Hillsboro School District students can take free online exams to qualify for national competitions in history, science and geography.
The district is promoting registration for the 2026-27 National History Bee, National Science Bee and National Geography Bee, all run by International Academic Competitions (IAC). The competitions are open to all students, pre-K through 12th grade, according to the district.
The first step is a free Online Regional Qualifying Exam, or ORQE. Each exam has 50 multiple-choice questions with four answer choices, and students have 20 minutes to complete it, according to IAC. An adult sponsor, either a parent or teacher, must create a free account at orqe.iac-exams.com before a student can take the test.
There is no hard deadline to complete the qualifying exam, but IAC recommends students take it as early as possible in the academic year. About 60% of students who take the ORQE advance to regional tournaments. Students generally need to answer about half of the 50 questions correctly to qualify.
Hillsboro School District will host an Oregon Fall regional tournament on Saturday, Dec. 5. The registration deadline for that event is Monday, Nov. 23. Regional competition costs $54 per subject, with a $10 surcharge for late sign-ups. While the district's announcement describes the competitions as open to all students, IAC organizes grade-based divisions at tournaments.
A second Oregon regional is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 16, 2027, at Whiteaker Middle School in Keizer. Its registration deadline is Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2027.
Students who finish in the top 50% of their age division at any regional tournament qualify for national championships. The varsity and junior varsity nationals run April 22-25, 2027, in Arlington, Virginia. Middle and elementary school nationals are May 27-31, 2027, in Orlando, Florida. Students may compete at up to seven regional tournaments per subject during the year.
Families with questions can contact HSD Talented and Gifted (TAG) Coordinator Deb Luther at [email protected].
