Aralia Student Achievement
Today, we are excited to bring you yet another competition success from Aralia students:
In the 2023-24 ACSL (American Computer Science League) Intermediate 3 Division competition, the Aralia student team ranked in the top 10% worldwide, with 5 students advancing to the finals and 1 student winning a gold medal.
Screenshot of Aralia student gold medal
According to the competition website, over 130 teams participated worldwide in the Intermediate Division competition, but only 18 students won a gold medal in the finals, demonstrating the high prestige of the award!
We proudly say that Aralia students have ended this season on a high note with great momentum!
ACSL American Computer Science League
The American Computer Science League has a history of nearly 47 years and organizes computer programming and computer science competitions for K-12 schools, institutions, and local groups. According to the data published on the competition website, more than 8,000 students from the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia participated in last year’s competition.
Division Categories
There are 5 division categories: Senior, Intermediate, Junior, Classroom, and Elementary. Each division has similar competition questions but varies in detail and difficulty:
- Senior Division: Suitable for high school students with programming experience, especially those taking AP Computer Science.
- Intermediate Division: This division is suitable for high school students with little or no programming experience. Aralia students participated in this division.
- Junior Division: This division is suitable for middle school students learning programming or with coding experience. Students in 9th grade and above are not allowed to participate in it.
- Classroom Division: This division is open to students of all grades and is suitable for students taking AP Computer Science Principles and other computer science courses without major programming content.
- Elementary Division: Open to students in grades 3-6.
Season Structure
Each regular season consists of 4 contests, testing students on basic computer science concepts from number systems to Boolean algebra to digital electronics. In the higher divisions, each contest also includes a problem to be solved using Python, C++, or Java.
Finals
Finals are held individually. Based on scores during the regular season, top-scoring students in all divisions are invited to participate in the online finals:
- Classroom, Junior, Intermediate, and Senior Division students must score 24 points or above.
- Elementary Division students must score 12 points or above.
Competition Website
https://www.acsl.org/about
Prepare for ACSL (American Computer Science League)
The program begins with two weeks of dedicated programming practice to provide participants with an opportunity to enhance their skills. Subsequently, each of the 12 ACSL topics is allocated a two-week period, allowing ample time for in-depth exploration and understanding. Prior to each contest, participants are presented with two programming problems that are intentionally unrelated to the current topics. These problems are designed to enhance the coder’s skills and foster comfort in tackling diverse challenges.
