The North Carolina Science Olympiad (NCSO) is a nonprofit organization with the mission to improve the quality of science and technology education in all North Carolina schools. The NCSO accomplishes its mission through professional development workshops, summer institutes, after school programs, summer camps and invitational, regional, and state tournaments that are rigorous academic interscholastic competitions that consist of a series of individual and team events that are well-balanced between the various science disciplines of biology, earth science, chemistry, physics, and technology.

The NCSO is dedicated to:
•	Ensuring all students have an equal opportunity to high quality science and technology education regardless of their ethnicity, household income, or geographic location.
•	Motivating students to expand their knowledge and competence in science and technology and increase their insight into the investigative process by enabling them to “do” science through hands-on and inquiry-based exploration.
•	Nurturing students’ enthusiasm for science and technology.
•	Getting students interested in pursuing science and science-related careers.
•	Increasing community involvement in schools.
•	Providing recognition for outstanding achievement for both students and teachers.

The North Carolina Science Olympiad (NCSO) is third in the country in student participation. Currently, 250 middle and high schools representing over 6,000 students and 60 counties in North Carolina are participating in the NCSO. In 2005 alone, NCSO had over 5,000 volunteers involved in reaching middle and high school students for science. The challenging and motivating events of the NCSO align with the North Carolina Standard Course of Study as well as the National Science Education Standards. The events are designed to enhance and strengthen both science content and process skills. The National Science Education Standards hailed the Science Olympiad as an example that “illustrates the close relationship between teaching and assessment. The assessment tasks are developmentally appropriate for young children, including recognition of students’ physical skills and cognitive abilities” (NRC, 1996, p.39).