TeamworkExam + Case StudyTeam Event

Parliamentary Procedure

Teams of 5 to 8 take a 50-question Robert's Rules test, then top teams get 15 minutes to plan and 10 minutes to run a demonstration business meeting built around a secret agenda of motions.

The AI judge does not score this round. Use the practice test for Round One.

About this event

Parliamentary Procedure is a team event (5 to 8 members holding offices such as president, treasurer and committee chair) for the Secondary and Postsecondary/Collegiate divisions, sponsored by the National Association of Parliamentarians. Round One is a 50-question multiple-choice test in 60 minutes written entirely from NAP material, following the chapters of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised In Brief (why have rules, handling motions, debate, amendments, postponing and referring, changing a decision, voting and elections, bylaws, enforcing and suspending rules, the table of rules, and officer roles). The team average both qualifies the team and counts in the final score, and members who score 70 percent or higher may be contacted by NAP after ILC about membership. Top teams advance to Round Two. Each team brings its own minutes of a previous chapter meeting with a treasurer's report and committee reports, receives a secret agenda containing one main motion and four subsidiary or privileged motions, and has 15 minutes to plan (Robert's Rules may be used only in the prep room). The team then conducts a 10-minute meeting from call to order through adjournment, demonstrating every required motion, with every member active. The 162-point rubric scores the order of business, each motion, recognition and terminology, the presiding officer's skill, delivery, quality of discussion and the minutes. The average test score is added to the meeting score and breaks ties. The meeting grew to 10 minutes this year.

Test day

What to expect

Round One test, then Round Two

Round One is a 50-question test in 60 minutes; the top scorers advance to Round Two. Official format: 50-question test, 60 minutes (team average), then 15-minute preparation plus a 10-minute demonstration meeting for top teams.

Written from the test plan

Questions follow the event's published test plan, section by section, and are written from the listed reference texts. Practice questions here are drawn in the same proportions.

How you advance

How many advance from regionals to states and on to the International Leadership Conference (ILC) depends on your association's rules. Study the official test plan: it lists each section and its share of the test.

What judges score

A. Proper Order of Business (3 points each): Call to order, Approval of minutes, Treasurer's Report, Committee report(s), Unfinished business, New business (secret topic), AdjournmentB. Motions (maximum 56): Main Motion (8), Motion #1 through #4 from the secret topic (8 each), Additional Motion, optional (8 each, up to two)C. General Parliamentary Procedure: Proper recognition of chair and members (10), Proper use of parliamentary terms (10), Agenda (10), Skill and knowledge of presiding officer (10)D. Presentation Delivery: Voice (5), Stage Presence (5), Diction, Pronunciation and Grammar (5), Team Participation (10), Quality of discussion (10)E. Minutes from previous meeting (10); total 162

What's on the test

Why Have RulesWhat Happens at a Meeting?Handling MotionsDebateAmendmentsPostponing and Referring to a CommitteeHow a Group Can Change Its MindVoting and ElectionsBylaws and Other Rules and How to Use ThemHow Rules are Enforced and SuspendedTable of RulesOfficers, Committee Chairman, or Member

Study resources

Bookmark to save

Curated by ChapterPrep. Free unless noted. External links open in a new tab.