USABO: About the Exams

Round 1: USABO Online Open Exam

• Is a 50-minute, online nationwide multiple-choice exam available to any high school biology student (Grades 9 to 12) who is registered by a school or one of the select authorized USABO Centers. US Citizenship and green card are not required for the Open Exam, but are required for students to progress to the Semifinal Exam.
• Administered/proctored at a registered school or authorized USABO Test Center (classroom or location designated by the teacher/test administrator) within the online date and time period designated by the Center for Excellence in Education (CEE).
• Structured with multiple choice questions with one response.
• NO Penalty for guessing.
• The Open Exam recogntion will include Honorable Mention Certificate (Top 20%) and Certificate of Merit (Top 30%). Test Administrators will find these score cutoffs and the appropriate certificate located in Exam Results in the Teacher Resource Center.

Round 2: USABO Online Semifinal Exam

• Is a 120-minute online exam containing three parts available only to high school students (Grades 9 to 12) who are US citizens or are legal permanent US residents (green cards):
  1. Part A is primarily multiple choice questions with one answer.
  2. Part B has more complex, sequenced multiple choice questions that may have several correct answers and may require calculations or extensive interpretation of graphs. 
  3. Part C may be short answer or essay and multiple true/false choice questions. .
• Proctored at a registered school or authorized USABO Test Center (classroom or location designated by the teacher/test administrator) over a 120-minute period on the designated date and during the online time period identified by the Center for Excellence in Education (CEE) on the USABO Calendar.
• Taken by students who score in the top 10% of the Open Exam and who are US Citizens or a legal US residents (green cards).
• NO Penalty for guessing. For Part B multiple choice questions with more than one answer, the question value will be 2 points if all correct responses are selected.
• Part C contains Short Answer and Multiple/True False (MTF) Questions. MTF questions will be scored as follows: 4 correct responses = 1 point; 3 = .6; 2 = .2; and 1 or 0 = 0. 
• The Semifinal recognition will include Recognition of Academic Excellence (Top 50 scores), Honorable Mention (Next 75 scores), Certificate of Merit (Next 100 scores). Certificates will be mailed to the school.

Round 3: USABO National Finals

•  National Finals is held at a host university over a 12-day period with 10 days of instruction and two days of testing.
• Attended by students with the top 20 scores on the Semifinal Exam.
• CEE recognizes that the National Finals’ dates may conflict with high school graduation. CEE does not discourage students from attending their graduation. Special arrangements may be made by the student for a 24-hour (maximum) return to home. The student is asked to be cognizant of the fact that experience has shown missing one full day of training may be extremely detrimental to the student’s scores on the National Finals Exam and Practicals.
• The USA Biolympiad Team will stay an additional two to three days for more training and preparation with personal instruction for the IBO Competition.
• Instruction focuses on the laboratory and conceptual understanding for all 20 Finalists.
• Activities are led by university professors and experts with experience in research and undergraduate and graduate teaching assisted by former USABO Finalists.
• Field trips are a key component of Finals. Presentlyl, field trips were conducted virtually and in-person. Click here to view the Virtual Field Trip held at the Missouric Botanical Gardens.
• Evenings will be free for study with tutorials from the Teaching Assistants (all former USABO/IBO Medalists or Finalists) and other activities.
• Practical Exams are approximately 6 hours in duration and the Theoretical Exam is approximately three hours.
  • Practical: laboratory-based skills, techniques, data interpretation, and real-time laboratory competency exam involving conceptual understanding and problem solving.
  • Theoretical: multiple true/false choice questions and multiple choice involving interpretation of diagrams and graphs, integration of information, and data analysis.
  • Practical and Theoretical Exams MUST be taken on the scheduled day. No exceptions can be made.
• Room and board are provided.
• Students are responsible for transportation to and from the USABO National Finals. Students with financial need should contact CEE should assistance be required.
• Each Finalist and his/her guardian is asked to sign an agreement to indicate support for the Finalist's advancement in the USABO competition to include full participation in Finals and the IBO competition. In addition, each Finalist and guardian signs an agreement that prohibits participation in any other national academic Olympiad or summer program, such as the Research Science Institute. In the spirit of the Olympiad, a student and his/her parent/guardian are expected to honor the commitment when they sign this agreement.
• At Finals, each student signs an agreement to obey the USABO rules. If a student breaks any one of the rules made in the USABO agreement, the student will not receive a certificate of participation or a medal. Finalists will be re-ranked accordingly.

Anticipated National Finals Schedule

NOTE: Order of laboratories may change.

Distinguished Speakers

CEE is proud to provide the USABO students with the opportunity to meet and speak with national leaders.

Click here to here the 2022 USABO FInals Distinguished Speakers.

Round 4: International Biology Olympiad

July 2024

The 2024 International Biology Olympiad will be held in Astana, Kazakhtan July 7 to 14, 2024.        

To view the USA Biolympiad National Finals 2024 video, click here.