Specific Information for Judging Excellence Awards

Each project is entered in one Category (e.g., Senior). Each judge independently evaluates his/her assigned exhibits with the finalists present. Every 30 minutes, judges move to another project. Each interview must last 20 minutes, leaving 10 minutes for the judges to fill out their Project Judging Forms in private. Once the interviews with the finalists are complete, each team of five judges meets to rank its set of projects through discussion and consensus. Each project will be designated a Level [1 (low) - 4 (high)]. Within the Level, a ranking will be given [0 (low) - 9 (high)]. Judging teams must complete this task promptly. For each project, the team prepares a Project Feedback Form incorporating the comments of all five judges. The team is encouraged to make positive and constructive comments on how the project could be improved and additional avenues of research or development that should be considered. These feedback forms are distributed to the finalists on the morning following the award ceremony. The Team Captain collects the Project Judging Forms, Judging Team Worksheet, Project Feedback Form, and Project Ranking Form, and puts them in the envelope provided. The consensus Level and Rank scores will be entered into a database, and the projects rank ordered.