The NCEE/Goldman Sachs Foundation National Economics Challenge RUNNING A STATE ECONOMICS CHALLENGE The Basic Idea Teams of students representing high schools throughout the state are invited to a site to compete in a series of challenging and fun tests of their economic understanding and reasoning abilities. While states are free to vary the features of their own Challenges, the suggested structure described below will be followed at both the regional and national competitions. Getting Started Two things must be done almost immediately: (1) getting a site and space for the competition and (2) sending announcements to high schools. 1. Choosing a central site can help minimize the travel cost for schools (this is typically the only cost schools are asked to cover). For administrative ease a college/university site where a Council or Center is located is recommended. A large open room is required with as many large tables as there are participating teams. Each table should have four chairs one for each member of a team. Additional chairs/tables should be made available for the team teachers ( coaches ). At the front of the room, two long tables are needed (if the suggested quiz-bowl final round is used) separated by a podium with a microphone. A registration table, room for scoring/judges, and an overhead projector with screen to show team standings after each round and answers to the questions are also needed. A suggested room layout is shown in Attachment 1. As noted in the diagram, it is nice, but not necessary, if lunch can be served in this room (either buffet style or served at the tables). It is also nice, but not necessary, to have a separate, nearby room for scoring. This limits distractions for the scorers. 2. An announcement needs to be sent to high school contacts (principals and/or economics/social studies teachers) as soon as possible. See Attachment 2 for two sample announcements. This briefly describes what the Challenge is about, when and where it will be played, and how to register a team. Schools should be given a deadline to respond so that there is adequate time to make arrangements for lunch, to prepare an adequate number of tests, and to order the correct number of t-shirts (if desired). 3. Note that in 2007, NCEE will provide $500 of support per State Council that uses an online Economics Challenge portal. Current portals are maintained by the Nebraska Council on Economic Education (rbutters3@unl.edu) and by the Kentucky Council on Economic Education (susan@econ.org). Payments for the use of the online portal will be provided directly to the organization providing the service and will not count against money already provided through the grant. For more information, contact Kevin Gotchet at the NCEE (kgotchet@ncee.net). The updated February 2007
Whether or not schools may be represented by more than one team is up to each state. However, only one team in each division from each state will advance to the regional competition. Should a team from a school represented by more than one team win the state competition, it is free to reconstitute its regional team (subject to divisional requirements and student eligibility). Getting Ready Once a school has registered, a coach s packet should be sent (see Attachment 3). This packet summarizes how the Challenge is run and describes the coach s responsibilities. Note that each school s coach is responsible for three things: (1) choosing a team or teams, (2) making the necessary travel arrangements to get the team to the Challenge, and (3) assisting during the Challenge in distributing tests and picking up answer sheets. How individual students are chosen for each school s team is left totally to the school and its coach. How much preparation each team does for the competition is also at the discretion of the coaches and their students. Once the number of students participating is known, food arrangements should be made. Welcoming refreshments, a morning break, and a lunch are suggested. If trophies are to be awarded, these need to be ordered. The same is true if t-shirts are going to be provided to all participants (which is strongly encouraged both because the students like it and because it increases the visibility of Centers/Councils and their work). Finally, the tests themselves need to be prepared (see more on this below). The Day of the Competition Attachment 4 shows a suggested agenda for the day of the competition. Basically, there is registration and a review of how the Challenge is played and scored, followed by the first three rounds of the competition in the morning. During the break following each round, the answers to the questions in the preceding round can be shown on an overhead. This instant feedback is very popular with the students, and the room is typically buzzing during the entire break as the questions and their answers are discussed. Following the third round is lunch. At the end of lunch, the top two teams in each division are announced and the final round of competition, the quiz bowl, begins. The day ends with the presentation of awards. It is suggested that the competition start later in the morning (9:30-10:00) to allow schools travel time in the morning to reach the site. The whole event should take less than four hours. As teams arrive for the competition, their names can be filled in on scoring sheets, a sample of which is shown in Attachment 5. Teams should be placed in one of two divisions: David Ricardo and Adam Smith. The Adam Smith division is intended for students taking courses with greater content breadth or depth. A description of the qualifying courses for each division is given in the Rules which are summarized in Attachment 6. Coaches should be encouraged to go over these rules with their students prior to the competition. To keep the Economics Challenge from being just a purely academic contest, the suggested updated February 2007
