The contest currently features a list of about 900 (formerly 600) poems for students to choose from. Typically, competition begins at the school level, where students recite one to two poems. The 1st and sometimes 2nd place winners are then sent to regional competitions. The finalist(s) from each region then are sent to the state level to perform three poems. Each state winner later performs the same three poems in Washington D.C. during the last week of April/first week of May.