STUDENT ELIGIBILITY
A.
Team Composition:
For competition within a high school, student teams may be organized according to local building or local district
guidelines, i.e.: number of students on a team may be 6 to 9, students may be selected from grades 9 through 12.
Students might sign up for a team, and the staff might compose the teams from those names, or students might be
given general guidelines for team composition and be asked to form their own teams. Of course, all teams within a
single high school may organize exactly as required for Region or State competition. However, it is suggested that all
school teams consist of nine members.
For Region and State Competition, each team should consist of nine team members with three Honors, three Scholastic
and three Varsity students from grades 9 through 12 of the same high school. The team may be comprised of any
combination of freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors and any combination of boys and/or girls. A full-time
student is defined as a student who is enrolled in four or more class periods per day. *(Fifth year students are eligible
to participate only if they attend both semesters of competition year as full-time students) Each team must include two
Varsity, two Scholastic and two Honor students as indicated in the following academic categories:
Varsity
0.00 - 2.99 GPA
Scholastic
3.00 - 3.74 GPA
Honors
3.75 - 4.00 GPA
NOTE: Contestants may compete in a higher division than their own GPA, but NOT in a lower division
(i.e., a Scholastic student can compete as an Honors student, but NOT as a Varsity student).
For National competition, the nine students who attended the National Finals must be the same nine students who
participated in and won the State competition. If any of the nine students is unable to attend the National Finals, then the
team may compete in the National Finals with fewer than nine students with the concurrence of the State organization.
As the coach of your team, it is your responsibility to determine the qualification of each student before you turn in the
transcripts. There should be no surprises about team members. Obtain all of the transcripts beforehand (include 7th and 8th
grade, if necessary) and compute GPA’s yourself.
B.
Computation of Student's Grade Point Average (GPA)
Grades from the following transcripts are considered in computing the GPA for the Academic Decathlon:
Twelfth graders:
All of tenth grade, all of eleventh grade, plus summer sessions between
tenth, and eleventh and between eleventh and twelfth.
Eleventh graders:
All of ninth grade, all of tenth grade, plus summer sessions between
ninth and tenth, and between tenth and eleventh.
Tenth graders:
All of eighth grade, all of ninth grade, plus summer sessions between
eighth and ninth, and between ninth and tenth.
Ninth graders:
All of seventh grade, all of eighth grade, plus summer sessions
between seventh and eighth, and between eighth and ninth.
Considerations in the Academic Decathlon GPA Computation
The following guidelines have been adopted for USAD competition and are to be used to compute the official Academic
Decathlon grade point average (GPA). These criteria must be followed to ensure uniformity and equity among all
participants in the United States Academic Decathlon.
1.
Grades for following academic courses shall be used in grade point computation for competition
purposes: academic business courses, art appreciation, art history, computer science, economics,
English/language arts, foreign language, humanities, journalism, mathematics, music theory, music
appreciation, music history, science, speech, and social studies. Grades for all other courses shall be
excluded from the GPA compilation. Inquiries regarding borderline courses should be referred to the
Executive Director who will make the determination based on the academic nature of the course, and
this decision will be uniformly applied throughout the state.
2.
For alpha grades, all As will count 4.0, all Bs will count 3.0, all Cs will count 2.0, and all Ds will count
1.0. Anything below will count 0 points.
NOTE When numerical grades appear on the transcript in place of alpha grades, they shall be converted to
alpha grades according to the official conversion scale that appears on the school's official transcript or
in the school's official legend or profile.
3.
If a student receives a Fail in any academic course, the F is counted in averaging the student's grades even
though no credit is given. When a course is failed and is repeated, both grades will be counted in the GPA.
4.
Incomplete or pass/fail grades are not included in computing the GPA unless the student received an F
which appears on the transcript. Once a grade is given to remove an incomplete, that grade must be
used to determine the Decathlon GPA.
5.
Community or college courses are included in the GPA only if high school credit is given and the
course is listed on the official school transcript.
6.
A grade, regardless of whether it is advanced placement, honors, regular, or remedial classification, will count
the face value of the final grade as reflected on the official transcript. No weighting of grades for honors
classes will be included even if this is the local district policy. An "A" grade, therefore, will count 4 points for
Decathlon computation even if it counts 5 points within the local system. The letter grade shown on the
transcript will be used in computing GPA.
7.
If a school or a teacher has a policy of changing eleventh grade grades subsequent to receipt of
advanced placement test scores, the new grade must be used for the computation of the Decathlon
GPA.