This past summer, fourth grader Nathan Xing visited Arlington, Va., where he finished as a semifinalist in the K-4 division of the International Academic Competitions National Science Bee. Xing placed in the top 15 out of 140 competitors from across the country. He also placed third overall in the grade 3 division.

International Academic Competitions is a series of buzzer-based competitions founded in 2010 by “Jeopardy!” champion David Madden to encourage learning in a variety of subjects, including history, science and geography.