Frequently Asked Questions
"Who" is the Canadian Scholastic Achievement League?
Who may enter the contest?
Who makes up the questions and how can I prepare my students?
How and when is "Scholastic Challenge" administered?
What can I do if my contest package or final results package has not arrived on time?
Who scores the contest, and how are student scores used?
Who should I select to participate in this competition?
Grade 6 Contest
The Grade 6 Contest is designed for grade six students. However, some teachers enter students form grade five, especially those at smaller schools since the minimum fee is for up to 30 students. Students beyond grade six are ineligible. There is no minimum number of students required to participate.
A group of experienced elementary and middle school teachers from all subject areas, with the help of their students' input, submit a variety of questions every year. The ideas and concepts from these questions are used to form the questions found in each of the six sections. The sections include: General Knowledge ( i.e. food, art, sports, music, current events, entertainment, mythology, etc.), Language and Literature, Social Studies (Geography and History), Science, and Mathematics. The questions are not related to a specific curriculum, but are selected to reflect the general knowledge and educational levels expected of grade six or grade eight students. Therefore, it is not necessary for teachers to prepare their students specifically for this contest. Questions vary each year so previous contest questions are of little help, and will not be made available. Please visit our "Try A Demo" link for samples.
Every teacher registering their students will receive a contest "information and codes" package via email by mid January. Contest supervisors will administer the one hour competition at computers, in their school at a convenient time. The contest consists of 100 questions that range from easier, to medium, and harder in each section. The contest may be scheduled at each school's convenience, but must be completed by mid March each year. Results, answered test copy, certificates and awards, will be mailed to participating schools by early May.
What can I do if my contest information email or final results package has not arrived on time?
If you have not received your contest information and codes by the end of January, via email, or your results' package by the middle of May, due to mail delays, email us at info@canschoolschallenge.com and we will help make sure that all deadlines are met.
The contest scores are computer generated at the completion of each school's one hour session. Scores are only used to identify the national, provincial and school champions and Certificate of Merit winners and the school team champions. The only results made available to all participating schools are those of the individual national champion's score, and the school team champion's score. All other scores remain confidential unless teachers receiving their students' scores make them available to their students.
Who should I select to participate in this competition?
What types of payment are accepted?
We accept payment by cheque or money order. We are teachers and do not have the capacity to accept credit cards. Some school districts prefer to send purchase orders, and we will respond to those by providing invoices.
In the past, we have tried advertising and direct mail campaigns to get new schools involved. These are costly and have not been very effective lately. We needed to do something to get new schools involved to replace the ones we lose each year through teacher retirements, school closures, budget constraints, etc.
Here's how our "New School Recruitment Program" works.
1. Promote Scholastic Challenge 2025 to 2 other schools in your district or family of schools, or to 1 school that registers in both the grade 6 and grade 8 divisions by the end of January.
2. Contact us with their names.
3. When those new schools have completed their participation, we will contact you at the end of April, and either send your school a $70 refund or apply a credit to your school for Scholastic Challenge 2026.
We hope you understand that with your help, we can continue to offer our academic challenge in the future. Any concerns, feedback (positive or negative), or other ideas that you may have to help us recruit new schools to our contest would be greatly appreciated. If you require more information or clarification, don't hesitate to ask.
