Scoring Sheet Individual

SCIENCE ENGINEERING FAIR OF HOUSTON SCORING SHEET FOR INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS

A copy of the scoring sheet used for the SEFH place award judging of individual projects is shown below. Special Award judges may or may not use a similar scoring method since the nature and purpose of their awards varies from agency to agency.

PROJECT TITLE PROJECT NO.

JUDGING PHASE JUDGE JUDGING TEAM

ASSIGN A MAXIMUM SCORE OF 10 POINTS IN EACH CATEGORY BELOW:

PROJECT OBJECTIVES 1. Creativity and originality	1. Creativity and originality
	2. Clear statement of objectives; identification of all relevant variables
	3. Creativity and originality
	4. Knowledge and understanding by each team member of the scientific or engineering principles relevant to the project
	5. Adequacy of scientific or engineering approach used; use of relevant literature
	6. Thoroughness of experimentation or development used to reach objectives; proper recording of data in laboratory notebook	Thoroughness of experimentation or development used
	7. Level of skills and effort used by the student to carry out the project; amount of work done by the student; understanding of equipment or techniques used to obtain data.
	8. Conclusions consistent with the data obtained and with the relevant principles of science or engineering (if not, is there an adequate explanation of the inconsistency) Conclusions consistent with the data obtained and
	9. Quality and coherence of the oral presentation within the time allotted (usually about 3-5 minutes) Quality and coherence of the oral presentation by the
	10. Quality and clarity of the display, including the organization and presentation of data Quality and clarity of the display, including the organization and presentation of data
	TOTAL SCORE (maximum = 100)
Obtain normalized score by ranking projects according to total score and assigning a normalized score of 100 to the first project, 95 to the second, etc. NORMALIZED SCORE

NOTES:

1. Projects continued from previous year(s) should be clearly identified as such with a Roman numeral at the end of the project title. For example--"Pollution in Lake Houston, II" would indicate a continuing project being entered in the fair for the second time. These projects should be judged only on what has been done since the last fair.

2. Judges should not solicit any information from an entrant that would identify the student, their sponsor, or their school. If such information is required, the judge should contact the judging chairman.

COMMENTS:

SEFH JUDGING PROCEDURES

All Exhibits will be judged in one of three divisions: the Junior (7th and 8th grades); the Ninth (9th grade); and the Senior (10, 11, & 12th grades) in either the Life Science Fair or the Engineering/Physical Sciences Fair. Team Projects are allowed to compete only in the Junior Division. Each division is subdivided into subject classifications such as chemistry, engineering, zoology, botany, etc. SEFH judges are not allowed to know the names of the student entrants, their teacher, their school or school district until the judging is over. Prior to judging, all project displays must be checked by the Rules/Safety Committee and the Scientific Review Committee and must be stamped with approval by each on Thursday evening. Projects not approved must be removed from the Exhibition Hall prior to judging.

PHASE I

The judging procedure occurs in three phases. Phase I takes place during the morning. Teams of 3-6 judges visit all exhibits and each student has 5-10 minutes to present and discuss her/his project with the judges. Following this, there will be time for questions and answers. The judges then rate the project in comparison to other projects in that classification. The scores are then normalized and those projects with the highest scores advance to Phase II of the judging process.

PHASE II

Phase II occurs in the afternoon. In a procedure similar to Phase I, a second team of judges reevaluates those projects that pass the first phase. Based on this judging and extensive discussions, projects will be rated First, Second and Third and honorable mention(s) for each category. It is not mandatory that honorable mention awards be given in each category. Also, for categories that have a small number of entrants, all three place awards may not be given-this decision is up to the judges. The number one project in each category of each division will advance to Phase III. Special Award judging begins during Phase II and is completed in Phase III.

PHASE III

Special teams of judges review the top project in each of the categories. In the Junior Division, the two individual projects that are chosen best will each receive Special Awards of Excellence from the University of Houston-Downtown. The two individual projects that are judged best in the Ninth Grade Division will also receive comparable awards from the Engineering, Science & Technology Council of Houston. The First Place individual category winners in the Ninth Grade Division will be judged with the First Place individual category winners of the Senior Division and the top two projects in Life Sciences and the top two projects in Engineering/Physical Sciences will be named Grand Award Winners. The four Grand Award Winners will advance to the International Science and Engineering Fair. Two alternate Grand Award Winners will also be selected in the event that one of the four Grand Award Winners is unable to compete in the international fair. There will be no notification of those projects that have made it to Phase II or Phase III. Special Award judging is completed during Phase III.

Projects eligible to enter the Texas State Science and Engineering Fair include:

Senior Division: First & Second Place Category Winners

Ninth Grade Division: First Place Category Winners (you will compete in the Senior Division, grades 9-12)

Junior Division: First, Second & Third Place Individual Project Category First Place Winners in each Team Category

Projects eligible to enter the national Discovery Young Scientist Challenge include:

Junior Division: First, Second & Third Place Individual Project Category First Place Winners in each Team Category

Entry forms for the State Fair and the Discovery competition will be distributed at the sefh Awards Ceremony.