United States Academic Decathlon® Curriculum
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The U.S. Academic Decathlon® is excited to announce that the overall curricular theme for 2025–2026 will be The Roaring Twenties.
Following is some general information on the topics in each of the subject areas.
▪ ART: The art curriculum will offer an introduction to the art of the Jazz Age.
▪ ECONOMICS: The economics curriculum will cover fundamental economic concepts, microeconomics, and macroeconomics and will include a thematic section on the U.S. economy in the 1920s.
▪ LITERATURE: The literature curriculum will present an introduction to the literature of the Jazz Age and will include critical reading, one long work of literature, and selected shorter works. The long work of literature will be The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
▪ MATHEMATICS: The mathematics curriculum will provide an overview of algebra and trigonometry.*
▪ MUSIC: The music curriculum will focus on the music of the Jazz Age.
▪ SCIENCE: The science topic will be an introduction to electricity and magnetism.
▪ SOCIAL SCIENCE: The social science topic will be the Roaring Twenties.
The full subject area outlines will be posted on the U.S. Academic Decathlon website <www.usad.org> on May 1 and will be published in the U.S. Academic Decathlon Study Guide, which will be available on May 15.
* The 2025–26 mathematics curriculum and materials will be the same as were used for the 2022–23 U.S. Academic Decathlon.
United States Academic Decathlon® Curricular Topics for 2025–2026!
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Art
Posted On:October 4, 2024Students should be aware that LaToya Ruby Frazier's first name is spelled with a capital T.
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Art
Link: Page 79 Revision Posted On:June 17, 2024In the Art Resource Guide, page 79, in the 8th line of the first complete paragraph, the month of Smithson’s death should be July instead of June.
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Economics
Link: Economics - Page 121 Revision Posted On:February 20, 2025In the Economics Resource Guide, page 121, column 1, the end of the 1st sentence of the 1st complete paragraph should read: “… the conversion of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) and biomass (wood) into energy.”
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Economics
Link: Page 49 Revision Posted On:November 19, 2024In the Economics Resource Guide, page 49, column 1, in the last line of the 2nd complete paragraph, “breakfast cereals” should be deleted.
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Economics
Link: Page 93 Revision Posted On:June 17, 2024In the Economics Resource Guide, page 93, column 2, the 3rd sentence of the 3rd paragraph (beginning “Once the economy has adjusted…”) should be deleted.
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Literature
Link: Page 56 Rivision Posted On:January 27, 2025In the Literature Resource Guide, page 56, column 1, the last sentence of the 2nd complete paragraph should be changed to read as follows: “While the poem centers on the use of coal in the speaker’s household and community and does not explicitly address more large-scale environmental concerns, global climate change is an issue Marge Piercy cares about fiercely and that often shows up in her poetry and novels.” Revised page 56.
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Literature
Link: Page 111 Revision Posted On:January 27, 2025In the Literature Resource Guide, page 56, column 1, the last sentence of the 2nd complete paragraph should be changed to read as follows: “While the poem centers on the use of coal in the speaker’s household and community and does not explicitly address more large-scale environmental concerns, global climate change is an issue Marge Piercy cares about fiercely and that often shows up in her poetry and novels.” The revised endnotes page (page 111) with an updated citation 80.
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Literature
Link: Page 19 Revision Posted On:August 7, 2024In the Literature Resource Guide, page 19, column 2, the end of the 1st sentence of the 1st complete paragraph should read: “…on the La Grande River in northwestern Quebec.
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Literature
Link: Page 57 Revision Posted On:July 16, 2024In the Literature Resource Guide, page 57, column 2, the 2nd sentence of the 1st complete paragraph should read: “She was twenty years old….”
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Mathematics
Link: Page 7 Revision Posted On:July 16, 2024In the Mathematics Resource Guide and Mathematics Instructor’s Manual, page 7, the first sentence of Examples 1.2a and 1.2b should be edited to read: “How many different ways can three cards be drawn…”
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Mathematics
Link: Page 39 Revision Posted On:July 16, 2024In the Mathematics Resource Guide and Mathematics Instructor’s Manual, page 39, in the second line from the bottom of the page, 52 should be changed to 52.
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Music
Link: Page 112 & 123 Revision Posted On:December 2, 2024In the Music Resource Guide, page 112, column 1, paragraph 3, line 4, the date for the film Get Out should be 2017, not 2018, and on page 123, column 1, bullet 2, line 2, the date for the film Get Out should be 2017, not 2018.
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Music
Link: Page 96 Revision Posted On:November 19, 2024In the Music Resource Guide, page 96, column 2, in the 4th and 5th lines of the 1st complete paragraph, the parenthetical information should read: “(when they first met, he was twenty; she was thirty-seven).”
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Music
Link: Pages 76, 86, 87, 89 Revision Posted On:October 15, 2024In the Music Resource Guide, page 76, column 2, the 7th line of the 1st complete paragraph should read: “… reach a Number 1 single Billboard ranking….”
In the Music Resource Guide, page 86, in the 4th line of the 1st complete paragraph, twenty-five should be corrected to read thirty-four.
