford GAD State Director mcrawford@pageinc.org 404-414-3041

Scholarship Timelines PAGE Foundation Scholarships Scholarship Timelines PAGE Foundation Scholarships (for certified educators, classified school employees, and college education majors not yet employed by a school or system) Applications will be available before the end of Fall Semester through May. Applications must be received in our office by May 30. We regret that we are unable to consider late applications. Winners are typically announced in early- to mid-July. Scholarship funds will be available to winners* July – June 30. *Please remember that award monies must be paid to the winner’s college or university. See Eligibility Criteria, a list of Scholarships offered and download an application. PAGE Future Educator Scholarships (for high school seniors planning to pursue a career in teaching) Applications are available from November through March. Applications must be received in the office by March 31. We regret that we are unable to consider late applications. Winners are usually announced at recipient’s Honor’s program at his/her high school. Scholarship funds will be available to winner upon enrollment in college (July 15 or later) until June 30 of the following year. *Please remember that award monies must be paid to the winner’s college or university. See Eligibility Criteria, a list of Scholarships offered and download an application. Return to Scholarships Home

Serving members in Baldwin, Butts, Henry, Jasper, Jones, Newton, Monroe, Morgan, Putnam, Rockdale, Social Circle City, and Walton < Back Peggy Brown Membership Services Representative pbrown@pageinc.org Peggy has served as a PAGE MSR since 2015. One of the things she loves most about her work is connecting members with experts at PAGE who can provide needed assistance. Peggy graduated from University of Georgia and taught for 17 years at Loganville Elementary and Youth Middle School in Walton County. Prior to her role with PAGE, she served as the school’s building contact for the association. Peggy is married with three children and three grandchildren. A resident of Monroe, Georgia, she enjoys time with family and trips to the mountains. She’s also an avid beekeeper.

< Back to GAD Home Georgia Academic Decathlon 2024 Medalists Economics Varsity Gold Evyn Laing Elite Scholars Academy Clayton County Silver Angelica Jones Elite Scholars Academy Clayton County Schools Bronze Anthony Reyes-Gonzalez Elite Scholars Academy Clayton County Schools Scholastic Gold Mila Searles Westover High School Dougherty County Schools Silver Isaiah Brown BEST Academy Atlanta Public Schools Bronze Kristina Nguyen Elite Scholars Academy Clayton County Schools Honor Gold Mariyo Mayette BEST Academy Atlanta Public Schools Silver Tony Doan Elite Scholars Academy Clayton County Schools Bronze Delaney Reese Elite Scholars Academy Clayton County Schools Marcus Daniels BEST Academy Atlanta Public Schools RETURN TO GEORGIA ACADEMIC DECATHLON HOME Back to Top CONTACT: Michelle Crawford GAD State Director mcrawford@pageinc.org 404-414-3041

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