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EconChallenge

How it Works

Students: This site is for teachers. If you are interested in competing, please find a teacher to serve as your coach and have them register here. Work with your coach to recruit a minimum of two (2) and a maximum of three (3) other students to be your teammates. 

 

 How the National Economics Challenge Works 

 

The National Economics Challenge Competition Schedule:

  • Registration period:                                                                                 January 1, 2026 - April 8, 2026

  • Competition exam period:                                                                               January 5, 2026 – 6:00 PM on April 10, 2026

  • Advancing teams moving forward to the Online Semi-Finals will be notified on April 17, 2026.


New Teachers:

  • You will need to complete the Teacher Registration and be approved by the Econ Challenge administrator before you can begin creating teams. 
  • Teachers and coaches: Click on the “teacher registration” tab on the left to register.
     

 

How to Create Teams:

If you are ready to create your teams for this year's competition, you may do so by accessing your Team Administration page and selecting 'Create New Team.' 

Teachers and coaches: Click on the “teacher login” tab on the left to start creating student teams. Be sure to place student competitors in the correct division:

  • David Ricardo Division: For first-time Challenge competitors who have taken no more than one general economics course.
  • Adam Smith Division: For AP, international baccalaureate, and honors students (as well as any returning competitors).

For more information on rules and student eligibility, visit “the rules.”
 


Download Student Access Codes:

Once your teams have been created:

  • Each student will be assigned a unique access code that can only be used once at the time of completing the Challenge and can only be used by that student.  Teachers are to share the access codes with the students at the start of the testing session.  They are not to give out access codes in advance.


 


The Challenge:

The Economics Challenge online exam is open from January 5, 2026 to 6:00 PM on April 10, 2026.

Teachers select one day within this period for each team to take the online Challenge. From the time that the first student on a team begins the online test, all members of the team must complete the test within three hours.  Each student will have a maximum of 35-minutes to complete the exam.

Teachers and coaches:  Proctor teams. Ensure that all members of a team  work independently, not collaboratively.  The team score is the sum of the three highest scores on a team. 
 


Completing the Challenge:

  • When it is time for students to complete the Challenge, they will select 'Student Access' and enter the access code that was assigned to them.
  • They will then complete a short identification and challenge integrity confirmation before they begin the challenge. 
  • Teachers and coaches: Before your teams compete, download the access codes. Go to the “teacher login” tab on the left menu bar, log in, then click “Download Teams and Access Codes” to retrieve a unique access code for each student. 
     


Accessing Student Results:

  • Once all of your student teams have completed the challenge, teachers can access their scoring and category data from their team administration page.
  • Scoring data will show both the individual student score as well as the team score, while the category report will show student performance in each subject.

Each State Champion Team will advance to the Online Semi-Finals and will be notified by April 17, 2026.

Videos:

Here are videos that walk you through the registration and the testing processes:

New Teacher Registration  Creating a Team*  CSV Import  Student Access Codes   

Completing the Challenge  Accessing Student Data 

*Note: You may create teams during the registration period, January 1st - April 8th.

 

  The National Finals Competition  


The State Champion Teams in each division will advance to the Online National Semi-Finals.

Online National Semi-Finals: April 20 – 24, 2026

  • The Online National Semi-Finals will be a series of online test questions held within the testing window of April 20–24, 2026.
  • The competition consists of three (3) consecutive rounds with no breaks in between.
  • Students will have a total of 45 minutes to answer 45 questions.
  • All questions will consist of four-option, multiple-choice questions in each round.
  • Each Division shall have its own set of tests for these rounds.

In each division, the eight highest scoring teams on the Semi-Finals test will advance to the National Finals and will be notified by April 28, 2026.  However, only one Adam Smith team and one David Ricardo team from the Multi-State competition pool may advance to the Nationsl Finals.

The David Ricardo and Adam Smith division teams that are advancing to the National Finals in Atlanta, Georgia will participate in a Critical Thinking Round. The top-ranking teams in each division will then participate in a Quiz Bowl to determine the National Champion for that division.

  • The Council for Economic Education will be responsible for covering the cost of lodging and group meals for the National Finals' teams (team members and one team coach).
  • The Council for Economic Education will not cover the teams' travel costs to the National Finals.  Advancing teams will be responsible for providing transportation to and from the in-person National Finals located in Atlanta, Georgia. 

In-Person National Finals: May 27, 2026 – May 29, 2026

  • The Council for Economic Education will host the in-person National Finals in Atlanta, Georgia.

  • All teams advancing to the National Finals in Atlanta will participate in a Critical Thinking Round.

  • In the Critical Thinking Round, members compete as a team to develop an analysis for a current economic problem.  Teams present their solutions to a panel of judges who assign each team a score and ranking based on the following: completeness of response, economic analysis and insight, background knowledge, and presentation. 

  • The rank from the Critical Thinking Round is used to determine the top four teams that advance to the Quiz Bowl Round. 

  • The Quiz Bowl is a 20 question oral quiz bowl covering all topics in economics. Prior to the competition, the teams that advance to the Finals Quiz Bowl are provided with a copy of the rules for this final round.

  • Cash prizes, a trophy, and medals will be awarded to the top-performing teams in each division.  Cash prizes for each team member and one teacher-coach will be in the following amounts: 1st place: $1,000 | 2nd place: $500 | 3rd place: $250 | 4th place: $200.

  • The National Economics Challenge is a program of the Council for Economic Education (CEE).