format is set up much like an athletic competition. It involves several rounds and has a strategy component. The first three rounds involve answering 15 multiple-choice questions each round (more can be used if desired). In the first two rounds students compete as individuals with the team score being the sum of the top three individual scores in each round. In the third round students compete as a team and submit a single answer sheet. The team score in the third round is multiplied by three to make it equally weighted with the first two rounds. The top two teams (highest combined scores in Rounds I-III) advance to the final round. Teams of four students are suggested, although teams can compete with as little as three members given the nature of the scoring system. This is helpful because there are times when some students who are planning to participate either get sick or run into scheduling conflicts with other activities. Keep in mind that teams are strictly limited to four members at the regional and national competitions. In the first three rounds the suggested scoring system for each question is as follows: 10 points for a correct response -5 points for an incorrect response 0 points for questions left unanswered. Thus, for example, if a student answered eight questions correctly, three questions incorrectly, and left four blank, s/he would receive a score of 65 [(10x8) - (3x5)]. The purpose of this scoring system is two-fold: (1) to discourage pure guessing and (2) to put an element of strategy into the contest (for example, it might be good strategy to not try and answer all the questions especially the ones with totally unfamiliar concepts or trivia). In running these first three rounds it is suggested that the coaches be used both to distribute and proctor the tests. One way this may be done is to assign each team a table and then assign them a coach from another team. Before each round begins all the coaches come forward to get the tests for that round to distribute to their assigned team. In the first two rounds, students are asked to disperse themselves throughout the room in such a way that no two students from one team are sitting at the same table. When time is up they all return to their original table and their assigned coach collects their answer sheets. Students may also hand in their completed tests as soon as they have finished and may then proceed outside of the testing room to wait for the round to be completed. In Round III all the students from the team remain at their assigned table to complete one answer sheet (although test questions are as before distributed to each of the students). Note that the students are given 20 minutes each round to complete each test. They should be given a two-minute warning before the end of each round so they have time to make final decisions. To add to the excitement of the Challenge, it is suggested that after each round the answer sheets be collected and quickly machine scored (although with the scoring system, some additional calculations will be necessary). It is usually possible with test scanning to determine the number of correct and incorrect responses (and ignore the number left blank) so that scoring can be done fairly quickly. Scores are then entered on the team scoring sheets. Attachment 7 shows an example of a filled-out scoring sheet. Note that the top three individual scores for each team in each of the first two rounds are circled and then added together to get the team score. The updated February 2007
cumulative scores for individuals and the team are kept below the slash. Finally, note that the team test score in Round III is multiplied by three to get the team score for that round. The team s final score after the first three rounds appears in the lower, right-hand corner of the scoring sheet. Team standings should be displayed after each round on an overhead either before the next round begins or shortly thereafter. This gives teams a chance to see how they are doing and potentially change their test strategy (i.e. decide whether or not to start guessing more). In the final round, the two highest scoring teams from Rounds I-III in each division compete in a quiz-bowl format. This requires some sort of buzzing-in technology (either actual buttons or a simple tap strip). In this round questions are read orally by the Challenge emcee. The teams start over with no points (i.e. there is no carry over from Rounds I-III). Each team selects a team spokesperson. Only responses from this person are considered official. One point is awarded to a team each time its spokesperson gives a correct answer to a question. The emcee stops reading a question as soon as someone buzzes in. Note the rule changes in Round IV for the 2007 National Competition (see rules in Attachment 6). The team that buzzes in has 15 seconds to confer and have its spokesperson give a response. If an incorrect response is given, the other team may hear the entire