How Contests Work for Students

Contests are challenges your teacher sets up to motivate you to practice more. There's a goal to reach, a prize if you win, and a countdown to keep things exciting. The best part — you participate just by doing your regular activities in Vocab Loco.

Step 1: Find your active contest

• Click Contests in the left sidebar to see all the contests your teacher has created for your class. If a contest is currently running, it will appear with a blue Active badge.
• You can also check the Contests widget on your dashboard for a quick look at the current contest — including the prize and a live countdown timer.
• Click View results or View more on any contest to open its detail page.

Step 2: Understand the contest goal

• Each contest has a goal — a number you need to reach to win — and a prize set by your teacher. You can see both on the contest card.
• Contests are based on one of two metrics, shown next to the flag icon:
  • Banked Words — words you've passed on spelling or vocabulary tests during the contest period.
  • Mastered Words — words you've correctly answered three times on review tests during the contest period.

Step 3: Participate by doing your activities

• You don't need to sign up or do anything special. Every eligible word you bank or master during the contest period counts toward your goal automatically.
• Keep working through your word lists, taking tests, and practicing your Banked Words daily — that's how you move toward the goal.
• If your teacher set up a Classroom Effort contest, your progress combines with your classmates' — everyone's words count toward a shared class goal.

Step 4: Track your progress

• Open the contest detail page to see how many points you've earned so far and how many you still need to reach the goal.
• A progress bar shows where you stand. The countdown timer at the top tells you how many days, hours, minutes, and seconds are left.
• In a Classroom Effort contest, you'll also see a Class Collective Progress section showing how the whole class is doing together.

Step 5: Check results when the contest ends

• When the contest period is over, the badge changes to Closed while your teacher reviews the results. Check back soon.
• Once your teacher finalizes everything, the badge turns green and shows Finished:
  • If you reached the goal — ? a congratulations message appears. Contact your teacher to claim your prize.
  • If you didn't reach the goal — a message lets you know, and you can try again in the next contest.

? Only words banked or mastered during the contest period count toward the goal — words you earned before the contest started don't carry over. Start strong from day one!