American Computer Science League (ACSL)

About ACSL

• ACSL is an international competition that challenges students to engage in computer science problems. 

• There are 4 local contests held throughout the school year. Each contest includes 6-question test and 1 coding test. The contest topics are listed in https://www.acsl.org/get-started/study-materials. Note that Elementary Division is only theory and no coding questions.

1. • 6-question test — 30 minutes to complete. Multiple choice, one correct answer per question.

   • 1 coding test — 72 hours to complete. Allowed languages: Python, C++, or Java.

• All contests will be given through an online platform, HackerRank. The student's email used during registration will receive the test link and must be used to access the test. Students will do the tests at home under parent supervision. Top-scoring students will be invited to the ACSL Final in May. For further information, visit https://www.acsl.org, check out FAQ at https://www.acsl.org/about/faq or watch this video "All About the ACSL."

• The study resources for the contest are available at https://www.acsl.org/get-started/study-materials. Additionally, here is a good free online course: https://www.richcode.org/contests/acsl/lesson.

• Team advisors will handle student registration and send reminders before each contest. However, students are responsible for studying the material on their own, as advisors will not provide lectures or assist with ACSL test questions.

• While students are encouraged to form study groups to review past papers, all season tests must be completed individually by students. Please note that some students on our Hopkins teams during the 2024–2025 season were flagged by ACSL's HackerRank platform for plagiarism, which negatively affected their scores. Here are ACSL guidelines: https://www.acsl.org/about/faq#h.cyyuwibm0h7v

• If you have any questions, please contact the Hopkins ACSL advisors at acsl@hopkinspfa.org with student’s name, division and team number.

Hopkins ACSL Team

• At Hopkins, students can participate in one of three divisions—Intermediate, Junior, or Elementary. Each team may include up to 10 students and will be finalized once registration closes. Please note: Team scores don’t affect a student’s individual performance or their chances into the ACSL Final contest.

  1. Intermediate Division

     • Open to students in grades 6-8

     • Includes a 6-question test and 1 coding test for each contest

     • Recommended for experienced ACSL participants with strong coding skills

  2. Junior Division

     • Open to students in grades 6-8

     • Includes a 6-question test and 1 coding test for each contest

     • Recommended for new ACSL participants who just have coding 

  3. Elementary Division 

     • Open only to 6th-grade students who are new to ACSL and looking to explore computer science in a supportive environment

     • Includes a 6-question test for each contest (no coding test)

• Registration is open to incoming 4th and 5th grade students from the Mission Attendance Area or Immersion programs, allowing younger siblings to join early.

• For a full overview of all divisions and their requirements, please visit the ACSL Divisions page: https://www.acsl.org/get-started/divisions.

Registration

Communication with Google Groups

• This school year, we will use Google Groups for team communication instead of WhatsApp to reduce distractions, keep conversations organized, and make it easier to find answers to frequently asked questions. Here is the tutorial how to create & respond to messages in Google Groups.

• Here are the Google Group links for each division for the teams this year

  1. https://groups.google.com/a/hopkinspfa.org/g/acsl-elm-2025-2026

  2. https://groups.google.com/a/hopkinspfa.org/g/acsl-jr-2025-2026

  3. https://groups.google.com/a/hopkinspfa.org/g/acsl-int-2025-2026 

• We will add all registered students and parents into the Google Group based on division for team communication and past paper sharing. If you have not been added to the group, please use the link above to request the access.

• If your child's Gmail account was created as an under-13 account using Family Link, we won’t be able to add them to Google Groups due to Google’s policy restrictions. Instead, only parents will be added to the Google Groups. Please make sure to share or forward any team communications with your child. 

Schedule

Tests will be conducted at home under parent supervision. Students can access HackerRank anytime during the designated ACSL time windows at https://www.acsl.org/get-started/schedule.

• Contest #1: starts on Oct. 20, 2025; closes Sunday January 11, 2026 @ 8:59pm PST

• Contest #2: starts on Jan. 5, 2026; closes Sunday March 1, 2026 @ 8:59pm PST

• Contest #3: starts on Feb. 2, 2026; closes Sunday April 12, 2026 @ 8:59pm PST

• Contest #4: starts on March 2, 2026; closes Sunday May 17, 2026 @ 8:59pm PST

ACSL Final

• ACSL Final Contest: Saturday May 23, 2026 (Memorial Day weekend). The date and time are fixed. The final contest fee is $35 per student. Only the qualified students will receive the invitation. The invitation email will provide details of signup instruction and payment for the fee to ACSL directly.

• It’s an invited contest. To be invited, students must score in local tests at least 28 points (Junior and Intermediate Divisions); 14 points (Elementary Division). 

• The ACSL Final will be online, using HackerRank that students have used during the regular season.  All students worldwide will start and finish at the same time. 

• ACSL Final is an individual competition.  Students must not consult external sources. If collaboration of any form is detected, the student will be disqualified. 

• Visit https://www.acsl.org/finals for further information.

Hopkins ACSL (2024-2025)

Hopkins ACSL (2023-2024)

• There were 94 Hopkins students participated in 2 Intermediate, 6 Junior and 1 Elementary teams.

• Several of the students made it to the finals. Aditya Ghate (G6) and Eashan Parekh (G7) won bronze medal in Junior Division.