Countywide : 57 Schools to Compete in Academic Decathlon

Fifty-seven Orange County high schools will compete in the county’s 1985 Academic Decathlon on Saturday.

This year’s decathlon will be held at Tustin High School from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The decathlon is a “brainpower” competition in which high school juniors and seniors answer questions or complete tasks in 10 academic skill areas.

The 10 areas of competition are: mathematics, science, social science, economics, grammar/literature, fine arts, essay, interview (communication skills), speech and the “super quiz.” The topic for the “super quiz” changes each year, and this year’s subject is “immigration.”

Six students from each participating high school compete as a team. Decathlon rules require that each team be composed of two students whose grade-point averages are between 3.75 and 4.0, two whose GPA is between 3.0 and 3.74 and two whose GPA is below 3.0. Each team is thus a mix of “A,” “B,” and “C” students.

Gold, silver and bronze medals are presented to the top three students in each decathlon category. Team awards are presented for the top three “super quiz” teams and the top three overall teams. The overall winning team will represent Orange County in the state Academic Decathlon in Sacramento in January.

In addition to contestants, the Orange County Academic Decathlon is open to spectators. “Parents, students and visitors are invited to cheer their schools to victory during the ‘super quiz,’ ” said the Orange County Department of Education, which sponsors the annual event.