National Spanish Bee
Middle & Elementary School Divisions

Competition Format

For the Beginner Classification, the National Spanish Bee is a two-stage competition, consisting of the National Qualifying Exams and the National Championships. For the Advanced Classification, the National Spanish Bee is a one-stage competition, consisting solely of the National Championships.

The culminating stage of the National Spanish Bee for the Middle & Elementary School Divisions is the National Championships, which for the 2026-27 academic year will take place online on Saturday, May 15 for all age divisions and for both the “Beginner” and “Advanced” Classifications. A full schedule of all events at the National Championships is available here (please see both tabs on the file). We hope that you will be able to join us for this unique opportunity to play a national championship level academic quiz competition en Español!

For both the Beginner and Advanced Classifications, Middle & Elementary School students will play three preliminary round matches using standard International Academic Competitions buzzer-based online rules with 30 questions each. There will then be either one or two playoff rounds. One playoff round will be played if there are 30 students or fewer in an age division; two playoff rounds will be played if there are 31 or more students in an age division. The exact number of students who make the playoffs will be a function of the total number of registrants.

Please be sure to review the subject distribution of questions for the various age divisions and classifications of the National Spanish Bee that are available for students in 8th grade and younger (the National Spanish Bee for students in 9th-12th grade is outlined here). For students in 8th grade and younger, there are two ways to compete in the National Spanish Bee National Championships – students may only compete in the one or the other depending on their current level of Spanish.

1. Beginner Classification – 8th Grade, 7th Grade, & 6th Grade and Younger Divisions: For this classification, the National Spanish Bee consists of standard 2-3 sentence quiz bowl ” pyramidal tossup-style” questions; i.e. short paragraph-length, with clues presented in descending order of difficulty. Note that the beginnings of the questions will not only feature harder content, but somewhat more complex grammar and more advanced vocabulary on average than the end of the questions. Thus the questions test for Spanish language comprehension, as well as content mastery.
   The Beginner Classification is meant for students in Spanish-language classes or instruction at school that are meant for children new to the language. Native speakers or advanced speakers (i.e. students for whom standard Spanish instruction in middle or elementary school would not be appropriate, as their skills are too far advanced) are not permitted in this classification and must compete in the Advanced Classification.
   For the Beginner Classification, the question distribution is explained below. This distribution bears in mind that the competing students are new to the language. It emphasizes knowledge of the Spanish-speaking world, but to an extent that reasonably reflects students’ knowledge at this level.
   1. 20% of questions will be about the Spanish-speaking world
   2. 80% of questions can be on other topics, but most of these will be very simple academic / general knowledge questions. Answers could be days of the week, months, colors, animals, famous people, countries, everyday objects, sports, etc. The emphasis will be more on Spanish-language comprehension than factual knowledge.
2. Advanced Classification – Middle School (7th & 8th grade) & 6th Grade and Younger Divisions: For this classification, the National Spanish Bee consists of standard 2-3 sentence quiz bowl “pyramidal tossup-style” questions; i.e. short paragraph-length, with clues presented in descending order of difficulty. Note that the beginnings of the questions will not only feature harder content, but somewhat more complex grammar and more advanced vocabulary on average than the end of the questions. Thus the questions test for Spanish language comprehension, as well as content mastery.
   The Advanced Classification is meant for native speakers, or students who have extensive knowledge of the Spanish language (i.e. to the point where it doesn’t make sense for them to take part in Spanish-language classes or instruction at school that are meant for students new to the language). No prior qualification for the National Spanish Bee National Championships is required for the Advanced Classification. There is no qualifying exam, and it is open to any student in grade 8 and younger, though students should be comfortable with their level of Spanish before competing, as all questions will be read entirely in Spanish.
   For the Advanced Classification in the Middle School and 6th Grade and Younger Divisions, the question distribution is explained below. This distribution strikes a balance between emphasizing the Spanish-speaking world but not to a point where the difficulty would be excessive for younger students.
   1. 40% of questions will be about the Spanish-speaking world
   2. 40% of questions will be on well-known topics that are frequently asked about in all-subject academic quiz tournaments, but which are not about the Spanish-speaking world.
   3. 20% of questions can be on any topic, but most of these will be simple academic / general knowledge questions, which could also be asked about in the Beginner Classification.

Official Rules on Spanish Language Answers

If answers have well-known Spanish equivalents, then the Spanish-language word must be given, though the English or original language will be prompted. If the answer is a person’s name, then the original language name or English equivalent may be given. If there is a common Spanish equivalent, that will also be accepted, but Spanish names should not be translated unless this is a common practice with the name. Some reasonable leeway is permitted; the ultimate determination will be provided in the acceptability directions provided to the reader.

1. 1. For example, a question where the answer is “George Washington” should be replied to as “George Washington” (not “Jorge Washington” [sic], which would be considered incorrect and not promptable, as this is not the practice with this name in Spanish).
   2. For example, a question where the answer is “Thomas Aquinas” can be replied to as the English “Thomas Aquinas,” the Spanish “Tomás de Aquino,” or the Italian “Tommaso d’Aquino” – all would be considered correct.
   3. For example, a question where the answer is “Sweden” [sic] should be replied to as “Suecia” – and not as Sweden or Sverige, but those answers would be prompted by saying “I need the Spanish word.”)

The cost to compete at the 2027 National Spanish Bee National Championships is $54. Registration for the National Championships of the National Spanish Bee will open in November and run through early May on this page.

For all questions on the 2027 Middle & Elementary School National Championships, please email help@iacompetitions.com.