// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did Commissioner's Academic Challenge say to the test? "You're challenged to grade me.
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| Commissioner's Academic Challenge | |
|---|---|
 Logo of the Commissioner's Academic Challenge | |
| Venue | Loews Royal Pacific Resort |
| Location | Orlando, Florida |
| Date | 1986 - Present (40 years) |
| Organizing body | Florida Department of Education & Polk County Public Schools |
| Teams | 30 |
| Website | https://academic-challenge.org/ |
| Champion | |
| Pinellas (8th win) | |
The Commissioner's Academic Challenge (CAC) is Florida's statewide high school quiz bowl-like academic tournament. The tournament is held at the Loews Royal Pacific Resort in Orlando, Florida, during March or April. It was cancelled in 2020 due to COVID-19.
The tournament is run by the Florida Department of Education Polk County Public Schools.[1] Each county school board in Florida is asked to send a team composed of six high school students. Participating counties are separated into three divisions based on their full-time enrollment numbers for grades 9-12.[2]
Tournament Format
[edit]Only four players may compete during a given round, but coaches are allowed to make substitutions between rounds. Most matches feature somewhere between four and six teams competing at the same time. A panel of judges is present in each competition room to deliberate if a challenge is declared by a team.
Teams compete in up to four untimed matches, around 2 hours each, with matches consisting of 3 rounds, each with 5, 10, and 15 point "button" question rounds of 20, 20, and 25 questions respectively. Additionally, each round has a 10, 20, and 30 team question respectively. Button questions are quick-response toss-ups, answered by only one team, with correct answers earning points and incorrect answers losing points. The Team Questions are written worksheets, completed by each team, and earn points for each correct answer, but do not lose points for incorrect answers.
The questions asked become progressively harder in each round and cover a variety of fields including English, math, science, social studies, art, music, foreign language (French and Spanish), technology, and multi-subject. The questions take a variety of forms, such as matching, multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, and free response. Some questions, such as foreign language, music, art and physics are written and are distributed on handouts, simultaneously, to all participants. Others, such as music, are played as audio tracks, and some, such as foreign language are displayed as video tracks. CAC differs from most tournaments in that once a team has buzzed in, that question ends whether the team gave a right or wrong response.
Awards and Prizes
[edit]At the conclusion of the tournament, the top three teams in each division receive rings from Herff Jones, while the championship and second place teams also receive trophies and medallions from the Florida High School Athletic Association.
In addition, one winning player from each of the three championship counties, and three other players selected "at large," are chosen to serve on Team Florida, which competes at the National Tournament of Academic Excellence in June.
History of CAC
[edit]The tournament began in 1986 and changed names several times before settling on its present title in 1997. The following is a list of winning counties:[3]
| Year | Division I | Division II | Division III | Year | Division I | Division II | Division III |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Seminole | Suwannee | (No Division III) | 2007 | Polk | Leon | Hardee |
| 1987 | Orange | Highlands | 2008 | Pinellas | Martin | Hardee | |
| 1988 | Duval | Clay | Suwannee | 2009 | Brevard | Indian River | Jackson |
| 1989 | Polk | Bay | Suwannee | 2010 | Escambia | Santa Rosa | Franklin |
| 1990 | Pinellas | Highlands | Suwannee | 2011* | Escambia | Leon | Suwannee |
| 1991 | Dade | Indian River | Suwannee | 2012 | Orange | Leon | Monroe |
| 1992 | Pinellas | Collier | Suwannee | 2013 | Pinellas | Martin | Suwannee |
| 1993 | Duval | St. Lucie | DeSoto | 2014 | Seminole | Okaloosa | Suwannee |
| 1994 | Pinellas | Bay | Suwannee | 2015* | Orange | Okaloosa | Suwannee |
| 1995 | Broward | Clay | Suwannee | 2016* | Manatee | Clay | Columbia |
| 1996 | Leon | Osceola | Suwannee | 2017* | Pinellas | Martin | Walton |
| 1997 | Duval | Indian River | DeSoto | 2018 | Orange | Escambia | Hendry |
| 1998 | Seminole | Hernando | Suwannee | 2019* | Orange | Leon | FAU |
| 1999 | Brevard | Indian River | DeSoto | 2020* | Was not held | ||
| 2000 | Escambia | Leon | Taylor | 2021* | |||
| 2001 | Palm Beach | Indian River | Suwannee | 2022 | Brevard | Okaloosa | Walton |
| 2002 | Escambia | Leon | Suwannee | 2023 | Polk | Leon | Columbia |
| 2003 | Escambia | Leon | Suwannee | 2024 | Polk | Okaloosa | Columbia |
| 2004 | Brevard | St. Lucie | Hardee | 2025 | Pinellas | St. Lucie | Columbia |
| 2005 | Manatee | Okaloosa | Gadsden | 2026 | Pinellas | Okaloosa | Putnam |
| 2006 | Escambia | Santa Rosa | Hardee | 2027 | TBD | TBD | TBD |
Teams by wins
[edit]| Team | Wins | Team | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suwannee | 17 | Bay | 2 |
| Leon | 9 | Manatee | 2 |
| Pinellas | 8 | Santa Rosa | 2 |
| Escambia | 7 | Walton | 2 |
| Okaloosa | 6 | Miami-Dade | 1 |
| Orange | 5 | Broward | 1 |
| Indian River | 5 | Collier | 1 |
| Polk | 4 | Hernando | 1 |
| Brevard | 4 | Taylor | 1 |
| Hardee | 4 | Palm Beach | 1 |
| Columbia | 4 | Osceola | 1 |
| Seminole | 3 | Franklin | 1 |
| Duval | 3 | Monroe | 1 |
| Clay | 3 | Hendry | 1 |
| St. Lucie | 3 | Gadsden | 1 |
| Martin | 3 | FAU | 1 |
| DeSoto | 3 | Putnam | 1 |
| Highlands | 2 |
References
[edit]- ↑ Saggio, Jessica. "Merritt Island High team wins academic competition". Florida Today. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
- ↑ "About | Commissioner's Academic Challenge". academic-challenge.org. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
- ↑ "Team Florida Selection Process | Students | Polk County Public Schools". www.polk-fl.net. Archived from the original on 2008-10-10. Retrieved 2026-07-15.