question. They then have 15 seconds to consult and have their team spokesperson give a response (which is still worth only one point if correct). It is suggested that there be 30 questions in the round. The contest is over when a team leads by more points then there are questions left. In the event of a tie after 30 questions, additional questions are read until one team correctly answers a question. This round may be scored using an overhead of the scoring grids shown in Attachment 8. Each time a team answers a question correctly, an X is placed in one of the cells. It is suggested that there be both a moderator/emcee and a judge for the final round. The moderator reads the questions. The judge checks the time and is the final authority on answers. The judge should have a good knowledge of economics. The Tests Four sets of tests are required for each division: Round I: Multiple-choice test over microeconomic topics Round II: Multiple-choice test over macroeconomic topics Round III: Multiple-choice test over international economic topics and current events Round IV: Quiz-bowl type questions covering all economic topics. States will be provided with a test bank of sample questions from previous Challenge competitions, as well as, a test bank of new questions. Questions may be chosen from these or new ones may be created. For each of the first three rounds, produce enough tests so that each student and each coach (teacher) can have a copy. It is strongly recommended that the tests in these first three rounds be of different colors to minimize any potential confusion. For the fourth round, only the emcee and any judges need a copy of the questions and answers. In writing questions for the first three rounds, is important to remember that some of the questions should be very challenging so that the strategy of the game comes into play (may be updated February 2007
best not to answer some of the questions). Five-option multiple choice questions are suggested to reduce the odds of simply guessing an answer. States are strongly encouraged to write their own Challenge tests which reflect their own interests and/or state standards. Making It Fun Don t be afraid to spice up the competition a bit remember it is a game, not an AP or SAT exam! Here are some suggestions: *Have teams bring placards displaying a team name and/or logo they have chosen (i.e. Mr. Peterson s Economic Advisors, The FOMC Freemont Ohio Manic Consumers, etc.). *Have teams dress up according to some common theme or according to their team name. *Between rounds randomly select students to win door prizes or participate in a mini-quiz contest (give them a simple question with only two possible responses increase/decrease, import/export, yes/no and award a prize for a correct response). *Encourage teams not making it into the final round to cheer for their favorite team during the quiz bowl competition. Let them develop cheers if they like! *Award all participants t-shirts. *During the year have a contest to design next year s t-shirt logo for the competition. *Include some fun, trivia-type questions in your tests. The Awards At the regional and national competitions, all members of the winning and runner-up teams receive savings bonds. At the state competitions any or all of the following might be considered: *A team trophy (this might be a nice traveling trophy to reduce future trophy expense) *A runner-up team trophy (an award for making the final round; also could be a traveling trophy) *Cash awards to members of the winning and/or runner-up teams (for example, packets of brand-new one-dollar bills) *Individual trophies and cash prizes (based on individual performance in the first two rounds) The Required Resources Most of the initial planning (arranging a site and space, arranging for lunch and refreshment breaks, ordering trophies and/or t-shirts, devising and preparing the tests, etc.) takes one person a couple of hours a week for two months. On the day of the competition, only three to four people (in addition to the coaches) are needed although more can be helpful. One person can act as the emcee of the event giving instructions, passing out tests to the coaches, collecting answer sheets, serving as the quizmaster for the final round and handing out awards at the end. The remaining people basically serve as scorers and judges for the contest. They can also help register the teams when they first arrive. The team coaches (teachers) help with the distribution of tests and answer sheets as described earlier. updated February 2007
The capital resource requirements include a room large enough to accommodate all the teams, luncheon facilities, and those items noted on Attachment 1 for the room set-up (tables, podium with microphone, grading machine, a buzzer system to use in the quiz bowl round, overhead projector and screen, etc.). Also note that you will need pencils for all participants, scoring pens for the graders, and overhead markers. The financial resources required are summarized below. This is based on 20 teams (4 students and a coach), 4 Council representatives, and 6 guests (sponsor representatives, administrators, news media, etc.). $ 300 Promotion (announcement preparation and mailing) 330 Welcome and Morning Break Refreshments (110 @ $3.00) 990 Luncheon (110 @ $9.00) 110 Test Materials (pencils for each participant, test copying, etc.) 500 Awards (cash and/or trophies) 770 T-shirts (110 @ $7.00) $3000 States are strongly encouraged to find additional sponsors for their state contest. This is a highvisibility, student-orientated, one-day program which should be very attractive to potential sponsors. However, your state Challenge must acknowledge NCEE and the Goldman Sachs Foundation. The statement, Sponsored by The Goldman Sachs Foundation and the National Council on Economic Education, should appear on brochures, agendas, and publicity pieces (along with any additional sponsors). The official name of the competition is the NCEE National Economic Challenge. Funding may not always be available to support all the state Challenges at current levels, thus, it is important to seek additional sponsors. updated February 2007
