Dawson High School recently participated in the 2022 UIL Academic State Meet in social studies, ready writing and science. The social studies team representing the school took the gold in their category.

       At the UIL academic meet, participants earned points for their school team in different subject areas.

       The following team placed in their category:

       Social Studies: First Place Team

• Lauren Cross (5th place overall)
• Rishabh Dave (3rd place overall)
• Fred Guo
• Tanmay Savargaonkar

       Coach: Deidre Brady

       Also competing were Hantao Jin who placed 2nd in the spelling and vocabulary category and was coached by Kerry Burkett, Jacqueline Xiong who placed 2nd in literary criticism and was coached by Jessica Myers and Ethan Loyless who placed 5th in ready writing and was coached by Leslie Sanderson.

       The four events DHS competed in at state were comprised of a multiple-choice tests and essays over the subject material. 

       The social studies test had 45 multiple-choice questions with an essay over the subject material. In the ready writing contest students were given a choice between 2 prompts to write an expository essay. The spelling and vocabulary contest consisted of multiple-choice questions covering proofreading and vocabulary, and words written from dictation. The literary criticism contest involved multiple-choice questions which required students to use literary judgment and to analyze literary passages from both the reading list and other sources. If a tiebreaker was required, the student would write a short essay dealing with a specified topic about a selected literary passage from both the reading list and other sources.

       Students were eligible to advance to state as an individual if they placed in the top three in the region or as the top team in the region. These students competed against students from eight high schools at the district level and seven districts at the regional level to advance to state. 

       About UIL Academics

       The University Interscholastic League offers a wide variety of academic contests for high school students, encompassing many elements of required high school coursework. These contests build upon the academic skills developed in the classroom and offer students an opportunity to stretch their talents above and beyond those requirements.

       UIL Academics activities, which exist to complement the academic curriculum, are designed to motivate students as they acquire higher levels of knowledge, to challenge students to confront issues of importance and to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate mastery of specific skills. Students are challenged to think critically and creatively, exhibiting much more than knowledge and comprehension.

(05/19/22)