TEAMS FAQ

PARTICIPATION

1. How do I register?
   Participating in TEAMS is simple and just requires a few clicks of the mouse. Visit the TEAMS homepage at: http://www.jets.org/teams/index.cfm to learn more about the competition and follow the link from that main page to the site search area and registration form. For a short cut, you can click here. You can either search for competition locations by state or select a host from the drop down menu. Once a site is selected, click submit and this will take you to the online registration form. Fill out this form, click submit again and you're all set! Confirmation emails will be sent to you, your host site coordinator, as well as the JETS national coordinator. No payment is due at time of registration; rather, your host institution will invoice you at a later date but prior to the competition.

2. Can anyone participate in TEAMS?
   If you are a student in grades 9-12 then you are eligible to compete in TEAMS. All you have to do is find other interested students and register online. Teams consist of between 4 - 8 students and participants can be a mix of grade levels. Team members need not be from the same school, so if you are home schooled or if there wasn't enough interest within your own school, you are welcome to organize a team with other friends.

3. What if there is no host site near me?
   You can still participate! JETS wants to ensure all those who want to compete in TEAMS are given the opportunity, so the option of participating as a remote or independent site was created. To participate remotely, simply select JETS (Remote Teams) from the drop down menu on the Site Search page and click submit.

THE COMPETITION

1. How do I prepare for TEAMS?
   There is no right or wrong way to prepare for TEAMS. Some teams do not study or practice ahead of time at all, others organize weekly meetings months in advance of the competition. Some examples of things past teams have done to prepare for the competition are:
   • familiarize themselves with the test format and style of questions by looking at previous years' tests
   • engage in team-building exercises to foster a greater sense of team unity
   • invite guest speakers (community engineers, teachers or professors, industry or corporate individuals, etc.) to discuss their expert knowledge of some of the question topics
   • organize field trips to locations of particular relevance to some of the Problem Statements

2. What should I expect the test to be like?
   The TEAMS test consists of two parts; Part I has 8 question topics, each with 10 multiple choice questions for a total of 80 multiple choice questions altogether. Part II consists of short answer extensions to 4 of the topics from Part I. Teams are given 90-minutes for each part and once Part I is finished, teams cannot go back and edit that section. Questions are written largely by college professors and are meant to be at a college-freshman level of difficulty.

SCORES and RANKINGS

1. What does it mean to "advance to national rankings?"
   TEAMS is a one day competition which means once you have completed the test at the host site, your participation is complete. After all competitions have taken place, state rankings are calculated by looking at each team's Part I score. These Part I scores also determine which teams will advance to national rankings. Not all teams will be ranked nationally, rather you must qualify to be considered for national recognition and this is also done by evaluating the Part I scores. National rankings are calculated by examining the Part II scores of the teams who qualified to reach this level and from these Part II scores, teams will be ranked amongst the rest of the teams in the nation. There is no second round of testing; all scores and rankings are based on the initial test completed at the host site. We realize the terminology of "advancing to national rankings" may suggest an additional competition round, but we try to keep it simple and keep the time and resources commitment of high schools to a minimum and thus, TEAMS is a one-day event. Only a small fraction of participating teams qualify for national ranking, so while there is no second competition, such a feat should be viewed as an accomplishment in itself.

2. How are scores calculated?
   The Part I score is determined by counting the number of questions answered correctly. Each question is worth one point for a total of 80 points. If a team answered 50 questions correctly, their score would be 50; no percentages are used. Since Part I is multiple choice, there is no partial credit and there is no penalty for guessing; it is advised that a team answer each question, regardless if they are certain of their answer. The Part II of the test is graded by a committee to ensure consistency and fairness.

3. How are rankings calculated?
   National Eligibility is determined by state ranking and Part I score. One place for every five teams competing, in a state, in a division, and level (Varsity/JV) will advance for national scoring. NOTE: If a team's score is GREATER than a pre-established cutoff score (generally around 60) the team will advance regardless of rank. If a team's score is LESS than a pre-established cutoff score (generally around 30) the team will NOT advance regardless of rank. The automatic high/low scores ensure that teams performing very well advance regardless of the number of teams in a division and that teams that score low, do not advance just because they were the only team in a division.

FUTURE STEPS

1. What do I do after the competition?
   Sit back, relax, and wait until rankings are posted. State rankings are usually announced at the end of March and National rankings are announced by the end of April.

2. What next?
   You have successfully completed the TEAMS competition; now discover all that JETS has to offer and experience engineering!
   • Register for NEDC, our National Engineering Design Challenge, and challenge yourself to build a prototype that will help someone with a disability enter or advance in the workplace. Registration is free and there is no better way to apply engineering than to use your knowledge and talents to help others!
   • ASSESS yourself! You've already mastered some difficult engineering word problems, now identify your strengths and weaknesses and find out how your strengths and talents can help you.
   • Explore the JETS website and learn more about engineering and all the resources available to you now as a high school student as well as future opportunities that await you in college.