In the Music Resource Guide, page 87, the text to the right of 4:28 should read: “Oboe plays new Mixolydian-mode pattern….”
In the Music Resource Guide, page 89, column 2, paragraph 2, line 3, the publication date for Emerson’s Nature should be 1836. -
Music
Link: Pages 54, 60, 61, 66, 68 Revision Posted On:August 7, 2024In the Music Resource Guide, page 54, the timestamp in the 1st column of the last row of Listening Guide 2 should be 3:39 instead of 3:49.
In the Music Resource Guide, page 60, in Listening Companion 4, the 2nd sentence of the 1st paragraph should read: “The transformation of Gvidon into a bumblebee occurs at the end of Act III, Tableau 1….”
In the Music Resource Guide, page 61, the row of text at timestamp 0:30 (which reads “A second flute plays….”) should be deleted.
In the Music Resource Guide, page 66, in the 7th line from the top of the page, the word “originated” should be changed to “surged in popularity.”
In the Music Resource Guide, page 68, in the last bullet point in column 1, Takemitsu’s first name should be spelled Tōru. -
Science - Full-Color Figures
Many of the Science Resource Guide figures are best viewed in full color. Students using the electronic version of the Science Resource Guide will have access to all full-color figures. Students using the black-and-white print version of the Science Resource Guide can view figures that require full color using this link.
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Science
Link: Science - Page 109 Revision Posted On:February 20, 2025In the Science Resource Guide, page 109, the 1st sentence of the 3rd complete paragraph should read: “Most of Earth’s useable fresh water is contained underground.”
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Science
Link: Page 154 Revision Posted On:October 4, 2024In the Science Resource Guide, page 154, the caption to Figure 87 should read: “U.S. Energy Consumption, 1776–2022.”
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Science
Link: Pages 44, 67, 97, 103 Revisions Posted On:July 16, 2024In the Science Resource Guide, in the last line on page 44, “Darwin’s” should be changed to read “Mendel’s.” In the Science Resource Guide, page 67, the 3rd sentence of the 4th paragraph should read: “In an aquatic food web, the photosynthesizers ….” In the Science Resource Guide, page 97, in the 2nd line from the top of the page, 6 billion should instead read 8 billion. In the Science Resource Guide, page 103, in the 7th line from the top of the page, the word “cobalt” should be changed to chloride.
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Social Science - Full-Color Images
Many of the images in the Social Science Resource Guide are best viewed in full color. Students using the electronic version of the Social Science Resource Guide will have access to all full-color images. Students using the black-and-white print version of the Social Science Resource Guide can view images that require full color in the link above.
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Social Science
Link: Page 26 Revision Posted On:December 16, 2024In the Social Science Resource Guide, page 26, column 2, the 4th line of the 2nd complete paragraph should read “the year 1 ….”
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Social Science
Link: Page 33 Revision Posted On:October 15, 2024In the Social Science Resource Guide, page 33, column 2, in the 8th line of the 1st complete paragraph, there is a typo in the start date of the Maunder minimum. 1654 should be corrected to read 1645.
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Study Guide
Link: Page 21 Revision Posted On:August 23, 2024The Study Guide, page 21, the literature outline should be amended to include Oliver Baez Bendorf’s poem “Evergreen.”
Curriculum Updates
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The following is some general information on the topics in each of the subject areas:
USAD Curriculum Advisory Group The Curriculum Advisory Group is a panel of educators who assist in the development of the USAD curriculum by suggesting and providing feedback on curriculum topics and themes and by reviewing the subject area outlines, selected works of literature, artworks, etc. The members of the panel have expertise in a variety of subject areas and are experienced educators. Members of USAD’s Curriculum Advisory Group work on a voluntary (i.e., unpaid) basis.
USAD Curriculum Developers USAD hires curriculum developers in each subject area to develop the subject area outlines, Resource Guides, and Notebook Dividers. USAD’s curriculum developers are instructors at the university level. All of USAD’s curriculum developers have advanced degrees in their subject area and have experience in curriculum development. All applicants must submit a resume and writing sample to be considered as a curriculum developer for USAD’s materials. Writers are selected taking into account their qualifications and experience, their writing ability, and their familiarity with the Academic Decathlon® program.
USAD Curriculum Reviewers USAD hires curriculum reviewers in each of the subject areas. All curriculum reviewers have expertise in the subject area for which they are contracted and generally are teachers at the university level. All USAD curriculum materials are reviewed by two curriculum reviewers. All curriculum reviewers have an advanced degree in their subject area. All applicants must submit a resume to be considered as a curriculum reviewer for USAD’s materials. Reviewers are selected taking into account their qualifications and experience and their familiarity with the Academic Decathlon® program. All USAD Student Exercise Books except for mathematics are developed by a leading publishing solutions company that specializes in K-12 educational content. The Mathematics Student Exercise Books are written by authors who are either mathematics teachers at the university level or are graduate students in mathematics.
Student Exercise Book Development All USAD Student Exercise Books except for mathematics are developed by a leading publishing solutions company that specializes in K-12 educational content. The Mathematics Student Exercise Books are written by authors who are either mathematics teachers at the university level or are graduate students in mathematics.
United States Academic Decathlon Curriculum Development
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