Introduction
The Category judging criteria are the same for all projects and independent of the project category or field of study. The only difference is to apply criteria for scientific thought to science projects and engineering goals for engineering projects. A team judging projects from several related fields of study should score each project objectively and rank all the projects assigned to the team for awards based on their scoring.
| Judging Criteria | Points |
|---|---|
| Scientific Thought or Engineering Goals | 10 |
| Creativity | 10 |
| Independent Work/Skill | 10 |
| Thoroughness/Clarity | 10 |
| Maximum Total Points | 40 |
| Scientific Thought (10 points) | OR | Engineering Goal (10 points) |
|---|---|---|
| • Was the problem scientifically significant and the hypothesis clearly stated? | • Was the purpose and engineering design criteria/specifications significant and clearly stated? | |
| • Did the student(s) look at different aspects of the problem, and chose a sufficiently limited project – was it well planned? | • Was the software or hardware prototype to be invented/ engineered relevant, workable and feasible? | |
| • Did the student use appropriate control of variables? | • Could the solution be used in design or construction of some end product or program? | |
| • Was sufficient literature research performed and applied? | • Did the student consider inventions, products, software and applications by others? | |
| • Was the conclusion justified and properly drawn from experimental data? | • Was there evidence of testing, redesign and retest under conditions of use? | |
| • Does the student understand what further research is warranted? | • Does the student understand next steps or possible future improvements? |
| Creativity (10 points) |
|---|
| • Is the project topic unique or the approach original? |
| • Has the student used a novel approach for checking the hypothesis or testing an engineering design or software? Projects from the internet or other sources are acceptable if clearly acknowledged but should be scored lower. |
| • Evidence of student’s contributions: What level of assistance was received for the idea and execution? |
| Independent Work / Skill (10 points) |
|---|
| • Did the student(s) do the work and acknowledge mentoring? |
| • What was the student role in building equipment, designing experiments, or programming software? How much mentoring or other help did the student(s) receive to carry out experiments or testing? |
| • Was the student's understanding appropriate for the project and grade level? |
| • Did the student(s) use good laboratory, technical, data gathering, analytical or programming skills? |
| Thoroughness / Clarity 10 points) |
|---|
| • Was the problem scope addressed? Are there adequate data, drawings, flowcharts, schematics presented to address the scope? |
| • Are there appropriate replications or repeated testing? |
| • Is the interpretation or performance claims supported with data? |
| • Was the project notebook kept during the project (required for grades 9-12)? Has all the work been completed in the past 12 months? |
| • Are procedures and materials thoroughly documented? |
| • Were prototypes or photos of hardware prototypes or a software demo provided? |
| • Were the judge's questions answered clearly and accurately? |
| • Are the data and test results clear, accurate and understandable on the project board and abstract? |
| • Are phases of the project presented in an orderly manner? |
