Judging Guidelines
Helpful hints for Judges
Judges: As the Fair is soon approaching, we are thankful for volunteers as you who are willing to judge our young student’s work. It is important to make this a positive experience for all students and to remember that for many, this is their first time exhibiting at the Regional Fair. They are excited and at the same time very anxious or nervous. The judges meeting will give you more information and pointers on judging of projects, but for now, we thought you may want to review the following information.
Points to consider in judging
- Listen to the complete presentation before asking questions. Allow sufficient time for judging. (approximately 10-15 minutes per project)
- Do not compare one student to another. Use the judging criteria below to guide your evaluation.
- On the Comment cards, you should write comments that are positive, instructive, and suitable to the student’s age. If your have suggestions for improvement , write them in a positive manner. Do not indicate an award either on the card or to the students. The comment cards can be given to students after you judge their projects.
Awards Criteria
Gold
1. The project must demonstrate a scientific approach to a specific problem which has been addressed experimentally by the student. Remember. surveys are rich sources of data and are considered experimental procedure.
2. a) Results and conclusions must be logically deduced from the student’s experimental data.
b) The student’s approach to a known scientific principle should indicate creativity of application.
c) A written research paper which is clear, concise, and in accordance with IJAS guidelines must accompany the project.
3. The student must speak knowledgeably on all materials mentioned in the paper and respond correctly to questions within the scope of the project.
a) The quality and quantity of background information should be evident in the student’s discussion.
b) The visual display should be an integral part of the oral presentation.
Silver and Bronze Awards
These awards would be a lesser degree of the above criteria: insufficient background material, lack of thoroughness in experimentation, lack of knowledge of subject area project is displayed in.
Participation Certificate
These awards should be given only when:
- Proof of experimentation is missing
- Information is grossly invalid
- Background research is missing
- No evidence of experimentation or compilation and interpretation of data.
General Notes
Be sure you have answered all questions on the rubric. Return each judging rubric to the runners after each project is judged. Be sure to sign the student’s judging signature card so we know what judges viewed their projects. .Comment cards can be left with students after you have finished judging their projects.
