Abstract
The International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) aspires to be a science olympiad alongside such international olympiads in mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology. Informatics as a discipline is well suited to a scientific approach and it offers numerous possibilities for competitions with a high scientific standing. We argue that, in its current form, the IOI fails to be scientific in the way it evaluates the work of the contestants.In this paper, we describe the major ingredients of the IOI to guide further discussions. By presenting the results of an extensive analysis of two IOI competition tasks, we hope to create an awareness of the urgency to address the shortcomings. We offer some suggestions to raise the scientific quality of the IOI.
Highlights
The International Olympiad in Informatics, abbreviated IOI, is an annual competition in the discipline of computer science (IOI, 2005)
The IOI is aimed at pupils in secondary education, especially those talented in computer science
We will show that this has led to a number of undesirable features, which conflict with the aspiration of being a member of the family of science olympiads and which interfere with its main objectives
Summary
The International Olympiad in Informatics, abbreviated IOI, is an annual competition in the discipline of computer science (IOI, 2005). It was established in 1989 and modeled after the International Mathematical Olympiad. One of the main objectives of the IOI is “to bring the discipline of informatics to the attention of young people” (Statute S1.7 from the IOI Regulations). We will show that this has led to a number of undesirable features, which conflict with the aspiration of being a member of the family of science olympiads and which interfere with its main objectives. The IOI may fail to attract the talented students that the discipline of informatics needs and it fails to promote the science of computing in the best way possible
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