Attachment 1: Suggested Room Set Up -Overhead Project and Screen (to show team standings and record points in the final round) -Podium -Raised Stage (optional) -Tables for Teams in the Final Round (5 chairs at each) -Scoring Area (it is better if this takes place in an adjoining room) -Awards/T-shirt Showcase (display trophies and t-shirts if applicable) -Team Tables (6 chairs at each) -Registration Table -Refreshment/Luncheon Buffet Set-up Seats for Rnd 4-Quiz Bowl Podium Seats for Rnd 4-Quiz Bowl Front of Room Stage Area for Final Round (Round 4) X X X X X X X X Testing Area for Rounds 1-3 7
Attachment 2: Announcement Brochures (samples from previous years) 8
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Attachment 3: The Coach s Packet 1. A confirmation letter. The letter should include the date, time, and place of the Economics Challenge. Directions to the site, a map of the site (if it is a college/university campus, for example), and any parking instructions are useful to include. Ask the teams to plan on arriving 30 minutes before the competition. The letter should also confirm the number of teams and number of students the school plans to bring and the division(s) they are playing in. 2. An agenda for the day of the competition. (See Attachment 4) 3. A description of the structure and rules of the competition. (See Attachment 6) 4. A description of the awards structure. Describe who wins awards (teams, individuals, both) and the nature of those awards (cash, U.S. Savings Bonds, trophies, etc.) for each place awarded. 5. A reminder of other incentives. Such as food, t-shirts for all participants, advancement to regional/national competitions. 6. Basic responsibilities of the coaches: (1) Organize their school s team(s). Note that teams are obviously more competitive if they consist of four students and that how students are chosen at each school is totally at the discretion of the school and its coach. This is also true about the amount of preparation for the Challenge the team wishes to do. (2) Arrange transportation to and from the Challenge. (3) Help during the first three rounds of the Challenge distributing tests and picking up answer sheets and assisting with other tasks that may arise. 7. A disclaimer. It is important to mention that the Challenge tests, while attempting to reflect basic economic concepts, are not standardized tests nor indeed necessarily indicative of what should be taught in a high school economics course. Thus, neither the coaches nor the students should necessarily infer anything about their teachers, their courses, or their school s curriculum based on their performance in the Challenge. Students should also realize that they are not expected to answer all the questions the tests, as the name implies, are designed to be challenging. Part of the fun and strategy of the Challenge is to know which questions not to answer. 10
Attachment 4: A Sample Agenda STATE ECONOMICS CHALLENGE Agenda 9:30-10:00 Registration and morning refreshments 10:00-10:15 Welcome and Instructions 10:15-10:35 Round I: Microeconomics 10:35-10:50 Break/Answers from Round I 10:50-11:10 Round II: Macroeconomics 11:10-11:25 Break/Answers from Round II 11:25-11:45 Round III: International Economics and Current Events 11:45-12:45 Lunch/Answers from Round III Announce Finalists in each Division 12:45-1:00 Round IV: Economics Potpourri Quiz Bowl David Ricardo Division 1:00-1:15 Round IV: Economics Potpourri Quiz Bowl Adam Smith Division 1:15-1:30 Presentation of Awards Sponsored by: The Goldman Sachs Foundation National Council on Economic Education State Council on Economic Education Other Sponsors 11
Attachment 5: Scoring Sheet School: Team Members Round I Round II Round III Name Individual Score Round II from Round I Cumulative Score Team Score x 3 12
Attachment 6: Summary of 2007 National Economics Challenge Structure and Rules A. GENERAL STRUCTURE 1. Team Divisions a. There shall be two divisions: David Ricardo and Adam Smith. b. The David Ricardo division includes teams of students enrolled in one-semester (or less) general economics courses or courses which include introductory economic concepts (social studies, business, personal finance, etc.). The course must be taught by a secondary teacher. c. The Adam Smith division includes teams of students enrolled in Advanced Placement (AP Micro, AP Macro, or AP Micro and Macro), International Baccalaureate (pre-ib and IB), honors, two-semester, or any other advanced courses in economics (including courses taught by a secondary teacher where students earn college credit). The course must be taught by a secondary teacher. d. Any team containing one or more students enrolled in a course listed in A.1.c. must play in the Adam Smith division. e. Teams shall only compete against other teams in their own division. 