Iowa Academic Pentathlon

Our Changing Climate

Order materials HERE

Questions about Pentathlon? 

Contact Stephenie Ovrom at pentathlon@iowaacdec.org

2024-2025 Pentathlon Information

• • Academic Pentathlon’s curriculum is an interdisciplinary curriculum in which a selected theme is integrated across five different subject areas: fine arts, literature, mathematics, science, and social science. 

  • The Academic Pentathlon theme parallels that of the high school Academic Decathlon program. 

  • The theme for the 2023-2024 is Our Changing Climate. The themes are developed by our curriculum team with special attention to national content standards. 

  • The materials will be available for downloading in PDF format on August 1st each year. The site license fee allows you to download as many copies as needed. Novels may be purchased via online vendors such as Amazon or via your regular school vendors. The featured novel for 2024-25 is Melt by Ele Fountain, ISBN-10: 1782692886.

  • All test questions will be derived from the USAP curriculum.

  • A blind-prompt Essay is part of the literature score. It will demonstrate not just what students have learned but how powerfully they can present an idea. The essay is written online about three weeks prior to a competition.

  • Following the state meet, trophies will be awarded to the top teams, plus medals to individual event winners.

  • All state competition champions will be invited to the U.S. Academic Pentathlon® National Competition. Students are welcome to attend the face-to-face national event or compete online. 

  • Pentathlon is aligned with Common Core Standards.

Pentathlon testing is conducted online, allowing students to take the tests at their respective schools. Notably, Nationals stands as an exception, where students have the opportunity to undergo testing in person. The process involves USAP sending login information and testing directions a few days prior to the testing date for online assessments, including the Practice Competition, Regionals, and State levels. Please see below for deadlines and testing dates.

In terms of team composition, Academic Pentathlon teams should ideally consist of a minimum of six and a maximum of nine team members. Team scores are determined by summing the top two student scores in each GPA category, adhering to GPA guidelines. The pinnacle of achievement is a perfect team score of 30,000 points, calculated by considering the scores of six students participating in five events, each with a maximum of 1000 points. Your school can have a team, or students may compete as individuals. (Team Registration and Individual Registration)

The following testing events and times for the Practice Competition, Regional, State tests. 

Literature: Students will not only write a short essay but will also participate in a multiple-choice test which includes 30 questions with a value of 20 points each.  Students will be allowed 40 minutes to complete their essay and 20 minutes to complete their objective test. Highest combined possible score is 1000 points.
Mathematics: 35 problems with a value of 28.57 points each
Science: 50 questions with a value of 20 points each
Social Science: 50 questions with a value of 20 points each
Fine Arts: 50 questions with a value of 20 points each  

A student’s maximum possible score is 5000 points (5 events x 1000  points).

Pentathlon 2024–2025 testing dates are:

• Important Dates (For States Participating with USAP)

  • Registration Documents Due – December 6, 2024

  • Scrimmage – Subject Area Exams Only - January 9, 2025

  • Essay for Regional Competition - January 23, 2025

  • Regional Competition - February 13, 2025

  • Essay for State Competition - March 6, 2025

  • State Competition - March 27, 2025

  • National Competition Registration Due – April 10, 2025

  • Essay for National Competition - April 24, 2025

  • National Competition San Antonio, TX - May 15-17, 2025

Please read the following documents to learn more about competiton, GPA requirements, and what you need to register for Pentathlon.

• Registration Information

• Team Registration Form

• Individual Registration Form

• GPA Calculation Worksheet

• Acceptable Courses

Questions about Pentathlon?  Contact Stephenie at pentathlon@iowaacdec.org