Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering
Encyclopedia
The Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering (WYSE) Academic Challenge is a high school academic competition run in Illinois
and Missouri
by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
and Missouri University of Science and Technology
, respectively. The team competition consists of 14 team members from multiple high schools each taking two exams. There are seven subject areas from which each student chooses their two tests: Biology
, Chemistry
, Computer Science
, Engineering Graphics
/Drafting
, English
, Mathematics
, and Physics
. Awards are given to both teams and individuals at three progressively harder levels; Regionals, Sectionals, and the State Finals.
questions, 7 Geometry
questions, etc. on the Mathematics exam at the Regional Level.
Schools are divided geographically into Sectionals; nine in Illinois, two in Missouri. Each Sectional is divided again into smaller Regionals, and Sectionals can have anywhere from two to five Regionals within it. Schools from different divisions can and do attend the same Regional and Sectional, even though they do not compete against each other. Some Regionals may not be represented in certain Divisions if no schools of that enrollment participate in the competition.
The highest Raw Score for a subject is considered the Normalizing Raw Score. This Raw Score is divided into 100 to find the Normalizing Constant. (100/Top Raw Score=Normalizing Constant) Every Raw Score for that subject in that division is then multiplied by the Normalizing Constant to find the school's normalized score. This is done for each subject in each division.
Once the normalized scores have been found, the school's score is determined by adding the normalized scores for five of the seven tests together. The five tests are English, Chemistry, Mathematics, and the two highest normalized scores of the remaining four tests (Biology, Computer Science, Engineering Graphics, and Physics).
At the Sectional level, individuals can also advance to the State Finals by scoring a pre-determined qualifying score on a test. This prevents Sectionals from advancing only the top two scores when
there are additional high scores below the 2nd place finisher(s).
If an individual qualifies to advance for one test, that individual still takes two tests at the next level, even if their school does not advance with the individual.
If there are 1 or 2 teams competing, both advance.
If there are from 3-7 teams, the top 2 advance.
If there are from 8-12 teams, the top 3 advance.
If there are from 13-16 teams, the top 4 advance.
If there are more than 16 teams, the top 5 advance.
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
and Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
and Missouri University of Science and Technology
Missouri University of Science and Technology
Missouri University of Science and Technology is an institution of higher learning located in Rolla, Missouri, United States, and part of the University of Missouri System...
, respectively. The team competition consists of 14 team members from multiple high schools each taking two exams. There are seven subject areas from which each student chooses their two tests: Biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
, Chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, Computer Science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
, Engineering Graphics
Engineering drawing
An engineering drawing, a type of technical drawing, is used to fully and clearly define requirements for engineered items.Engineering drawing produces engineering drawings . More than just the drawing of pictures, it is also a language—a graphical language that communicates ideas and information...
/Drafting
Technical drawing
Technical drawing, also known as drafting or draughting, is the act and discipline of composing plans that visually communicate how something functions or has to be constructed.Drafting is the language of industry....
, English
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
, Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, and Physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
. Awards are given to both teams and individuals at three progressively harder levels; Regionals, Sectionals, and the State Finals.
Test Format
The tests are 40 minute multiple choice tests. Each test has a different number of questions. Computer Science is a 30 question exam, Physics 35, Chemistry and Mathematics 40, Biology and Engineering Graphics 50, and English 100. These questions are divided into subcategories in each field; for instance, there are 14 AlgebraAlgebra
Algebra is the branch of mathematics concerning the study of the rules of operations and relations, and the constructions and concepts arising from them, including terms, polynomials, equations and algebraic structures...
questions, 7 Geometry
Geometry
Geometry arose as the field of knowledge dealing with spatial relationships. Geometry was one of the two fields of pre-modern mathematics, the other being the study of numbers ....
questions, etc. on the Mathematics exam at the Regional Level.
Competition Format
Schools competing in the WYSE Competition are divided into 4 divisions based on enrollment; Division 300 features schools with a maximum of 300 enrolled students, Division 700 features schools with an enrollment larger than 300 and smaller than 700, Division 1500 from 700 to 1500, and Division Unlimited for schools larger than 1500 students. The tests are the same in each division.Schools are divided geographically into Sectionals; nine in Illinois, two in Missouri. Each Sectional is divided again into smaller Regionals, and Sectionals can have anywhere from two to five Regionals within it. Schools from different divisions can and do attend the same Regional and Sectional, even though they do not compete against each other. Some Regionals may not be represented in certain Divisions if no schools of that enrollment participate in the competition.
Individual
Tests are graded and ranked from highest score to lowest score. At Regionals and Sectionals, the top 3 scores in each test, including ties, are awarded medals. At the State Finals, the top 6 scores including ties are awarded medals.Team
Individual tests are graded and ranked from highest score to lowest score. The two highest scores in each subject for a school are added together to determine the school's Raw Score for that subject. If a school has only one score in a subject, the Raw Score is zero.The highest Raw Score for a subject is considered the Normalizing Raw Score. This Raw Score is divided into 100 to find the Normalizing Constant. (100/Top Raw Score=Normalizing Constant) Every Raw Score for that subject in that division is then multiplied by the Normalizing Constant to find the school's normalized score. This is done for each subject in each division.
Once the normalized scores have been found, the school's score is determined by adding the normalized scores for five of the seven tests together. The five tests are English, Chemistry, Mathematics, and the two highest normalized scores of the remaining four tests (Biology, Computer Science, Engineering Graphics, and Physics).
Advancement
Individuals and teams advance from Regionals to Sectionals to the State Finals based on their placement at the current level of competition.Individual
Individuals who place 1st or 2nd, including ties, at either Regionals or Sectionals advance to the next level. Thus, if there is one 1st place individual and a four-way tie for 2nd, five individuals will advance to the next level for that subject.At the Sectional level, individuals can also advance to the State Finals by scoring a pre-determined qualifying score on a test. This prevents Sectionals from advancing only the top two scores when
there are additional high scores below the 2nd place finisher(s).
If an individual qualifies to advance for one test, that individual still takes two tests at the next level, even if their school does not advance with the individual.
Team
Teams advance to the next level based on their finish compared to the number of schools competing.If there are 1 or 2 teams competing, both advance.
If there are from 3-7 teams, the top 2 advance.
If there are from 8-12 teams, the top 3 advance.
If there are from 13-16 teams, the top 4 advance.
If there are more than 16 teams, the top 5 advance.