2. Team Composition a. Teams shall be comprised of four (4) members. b. Competing with only three (3) members, if necessary, is possible and permissible. c. All members of a team must be from the same public, private, or home-based school. d. A school which qualifies for regional and/or national competition may reconstitute the members of its team prior to the competition. Students must, however, meet the the general student eligibility conditions in A.3., as well as, the eligibility conditions for the division in which the school qualified (see A.1.). 3. Student Eligibility a. Students must be enrolled for credit in a qualifying high school course (see A.1.b and A.1.c.) at some time during the 2006-2007 academic year. b. Students who have taken or are taking economics courses for college credit from a post-secondary instructor are not eligible to compete. c. Students who have taken more than one semester of economics at any time must compete in the Adam Smith division. In particular, students who are in their second semester of any economics course must compete in the Adam Smith division. d. No student is permitted to compete in the David Ricardo division more than one year. Any returning student who has already participated in the National Economics Challenge (at the state-level or higher) must compete in the Adam Smith division in subsequent years, regardless of previous or current coursework. e. Home-schooled students must compete in the Adam Smith division. 4. Rules Committee a. There shall be a rules committee comprised of each of the four regional coordinators, a representative from the National Council on Economic Education (NCEE), and one state Council representative appointed by NCEE. b. The rules committee shall only be responsible for rules compliance at the regional and national level competitions. c. Questions and grievances should be sent to the chair of the rules committee. d. All decisions of the rules committee are final. 13
B. CONTEST FORMAT 1. There shall be three initial rounds of competition (Rounds I-III). a. These shall be 20-minute rounds with 15, five-option, multiple-choice questions in each round. b. In the first two rounds each member competes individually and the team score in each round is the sum of the top three individual scores. c. In the third round members compete as a team and submit one answer sheet. d. Each division shall have its own set of tests for these rounds. 2. Scoring in Rounds I-III is based on the following system: +10 points for each correct response, -5 points for each incorrect response, and 0 points for no response. 3. The score on the Round III test will be multiplied by three so that this round is weighted equally with each of the first two rounds (Rounds I and II). 4. The content covered in Rounds I through III is as follows: Round I: Microeconomics, Round II: Macroeconomics, Round III: International Economics and Current Events. 5. The two highest scoring teams in each division after Rounds I-III advance to Round IV. First tie-breaker: team score in Round III. Second tie-breaker: total team score in Rounds I and II counting the scores of all four team members (not just the top three). Final tie-breaker: quiz-bowl competition tie-breaker (see B.7.b.). 6. Round IV has a quiz-bowl format covering all topics in economics. a. One student on each team is designated as the spokesperson for that team. Only responses from the designated spokesperson are considered official. b. One point is awarded for each question answered correctly by a team. c. Team members may buzz in at any time a question is being read, however, should they buzz in before the entire question has been read, they will have to answer based solely on the information they have heard up to that point. d. Once a team member has buzzed in, the team has 15 seconds to consult and have a response given by its spokesperson. e. If an incorrect response is given, the other team will have the opportunity to hear the entire question and then have 15 seconds to respond. f. Important: For the 2007 National Competition, team members must wait until a question is read in its entirety before buzzing in. The NCEE reserves the right to change the format of Round IV at the National Competition by notifying participating team two weeks in advance. 7. Round IV is over as soon as one team leads by more points than there are questions remaining. a. A maximum of 30 questions will be asked. b. In the event of a tie after 30 questions, the first team to correctly answer a tiebreaking question will be declared the winner. 8. Use of Support Materials a. The use of books, notes, calculators or other support materials is not allowed during the competition. b. Students will be allowed a pencil and a piece of scratch paper in all rounds. 14
Attachment 7: Filled-in Scoring Sheet School: Duluth East High School Team Members Round I Round II Round III Rob Duff 105 105 Mindy Anderson 90 90 Jill Sutton 110 120 Rick Lichty 75 100 Nate Harkness 80 95 210 180 230 175 175 Team Score 305 325 x 3 630 330 960 15
Attachment 8: Scoring Grids for the Final Round (to be enlargened and viewed as an overhead document) Team Name: Total Number of Correctly Answered Questions: Team Name: Total Number of Correctly Answered Questions: 16
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