Brain Bowl Academic Competitions

Each year since 1985, FEF has hosted an Annual State Brain Bowl Academic Competition designed to motivate students to improve skills in critical reading and later in mathematics, writing, vocabulary and coding. Students prepare for the Brain Bowl over a period of several months by reading secondary and college-level written works; solving challenging mathematical problems; learning and using advanced vocabulary in writing and speech; exercising their writing, speaking and critical thinking skills to compose and present essays on character-related principles; and using their computational thinking and programming skills to address issues in their communities.

After training and preparation, students compete to test their knowledge and skill and win college scholarships and other prizes. More than 21,000 students have participated as team members, and more than 1,100 students have won scholarships donated by Florida's public and private colleges and universities.

To participate in the Brain Bowl, contact your nearest Center of Excellence.

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2025-2026 Brain Bowl Downloads

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Competition Categories

• History & Culture. Teams of students in grades 6 through 12 compete by answering SAT-based vocabulary and comprehension questions drawn from secondary and college-level literary and historical works. Students compete for 4-year college scholarships.


• Mathematics. Students in grades 6 through 12 compete in teams to solve challenging problem questions derived from the PSAT and the SAT. Senior high school students compete for 4-year college scholarships.


• Word Definition ("Word Wizard"). Students in grades 3 through 8 compete to spell and answer sentence completion and analogy questions on words taken from standards-based vocabulary lists for their grade levels.


• Laws of Life Essay Contest. Students in grades 3 through 12 compete in this contest that requires them to exercise writing and critical thinking skills to meet or exceed grade level expectations defined by State academic standards.


• NAS Voices Speech and Oratory Contest. Students in grades 9 through 12 compete in this contest that requires them to exercise public speaking, writing and critical thinking skills as they form opinions on thought-provoking national and international issues. Students compete for 4-year college scholarships.

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