National History Day is a non-profit which aims to "improve the teaching and learning of history." Its flagship event is an annual competition in which students in grades 6-12 develop presentations about topics in history that interest them.[1] NHD has affiliates in all fifty states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, South Korea, China, South Asia, and Central America.[2] It started as a local program in Cleveland, Ohio, headed by Dr. David Van Tassel, a history professor at Case Western Reserve University.[3] It grew from 129 students in 1974 to over 500,000 students in 48 states in 1991, and 700,000 students and 40,000 teachers in 2001.[4][5] Today, more than half a million students enter through local contests. They construct entries as an individual or a group in one of five categories: documentary, exhibit board, paper, performance, or website.[6] Students then compete in a series of regional contests with top three entries advancing to affiliate, then state contests. At state contests, the top two entries in each category and division are invited to compete at the National History Day contest.[7] State winners then go to Maryland for a final competition, held in June for a monetary award.
National History Day started in Cleveland, Ohio in 1974.[8] Members of the History Department at Case Western Reserve University developed the initial idea for a history contest akin to a Science Fair. In 1978, they incorporated the project and hired Lois Scharf as executive director. She worked to raise grant funds and recruit state historical organizations to join the program. She served until 1992.[9][10] Students gathered on campus to devote one day to history calling it "National History Day." Over the next few years, the contest expanded throughout Ohio and into surrounding Midwestern states. By 1980, with the help of the National Endowment for the Humanities, National History Day had grown into a national non-profit organization. In 1992 National History Day moved its headquarters from Cleveland to College Park, Maryland in the Washington, D.C., area. National History Day now runs multiple educational programs but the National Contest is still the largest of these.
Annual theme
Students from New Mexico participating in the national competition in 2019.
The annual theme frames students’ research within a historical theme. It is chosen for its broad application to world, national, or state history and its relevance to ancient history or the recent past. Themes are rotated each year and prior themes can be used after approximately twelve years.[11] For example, the 2023 theme was "Turning Points in History." Projects are judged in part on their connection to the annual theme.
As of 2025, the theme for NHD is Rights & Responsibilities in History.[12]
Competition
Submissions
Students, either individually or as a group, can submit a project from one of the following categories: paper, exhibit, performance, documentary, or website. After reviewing the year's theme, the submission handbook, and choosing a topic, the student(s) should gather primary and secondary sources about their research. All sources need to be clearly cited in the annotated bibliography that is required for all projects.[13] Additionally, a title page and a process paper must be submitted with each project.[13] The process paper should include how the project's topic was chosen, how the research was conducted, how the actual project was created, the historical significance of the research, and the historical argument made in the project.[14]
Judging
National History Day projects are judged using an evaluation form with two categories: Historical Quality (accounting for 80% of the score) and Clarity of Presentation (20% of the score).[15] The Historical Quality category includes judging based on the strength historical arguments, research, quality of primary sources, historical accuracy, multiple perspectives, and relevant connections to the historical context.[15]
State and regional competitions
In some regions, students who reach enough points in their judging advance to state competitions, and any number of students at regional competitions can advance to states. In other states, such as California, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania, the top three projects at the regional competition advance to the state competition. Regions can be divided by geographic area, population, or by county.
At the affiliate, then state level contests, students compete for a variety of prizes. Some states may have additional categories which do not proceed to nationals, such as California which has a Podcast category. At state level competitions, the top two entries in each category and division are invited to the National Contest, held each June at the University of Maryland, College Park.
National competition
Preliminaries
In the preliminary rounds, each entry presents its project before a panel of three judges. In the case of the paper and website categories, the projects are reviewed by the judges before the presentations, while performances, documentaries, and exhibits are seen by the judges for the first time at the presentation. The top 2 entries in the senior, and junior division advance to the national contest. Judges in each room advance one entry to the final round of judging. Each room reviews approximately 9-10 entries.
Finals
Competitors that have advanced to the final round have their projects judged by a panel of three new judges, but the students are not interviewed in this round. Their project then has to stand alone for the final judging.
Example of a National History Day Medal
The awards for first, second, and third place at the national level are $1000, $500, and $250, respectively. "Outstanding Entry" awards are also given to two projects from each state: one junior entry and one senior entry. There are also more than a dozen special prizes awarded worth between $250 and $10,000.[16]
Impact on students
In 2011 several researchers from Rockman et al published a study examining the competition's impact on participating students. Funded by the National History Day organization and an independent funder, the study focused on students from New Jersey, Texas, South Carolina, and Colorado, examining both students who participated in the contest and those who did not. Findings indicated that participating students were more likely to outperform the non-participating students scholastically; researchers noted that "Although it is difficult to credit any single program with student success, there are clear and consistent indications that academic performance improves with successive years of NHD participation."[17]
Perhaps the greatest impact of National History Day...was on the historical profession itself. I truly believe that never have so many historians enjoyed engaging in the pursuit of history outside their offices, their regular classrooms, and their academic research as have the thousands who have participated in National History Day as teachers, mentors, consultants, and judges over more than two decades.[18]
Adams, David Wallace, and Marvin Pasch. "The past as experience: A qualitative assessment of National History Day." History Teacher (1987) 20#2: 179-194. in JSTOR
Matell Cohen, Debra. "Developing Students’ Skills for the 21st Century: The National History Day Model as Academic Enrichment". (Ph.D. dissertation, Drexel University, 2019). online
Fehn, Bruce R.; Schul, James E. "Teaching and Learning Competent Historical Documentary Making: Lessons from National History Day Winners," History Teacher (2011) 45#1 pp 25–42. online
Gorn, Cathy. "A Tribute to a Founding Father: David Van Tassel and National History Day," History Teacher (2001) 34#2 in JSTOR
Page, Marilyn Louise. "National history day: An ethnohistorical case study." (Ph.D. dissertation, U of Massachusetts-Amherst, 1992). online
Taber-Conover, Rebecca, "History Day in Connecticut," Connecticut History (2012) 51#2 pp 261–264
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