High School Chemistry Olympiad

The Southern California Section of the American Chemical Society has been offering the Chemistry Contest since 1914, at which time Nordhoff High School was the top-scoring school. It became the High School Chemistry Olympiad in 1968 when National ACS began sponsoring it. In 2008, the Section won a National award for 25 years of continuous support of the Chemistry Olympiad. In 2014, we celebrated 100 years of offering the High School Contest. The Southern California Section has the longest-running contest in American Chemical Society history.

The Chemistry Olympiad is a way for the Section to locate and recognize high-achieving students and mentor them in chemistry. Each year, we offer the test at over 30 high school campuses all over Los Angeles County. The test is designed to test a student’s knowledge of a wide variety of topics in chemistry. The top scorers on the local exam are nominated to compete in the National Exam. The top 20 national winners are invited to attend an all-expense paid two-week study camp. The top four finalists from the camp are then selected to represent the United States at the International Chemistry Olympiad which is held in a different country each year. We recognize the top local students at an Educational Awards event in May with monetary awards and certificates.

KEY DATES FOR 2025 USNCO EXAM

Only parents/guardians of students can register a participating student at the ACS website via the link below. Teachers will not be allowed to register students, and students will not be allowed to register themselves. Online registration opened November 15, 2024. If parents/guardians do not register their student with USNCO by the January 24, 2025 deadline, the student will not be able to participate in the local exam. Teachers, please copy and send your students this information link: https://www.acs.org/education/olympiad.html

• USNCO Rules & Eligibility – You must read the Rules and Eligibility before you sign up.
• Registration opened on November 15, 2025. Deadline to register: January 24, 2025. REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED.
  NOTE: The registration form will sort you into the correct local ACS section, based on your high school name or zip code. Students from outside SCALACS jurisdiction will not be allowed to register to take the local exam with us.
• Once the registration closes on January 24, 2025, SCALACS will receive the list of registered participants from USNCO.
• SCALACS  will then reach out to all teachers with students who are registered.
  *If there are multiple teachers at the same school, SCALACS will reach out to these teachers in a group e-mail so that we are all on the same page and we can determine which teacher will proctor the local exam.
  *Please let SCALACS know if your school would be willing to accept students who do not have a testing site.
  *SCALACS will confirm the list of students, student information, and exam payment with the teachers.
• Scoring will be done by Scantron. SCALACS will be sending each school the printed exams along with the appropriate answer sheets for students to use.
• SCALACS will be handling all the scoring of the exam. Once the exam is over, teachers will send their answer sheets to the office at 2700 E. Foothill Blvd, Suite 209, Pasadena, CA 91107. The local Olympiad coordinator will score the exams. Scores will not be released to students or parents/guardians.
• Exam Payment — SCALACS will send an invoice to the parents of the participating students. Cost will be $11/student. All payments must be received by February 14, 2025.

Any questions, please contact our administrator, e-mail office@scalacs.org or call 310-327-1216.

VIEW THE 2024 LOCAL EXAM RESULTS HERE.