National Qualifying Exams (Middle & Elementary School Divisions)

For those of you who want to go right to the exams and results, click here. For more information about the exams, read on!

Overview

At the Middle & Elementary School level, we offer 6 different National Qualifying Exams (NQEs), which are ways to participate at the Middle & Elementary School National Championships in May 2026.

Middle & Elementary NQEs have 35 multiple choice questions. Students receive 2 points for a correct answer, 0 points for incorrect or blank answers. Students cannot retake NQEs but can attempt to qualify on a different question set (see Exam Availability).

Those six exams, and the respective events that they qualify for, are listed below. Please note that qualifying on the US History Bee Exam only qualifies students for the US History Bee at Nationals, not the National History Bee. Similarly, qualifying on the US Geography Bee Exam only qualifies students for the US Geography Bee at Nationals, not the National Geography Bee. More information about the National History Bee and National Geography Bee, as well as our other events, can be found here.

Divisions

Students will be assigned to a division (8th, 7th, 6th, 5th, 4th Grade, 3rd Grade & Under) based on their grade.

Exam Availability

There will be 4 questions sets of Middle & Elementary NQEs that will be available to all students: Red, White, Blue, & Gold sets. National Qualifying Exams will be administered either in-person at Regional competitions (National Science/History/Geography Bee events) and will also be available online. Specific National Science, History, & Geography Bee events will be noted as using the Red, White, Blue, & Gold sets, and students can take up to 3 of the 6 exams during the 35 minute morning exam time. Any additional tests can be taken between 10:45 AM – 4:40 PM when we will have a dedicated exam room open and ready for exam takers.

• 2025-26 Red set exams will be available in September, with qualifying scores being set on December 6, 2025.
• 2025-26 White set exams will be available December 6, 2025, with qualifying scores being set on February 7, 2026.
• 2025-26 Blue set exams will be available February 7, 2026, with qualifying scores set being set on March 7, 2026.
• 2025-26 Gold set exams will be available March 7, 2026, with qualifying scores set being set on April 7, 2026.

If the Exams are taken at National History Bee and Bowl Regional Tournaments, then if the tournament is run on C Set, then the Red Set exam version is offered. If the tournament is run on B Set, the White Set exam version is offered. If the tournament is run on A Set, the Blue Set exam version is offered.

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.

Varsity/JV National Qualifying Exams

Middle/Elementary School students can also take Varsity/JV National Qualifying Exams, but please note that qualifying on those exams will qualify for Varsity/JV Nationals ONLY and not the Middle and Elementary School National Championships, as those tests were intended for high school students. Transferring earned qualifications from VJV to EMS is permitted for Humanities and Biology only.

Payment for Middle/Elementary School 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 take NQEs at a Regional tournament for $20 per exam, payable by Credit Card. If you have any questions, contact ems-info@iacompetitions.com for more information.

Qualification

Individuals qualifying via National Qualifying Exams for the Middle/Elementary School National Championships in the National Biology Bee, National Citizenship Bee, National Humanities Bee, National Mathematics Bee, US Geography Bee, and/or US History Bee, can do so through the following methods:

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.