ArmyJROTCHeader

Easy Steps To Participate

    • Assemble a team
    • Register
    • Compete in Level I

How to Assemble an Academic Team

Each JROTC unit will be allowed one team consisting of five cadets, including two juniors, two sophomores and one freshman.  Seniors may not be included on the team.  Two alternates (one junior and one sophomore) may be named in case a team member must drop out before the end of the competition.

Instructors may assess each potential team member by grades, performance on the practice round, ability to work with a team and/or enthusiasm for the competition.  The instructor has the final decision on the members of the team and may use the OPTIONAL Practice Round (Nov. 3 - 12, 2008) developed by the Foundation as a method of choosing team members.  The Practice Round will consist of 25 questions similar to those questions in Level I and II.  All cadets in the unit may take the Practice Round at an internet-accessible computer either in the classroom, at home, in the library or other location.  The cadets should logon to www.cofcontests.com, answer the questions and print out their scores to turn into the instructor.  It is up to each instructor to review the scores and determine members of the team.

How to Prepare the Team

One of the main goals of the JROTC Academic Challenge is to prepare students for state exit/graduation exams as well as college entrance exams, such as the SAT and ACT.  However, many JROTC instructors are understandably interested in measuring how well their cadets are learning the JROTC curriculum.  Therefore, we will have a mix of JROTC curriculum as well as English, Math and Science in each level of the competition.  We will also include a few questions about current events – focusing on national and international news, particularly international relations, politics, business and science.  All of the current events questions will be taken from major media available on television, the internet and in daily newspapers. 

Level I – The Challenge will include 25% JROTC questions, 65% SAT/ACT-type questions and 10% current events questions.

Level II – Zero Hour Threat will include 15% JROTC questions, 75% SAT/ACT-type questions and 10% current events questions.

We encourage all cadets, whether they are on the academic team or not, to prepare for the ACT, SAT and ASVAB tests by reviewing English, Science and Math coursework.  There are several resources available, free-of-charge, to all students.

Websites to review include:

www.cofcontests.com  – practice questions developed by the Foundation
www.cofcontests.com  – online SAT and ACT guides
www.number2.com – a free test prep website
www.march2success.com – a free test prep website
www.foxnews.com/index.html - FOX News
www.cnn.com/studentnews/ - CNN Student News
www.npr.org/ - National Public Radio
www.reuters.com/ - Reuters
www.usatoday.com/ - USA Today Newspaper

Study Guides to review:Guides
ACT Study Guide
SAT Study Guide

In this packet of information, we have included The Complete Guide to College Financing and Admissions.  This step-by-step approach will help all of your cadets navigate the intricacies of college admissions and financing.

How to Register the Team

Registration begins on Wednesday, November 19, 2008.  Teams are not required to pre-register in order to compete in Level I – The Challenge; however, it will take approximately 15 minutes to answer a few required questions before the actual test begins.  So, we suggest that each instructor register his or her team before the team is ready to participate in the first round.  Registration will be open until the last day of Level I competition (Dec. 10), so an instructor can still register a team up until the last day of Level I. 

Although an instructor may register a team just before participation in Level I: The Challenge, we strongly recommend that the instructor take a few minutes to register the team a day or two before competing to ensure there is enough time to complete Level I during a class period.

All teams will be competing against similar teams.  We will categorize by demographics including socio-economic and geographic factors. Please be prepared to answer the following questions:

High School Name, Address, Phone Number
Instructor Name, Email Address, Phone Number
Cadet Names, Grade, Years in JROTC
High School Demographics – Number of students, Number in Free Lunch Program, Athletic Category (ex. 3A, 8A), type of school (suburban, rural, private, public, etc.)

Competition Websites

College Options Foundation – for further information and links to reference websites as well as the competition website, go to www.collegeoptionsfoundation.net

COF Contests – to participate in the practice round, Level I and Level II, go to www.cofcontests.com

Equipment Requirements

To properly participate in the JROTC Academic Bowl, you need the following minimum computer requirements:

  • PC or Macintosh with a display set to 1024x768 or higher resolution (you can use a projector or large monitor)
  • The latest version of an Internet Browser (Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, Firefox, Safari, etc.)
  • The Macromedia Flash plug-in installed in your web browser (version 8 is best)
    • You will need the Flash plug-in in your web browser, to install it, click the following link and follow the directions Get Flash!
  • One member of your team to operate the computer (pressing keys/using the mouse)
  • Speakers for listening to the instructions within the JROTC Academic Bowl program
  • Your Internet browser window needs to be "maximized" to fill the full screen
  • Due to the file size of the Academic Challenge - the program might take about a minute to load - ignore the blank screen
  • Only Click ONCE on any of the buttons. With some web browsers, if you click more than once, more than one program will open, and this will cause errors.
  • Your password can only be used once, so no "test runs" to ensure connectivity or check you password.
  • Use of paper and pencil is allowed during the test.
  • Do not click on an answer after the time runs out, you will only end up answering the next question (usually incorrectly).

 

 

College Options Foundation 2008