Judging Criteria and Guidelines:

        How the Judges will Judge Your Project

        Read the instructions given to the judges!

General Information:

1. Be familiar with the judging guidelines prior to arrival at the science fair. Ask for a copy of the rules from the Science Fair Director.

2. Be sure to ask questions of each student whose project you are judging. Don't be hesitant to provide constructive suggestions on their methods, conclusions, hypothesis, display, or presentation. Your input is value added to the student's education.
3. Be positive, enthusiastic, and supportive of the student's work and efforts. When you make comments on the student's project, be mindful of the ego involved and the need to provide a good role model for the student.
4. If you become aware of activities happening on the judging floor which are against the rules or improper in conduct by students, other judges, teachers, parents, or anyone else, notify the Science Fair Director immediately.
5. If you should decide almost immediately that a project is not a winner, but the student is sincere, please continue to talk to the student about the topic of his or her project and try to provide a learning experience for the student.
6. Try to make your interviews with the student presenter personal and devote your full attention to the student for the duration of the judging of his or her project.
7. Don't worry if you are not an expert in the area of science or technology related to the student's project. As a knowledgeable adult, you will be providing a valuable audience for the student's presentation and the student will have an opportunity to fully explain the question and background of the problem to you. Ideally, the projects should be presented in a fashion that is understandable to a "lay person".
8. Please ask the organizing committee or the Science Fair Director if you have difficulty locating a project you have been assigned to judge.
9. Be careful about any comments in elevators, restrooms, or hallways about individual projects. Students and their adult escorts may overhear such comments and confidentiality of results may be impacted.
10. HAVE A GREAT TIME JUDGING YOUNG SCIENTISTS' WORK!

The Judging Process:

1. Examine the quality of the student's work, and how well the student understands his or her project and area of study. The physical display is secondary to the student’s knowledge of the subject. Look for evidence of laboratory, field or theoretical work, not just library research or gadgeteering.
2. Judges should keep in mind that competing in a science fair is not only a competition, but an educational and motivating experience for the students. The high point of the fair experience for most of the students is their judging interviews.
3. Students may have worked on a research project for more than one year. However, for the purpose of judging, ONLY research conducted within the current year is to be evaluated. Although previous work is important, it should not unduly impact the judging of this year’s project.
4. As a general rule, judges represent professional authority to students. For this reason, judges should use an encouraging tone when asking questions, offering suggestions or giving constructive criticism. Judges should not criticize, treat lightly, or display boredom toward projects they personally consider unimportant. Always give credit to the student for completing a challenging task and/or for their success in previous competitions.
5. Compare projects only with those competing at this fair and not with projects seen in other competitions or scholastic events.
6. It is important in the evaluation of a project to determine how much guidance was provided to the student in the design and implementation of his or her research. When research is conducted in an industrial or institutional setting, the student should have documentation, most often the Intel ISEF Form 1C, that provides a forum for the mentor or supervisor to discuss the project. Judges should review this information in detail when evaluating research.
7. Please be discreet when discussing winners or making critical comments in elevators, restaurants, or elsewhere, as students or adult escorts might overhear. Results are confidential until announced at the awards ceremony.

Evaluation Criteria for Category Judging:

The criteria and questions below are suggested as a guide for your category judging. Scientific Thought and Engineering Goals are separated into IIa. and IIb. to be used appropriately by category. There are also added questions for team projects.

I. Creative Ability (Individual - 30, Team - 25)

• Does the project show creative ability and originality in the questions asked?
  • the approach to solving the problem?, the analysis of the data?, the interpretation of the data?
  • the use of equipment?, the construction or design of new equipment?
• Creative research should support an investigation and help answer a question in an original way.
• A creative contribution promotes an efficient and reliable method for solving a problem. When evaluating projects, it is important to distinguish between gadgeteering and ingenuity.

II a. Scientific Thought (Individual - 30, Team - 25)

If an engineering project, the more appropriate questions are those found in IIb. Engineering Goals.

• Is the problem stated clearly and unambiguously?
• Was the problem sufficiently limited to allow plausible approach? Good scientists can identify important problems capable of solutions.
• Was there a procedural plan for obtaining a solution?
• Are the variables clearly recognized and defined?
• If controls were necessary, did the student recognize their need and were they correctly used?
• Are there adequate data to support the conclusions?
• Does the student or team recognize the data’s limitations?
• Does the student/team understand the project’s ties to related research?
• Does the student/team have an idea of what further research is warranted?
• Did the student/team cite scientific literature, or only popular literature (i.e., local newspapers, Reader’s Digest).

II b. Engineering Goals (Individual - 30, Team -25)

• Does the project have a clear objective?
• Is the objective relevant to the potential user’s needs?
• Is the solution workable? acceptable to the potential user? economically feasible?
• Could the solution be utilized successfully in design or construction of an end product?
• Is the solution a significant improvement over previous alternatives?
• Has the solution been tested for performance under the conditions of use?

III. Thoroughness (Individual - 15, Team - 12)

• Was the purpose carried out to completion within the scope of the original intent?
• How completely was the problem covered?
• Are the conclusions based on a single experiment or replication?
• How complete are the project notes?
• Is the student/team aware of other approaches or theories?
• How much time did the student or team spend on the project?
• Is the student/team familiar with scientific literature in the studied field?

IV. Skill (Individual - 15, Team - 12)

• Does the student/team have the required laboratory, computation, observational and design skills to obtain supporting data?
• Where was the project performed? (i.e., home, school laboratory, university laboratory)
• Did the student or team receive assistance from parents, teachers, scientists or engineers?
• Was the project completed under adult supervision, or did the student/team work largely alone?
• Where did the equipment come from? Was it built independently by the student or team?
• Was it obtained on loan? Was it part of a laboratory where the student or team worked?

V. Clarity (Individual - 10, Team - 10)

• How clearly does the student discuss his/her project and explain the purpose, procedure, and conclusions? Watch out for memorized speeches that reflect little understanding of principles.
• Does the written material reflect the student's or team’s understanding of the research?
• Are the important phases of the project presented in an orderly manner?
• How clearly is the data presented?
• How clearly are the results presented?
• How well does the project display explain the project?
• Was the presentation done in a forthright manner, without tricks or gadgets?
• Did the student/team perform all the project work, or did someone help?

VI. Teamwork (Team Projects only- 16)

• Are the tasks and contributions of each team member clearly outlined?
• Was each team member fully involved with the project, and is each member familiar with all aspects?
• Does the final work reflect the coordinated efforts of all team members?

Judging criteria and guidelines are provided through the courtesy of Brady L. Gentry, Region V Director.

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