Blair places fourth in the world in Knowledge Master Open

A group of 68 students competed in the biannual Knowledge Master Open (KMO) last Wednesday during fifth period, leading Blair to a fourth place standing out of 652 high schools around the globe. Students earned 1780 points during the two-and-a-half-hour event sponsored by the Blair It's Academic team, according to junior team member Jeremy Fallick.

Fallick attributed Blair's success to the specialized talents of group members. "We had an array of people with diverse knowledge," he said. "It's a good result. We were hoping for first, but we improved our score of 1704 from last semester."

The high school division of the KMO competition, founded in 1983, tests students on academic knowledge in geography, history, English, math and science. Participating high school teams must log on to a computer the day of the competition and answer 200 quiz questions within the two-and-a-half-hour time limit. "We projected questions onto the Promethean Board and people shouted out answers to someone sitting at the computer," Fallick explained. "You're scored on how quickly you answer the questions and how many you get right."

Magnet teacher and It's Academic sponsor James Schafer was pleased with Blair's performance. "I think it's a testament to the hard work the team has put in coupled with a lot of quality cooperation by team members," he said.

Although Schafer encouraged school-wide participation in the competition, many of those involved were already members of the It's Academic team. The group practices twice a week to prepare for monthly local competitions and the KMO, It's Academic and Quizmaster Challenge competitions. "I basically run practices," Schafer said. "I make sure they study to improve their knowledge base, take them to competitions and teach them to work as a team so they can communicate effectively."

The Blair team also advanced to the final round of the D.C. area It's Academic competition after winning the semifinals on Saturday. The team will take on contestants from Blake High School and Holton Arms during finals on May 16.