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EconChallenge

How it Works

How It Works

The New York State Economics Challenge starts on January 1, 2025. Student teams in New York may participate until March 19th, 2025.

Teachers and Coaches: 

Click here: teacher registration or on the green tab "Teacher Registration" located on the left of the screen to start creating your student teams. Please make sure to place student competitors in the correct Division: 

  • David Ricardo Division: For first-time Challenge competitors who have taken no more than one 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.

Students: 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) more other students to be your teammates. Each member of your team must be eligible for the same Division.

To ensure your students compete and are accounted for, please follow these easy steps:

  • Teachers select one day within this period for each team to take the online exam.

  • You can choose to have all your teams take the test on the same day or choose specific dates for each. The online exam must be administered by March 19th, 2025, 6:00 pm ET.

  • After logging into their teacher account, they can click “Download Teams and Access Codes” to retrieve a unique access code for each student.  

During the exam period (January 1st, 2025 to March 19th, 2025) and with an adult proctor (teacher or parent) present, participating students will meet as a team and browse to this website (https://econchallenge.unl.edu/), select student access on the menu, and log in using their unique access codes. 

  • From the moment the first student on a given team logs in, that team has a total of three (3) hours for each member to complete the exam. 

  • Within this three-hour period, each student will have 35 minutes to complete their portion of the online exam without any cooperation between team members or outside help.

  • If there are enough computers available, each student must use a separate computer.  

  • Questions are randomly pulled from the Council for Economic Education’s database, so each student will answer different questions. At the conclusion of the online exam, teachers can log back into their account and download student team scores. 

The four (4) top-scoring New York State Competition teams from each Division will advance to the in-person New York State Economics Finals that will be held in New York City. The New York State Finals will be held on March 28th, 2025 at the Scandinavia House.

Please Read the 2025 New York State and National Finals Structure:

The New York State Economics Challenge will work as follows: 

1. Students will take the online test from January 1st, 2025 until March 19th, 2025. The online competition consists of 30 questions that must be answered within 35 minutes. Each student must answer the questions individually. The team score is the sum of the top three (3) student scores within each team. The top four (4) teams from each Division with the highest scores will advance to the in-person State Finals.

2. In the event of a tie for first place, the tiebreakers are as follows: 1) In the event of a tie, the fourth team member's score will be added to the team score as the first tiebreaker. 2) In the event of a continued tie, the combined team time will factor into a tiebreaker. If team A and team B both have the same number of points, the winning team will be the team that has the shorter combined test-taking time. For instance, team A completes the online test in a combined time of 90 minutes, and team B completes the online test in 85 minutes combined time, team B will be the winner. 

3. The top-scoring teams for the David Ricardo and Adam Smith Division will advance to the in-person New York State Economics Challenge Finals that will be held in New York City. The New York State Finals will be held on March 28th, 2025 at the Scandinavia House.

  • Advancing teams will be notified by March 23rd, 2025, and will receive directions on how to register and participate.

2025 In-Person New York State Economics Challenge Finals:

The top four (4) scoring teams from each Division (David Ricardo and Adam Smith) will advance to the in-person New York State Economics Challenge Finals. 

  • The New York State Economics Challenge Finals will be in-person. 

  • The Finals will take place in New York City. The New York State Finals will be held on March 28th, 2025 at the Scandinavia House..

The in-person New York State Finals Format:

  • Advancing teams from each Division will compete in the Critical Thinking Round Presentation and a  Quiz Bowl.

  • Teams that advance to State Finals in each Division will be provided with a copy of the rules and structure of this final round prior to arrival.

The Critical Thinking Round Presentation:

  • The top four (4) teams from each Division will receive a case study once the teams have registered and accepted to participate in the in-person State Finals. The case study will be given one week in advance.

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

  • Teams will have one week to prepare and complete the Critical Thinking Round Presentation. The Presentations must be submitted in a PDF format. The New York State Coordinator will collect all the presentations via email from each team and no changes can be made after the presentations have been received.

  • The Presentation must not exceed eight (8) minutes. It will be followed by an eight (8) minute Q&A with the panel of judges.

  • The Critical Thinking Round will be 30% of the overall team score.

  • All teams will begin the State Finals “Critical Thinking Round” Presentation with a score of zero.

The Quiz Bowl:

  • This round is an oral quiz bowl covering all topics in economics.

  • A total of 15 questions. 

  • After the emcee reads a question, each team will have 20 seconds to confer, and the team spokesperson will write down their answer on their whiteboard or paper.   

  • In the case of a tie for first place, up to three additional questions will be read.

  • The Quiz Bowl will be 70% of the overall team score.

  • All teams will begin the New York State Economics Challenge Finals Quiz Bowl with a score of zero.

State Prizes and Advancing to the National Finals:

  • 2025 Prizes for State Finalists:

    • 1st place: $2,000 for the team | 2nd place: $1,000 for the team| 3rd place: $500 for the team

  • The highest-scoring team from each Division will advance to the Online National Semi-Finals that will be held between May 28th-30th, 2025 in Atlanta, GA.

The National Finals will work as follows:

4. The Online Semi-Finals will be scheduled by region to be held on one day between April 21st-24th, 2025. This round will be conducted as an online test, with 45 multiple-choice questions.

The competition will consist of multiple-choice answer options on the following topics: microeconomics, macroeconomics, international, and current events. Students must answer the questions individually, and the team score will be the sum of the top three scores.

The highest-scoring teams in each Division will advance to the National Finals.

5. The National Finals in Atlanta, GA: May 28th-30th, 2025

Topline National Finals Schedule:

  • Wednesday, May 28th: Registration and Welcome Dinner.

  • Thursday, May 29th: Critical Thinking Round for the national 16 team finalists

  • Friday, May 30th : Quizbbowl Finals for the top 8 teams

The Council for Economic Education will host the National Finals in person in Atlanta, GA. The top teams will face off in a live Quiz Bowl. Cash prizes, a trophy, and medals will be awarded to the top-performing teams in each division.

  • The Council for Economic Education will only cover the cost of lodging and group meals for the National Finals teams (team members and one team coach). 

  • Transportation to the in-person National Finals located in Atlanta, GA will be at the expense of the teams.

If you have any questions, please contact us at dtan@councilforeconed.org. We will be more than happy to set up a time to discuss any questions over the phone or via email.