Spring, 2026 -
Congratulations to the Adam Smith team from Lane Technical College Preparatory High School in Chicago and teacher Kathryn Person for taking first place in the in-person state finals competition at North Central College on April 13.
Congratulations to the David Ricarso division team from Naperville Central High School in Chicago and teacher Michael Borge for taking first place in the in-person state finals competition at University of Illinois Chicago on April 15.
The testing portal will reopen in December for the fall session.
Choose from the divisions below:
David Ricardo division - students with up to one semester of high school economics.
Adam Smith division - returning students, students with more than one semester of economics, or all with AP, IB, or Dual Enrollment in economics.
Illinois STATE FINALS Competition in 2026 -
The Adam Smith division finals will be held in person on Monday, April 13, 2026 at North Central College in Naperville. Teams will be invited based on scores in the fall and spring sessions. Notification to the invited teams will be by March 25. Only teams proctored by a school personnel during school hours (including before and after school activities) will be eligible for consideration for advancement to the state level of competition. The state winning team from the Adam Smith division representing IL will move on to the online national semi-finals and take a qualifying test for advancing to the nationals during the week of April 20-24, 2026.
The state winner in the David Ricardo division will be determined at an in-person event at UIC on Wednesday, April 15, 2026. A small number of teams will be invited to compete in a pilot state finals event. The top scoring teams from the fall and spring sessions will be invited and teachers will be notified by March 25. Only teams proctored by a school personnel during school hours (including before and after school activities) will be eligible for consideration for advancement to the state level of competition. The state winning team in the David Ricardo division in IL will move on to the online national semi-finals test administered during the week of April 20-24, 2026.
North Central College and the UIC Center for Economic Education (UIC CEE) work together to offer the IL Economics Challenge with both fall and spring testing windows in order to provide an opportunity for all Illinois high school students to demonstrate their knowledge of econonics.
Serving the Teachers of Illinois with two levels of competition - basic (one semester high school economics) and advanced (AP/IB or more than one semester of high school economics).
Registration required for new teachers ONLY: Please click on the top left tab (green tab) to register if you are a teacher who is new to this event. Returning teachers do not have to register again if their information has not changed.
OPEN: Spring Session 2026: New teacher registration requested by March 18. if you have participated before, no additional registration is necessary.Testing window: March 2-20, 2026. Teachers can immediately access student score reports and category reports, but only during the open testing window. After the testing window closes, contact Joy Joyce for the information on your team(s).
NOTE: Students may participate in only one session and one division per academic year.
For additional information on student eligibility, contact Joy Joyce at joyljoyce@gmail.com.