National Qualifying Exams (NQEs)

Divisions

Students will be assigned to Varsity or JV divisions based on their grade, so 11th and 12th grade is Varsity, while 10th grade and lower is Junior Varsity. The exception to this rule is the Geography NQE, where divisions are based on birthdates, not grade level. For the upcoming Geography NQEs taken during the 2025-26 academic year, students born before July 1, 2010 are placed in the Varsity division, while anyone born on or after that date is considered Junior Varsity.

Exam Availability

There will be 3 questions sets of Varsity/JV NQEs that will be available to all students: A, B and C sets. The C and B sets are generally the same difficulty, but the A set is considered to be more difficult than the other two sets.

National Qualifying Exams will be administered either in person at Regional competitions (both National History Bee and Bowl events and National Science/History/Geography Bee events) and will also be available online, either by registering for them below, or as part of the registration for our online events (both National History Bee and Bowl as well as National Science/History/Geography Bee).

NHBB events will be noted as using the A, B or C sets, and students can take up to 5 exams during the 40 minute lunch period. Students can take the C set exams at SHG events using the Red set of questions, B set exams at events using the White set, and A set exams at events that use the Blue set. There are 3 different 30-minute exam periods during SHG regional events, and students can take up to 3 exams per exam period, so a student can take all 6 exams of a given set if they wish if they attend at least 2 of the 3 exam periods.

The opening dates of the exams are roughly the same as our Regional competitions:

• 2025-26 C set exams will be available in September, 2025.
• 2025-26 B set exams will be available December 6, 2025.
• 2025-26 A set exams will be available February 7, 2026.

All exam versions will be available online to students through Nationals, though note that after the final individual event Nationals deadline (11:59pm EDT on April 17, 2026 for individual events), the exams are not guaranteed to qualify you – admission to any individual Nationals event after that deadline is at the sole discretion of IAC.

Middle/Elementary School Students

Please note that Middle and Elementary School students that qualify on V/JV NQEs will qualify for Varsity/JV Nationals ONLY and not the Middle and Elementary School National Championships, as these tests were intended for high school students. Middle and Elementary School students that want to qualify for the Middle and Elementary School National Championships through National Qualifying Exams should go to this page.

Payment for V/JV NQEs

Online exams cost $20 per exam plus a processing fee if paying by credit card. If you register for an online exam on this page (see below), please be prepared to take the test when you pay for the exam. If you register for an online exam as part of your registration for an online History Bee and Bowl or online National Science/History/Geography Bee event, you will receive an email with instructions on how and when to take the exam, as it will not take place during the online competition time.

You can also register for NQEs at our in person Regional tournaments for $20 per exam, payable by cash or check. Online exams can also be paid by check; contact hs-info@iacompetitions.com for more information.

Schools can also choose to offer exams to all their students for a flat fee of $100 per subject by check or credit card (with a processing fee), and teachers of AP Biology, AP Human Geography, AP Art History, AP English Literature and Composition, AP Music Theory, AP American Government and Politics, AP Chemistry, AP Environmental Science and AP US History classes can administer the A Set versions of those exams to their classes free of charge. Contact hs-info@iacompetitions.com for more information.

Qualification

Individuals qualifying via National Qualifying Exams for the Varsity /Junior Varsity National Championships in the National Biology Bee, National Geography Bee, US Geography Bee, US Geography Championships, National Humanities Bee, National Political Science Bee, National Science Bee, and/or US History Bee, can do so through the following methods:

• Taking the respective NQE at any in-person or online regional event and either:
  • scoring a 75 or higher,
  • finishing in the top 50% of their division at that event, or
  • meeting or beating the qualifying score for that exam once it is set on the dates listed on the table below
• Taking the respective NQE online and either:
  • scoring a 75 or higher or
  • meeting or beating the qualifying score for that exam once it is set on the dates listed on the table below

Qualifying Scores

After a given exam has been available for a time, all scores up to that point will be used to calculate a qualifying score, and anyone who scores at or above that number (the top half of scores for each exam) will qualify for Nationals. If that score is determined to be over 75, the qualifying score will be automatically set to 75. Students can still take NQEs after the qualifying score has been determined.

International Events

Details for qualifying through online exams for world championship level events (including the International History Olympiad, International Environmental Science Olympiad, and International Geography Championships) can be found here.