Welcome to the 2025 Massachusetts Economics Challenge!
Ignite your students' passion for economics by participating in The National Economics Challenge (NEC)! This exciting and motivating team competition offers high school students the chance to showcase their knowledge of economics, demonstrate their analytical skills, and compete with peers on a national stage, making themselves and their schools proud.
Each year, nearly 10,000 students from across the nation seize the opportunity to shine as they are tested on key micro and macroeconomic principles, as well as their understanding of the global economy. The NEC stands out as the country’s only economics competition of its kind with its unique approach to engaging, motivating, and rewarding high school students, ensuring a memorable and fun learning experience.
Participants compete for cash prizes, recognition, and bragging rights in one of two divisions: the Adam Smith Division for advanced placement, baccalaureate, honors students, and returning competitors, and the David Ricardo Division for first-time participants who have taken no more than one economics course.
The NEC is free and easy to sign up for, with the Council for Economic Education (CEE) providing all the materials needed to make coaching a breeze. Our NEC toolkit includes comprehensive economics lessons, engaging activities, informative videos, and challenging quizzes to help you and your team succeed.
Note: There’s no limit on the number of teams you can enter in Round 1. Use the NEC as a way to ignite your students’ interest in economics as a fun and engaging classroom or club activity!
2025 Massachusetts & National Economics Challenge Timeline
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Team Registration Period: January 1st, 2025 – April 11th, 2025
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Online Challenge Exam Period: January 1st, 2025 – April 11th, 2025
The final day to take the online exam is April 11th, 2025, at 6:00PM EST.
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Massachusetts State Champions Advancing to National Online Semi-Finals Notified: April 16th, 2025
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National Online Semi-Finals: April 21st - 24th, 2025
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Teams Advancing to National In-Person Finals: May 1st, 2025
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National In-Person Finals: May 28th - 30th, 2025
2025 Competition Overview
This exciting team learning experience begins with competitions at the state level with the Online Challenge. The winning team from each state for each division in the Online Challenge then moves on to the National Semi-Finals. The top teams in the Online National Semi-Finals will advance and receive an all-expense paid trip (excluding transportation to/from state of origin) to compete in the National Finals in Atlanta, GA this spring. Below, each phase of the competition is detailed further:
Coaches register their teams to compete in one of two divisions:
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The Adam Smith Division is for advanced placement, baccalaureate, honors students, and returning competitors
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The David Ricardo Division is for students participating in the NEC for the first time and who have taken no more than one economics course.
Massachusetts State Competition, The Online Challenge (January 10st to April 11th, 2025)
The Massachusetts Economics Challenge consists of only one round, the Online Challenge. Teachers and students throughout the state will be able to participate, regardless of travel or budgetary constraints. In this first round, teams of three or four members complete the online exam during which time each individual team member will have up to 35 minutes to complete a test covering micro and macroeconomic principles as well as knowledge of the world economy. This online exam will determine state champion teams in each division, each of whom will advance to the Online National Semi-Finals.
National Online Semi-Finals (April 21st - 25th, 2025)
The winning teams from each state for each division move on to the National Semi-Finals to compete for their spot in the National Finals. The Online National Semi-Finals will be a series of online test questions held within the testing window of April 21st–24th, 2025. The top teams in the Online National Semi-Finals will advance and receive an all-expense paid trip (excluding transportation to/from state of origin) to compete in the National Finals in Atlanta, GA this spring.
National Finals in Atlanta, GA (May 28th - 30th, 2025)
The top 16 teams (8 from Adam Smith and 8 from David Ricardo) will advance to the in-person National Finals held in Atlanta, GA on May 28th-30th, 2025. The teams advancing to the National Finals will travel to Atlanta, GA on an all-expense paid trip (excluding travel to/from state of origin) to compete in-person and earn cash prizes for each team member, plus one coach: 1st place $1,000 | 2nd place $500 | 3rd place $250 | 4th place $200.
The National Finals consist of two rounds – first, all teams participate in a Critical Thinking Round for their division. The top 8 teams (4 from Adam Smith and 4 from David Ricardo) will then participate in a Quiz Bowl to determine the National Champion in both divisions.
- Critical Thinking Round: For each division, all 8 finalist teams will compete in this round. In the Critical Thinking Round, members compete as a team to develop an analysis for a current economic problem. Teams will have 25 minutes to prepare a presentation analyzing the economic issue. Then, teams will have 12 minutes to present their solutions to a panel of judges, and 7 minutes to answer questions from the judges. The top 4 scoring teams in each division then advance to the quiz bowl based on evaluations from the judging panels.
- Final Quiz Bowl: In this decisive round, the top four teams for each division will compete in an oral 20-question Quiz Bowl covering all topics in economics to determine the winners of the 2025 National Economics Challenge!
You can find the full official rules for the 2025 National Economics Challenge here: 2025 NEC Rules and Eligibility
Participation is Rewarding
Each teacher can register as many teams as they want. For the 2025 NEC we are offering an incentive to teachers who have 2 or more teams participate! Teachers who have 2 or more teams compete will receive a $50 gift card for classroom supplies. After the state competition concludes, we will reach out to those who have qualified to distribute your gift cards!
Massachusetts State Economics Challenge Prizes & Incentives
The top Massachusetts teams in each division, Adam Smith & David Ricardo, will win the following cash prizes (per team):
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1st place: $1,000
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2nd place: $500
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3rd place: $250
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4th place: $125
REGISTRATION
Team Registration is from January 1st, 2025 - April 11th, 2025.
Click here: TEACHER REGISTRATION to begin creating your student teams.
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The Challenge is free to your students and you may register as many teams as you'd like.
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For more information about registration, rules, dates, and advancing to the National Economics Challenge, please refer to the menu on the side of this page.
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New and returning teachers can find resources to help prepare their student teams to compete in the National Economics Challenge by visiting econedlink.
Check out these resources to get started
The 2025 National Economics Challenge Rules & Eligibility -T ake a look at the Official NEC Rules & Eligibility!
EconEdLink NEC Information and Resources - Explore our resources to help your students prepare!
CEE Website - National Economics Challenge Program Page - Visit CEE's Official page for the NEC!
NEC Econ Ed Link Collection - Browse our library of lessons and content dedicated to helping your students learn and prepare for the Challenge!
If you have any questions about the competition, please contact us. We will respond to your emails as soon as possible. Good luck to all the teams!
Contact:
Douglas Tan
MA Student Competitions Coordinator
Council for Economic Education
MAcouncil@councilforeconed.org
Erin V. Heald
Senior Manager, Programs
Council for Economic Education
eheald@councilforeconed.org
Note: Please make sure to check your junk/spam for our emails that may be blocked by your school servers. Important emails about NPFC deadlines and the National Finals will be conveyed via email from the above addresses.
Results from the 2024 MA Economics Challenge!
Congratulations to the Winners!
Adam Smith Division:
1st Place: Team Sharon High School from Sharon High School - Coach Sean O'Reilly
2nd Place: Team 5 from Milton Academy - Coach Susan Karp
3rd Place: Team DH Trading Co from Dana Hall School - Coach Ryan Chiu
David Ricardo Division:
1st Place: Team Groton from Groton School - Coach Brian Xiao
2nd Place: Team 3 from Milton Academy - Coach Susan Karp
3rd Place: Team iLC-KCIS Linkou from International Language School Boston - Coach Jonathan Chang