Rubrics:
- research paper
- evaluation
J udging
Forms:
- individual
- team
Project Number: ____
Student Name: _____________________
Project Title: _______________________________________
Judge's Name:
______________________________________
Category:
Botany
Earth & Environmental Science Engineering
Health &
Behavioral Science Mathematics & Computer Science Physical Science
Zoology
Grade Level:
6th
7th 8th
(Students
compete across all grade levels. In evaluating projects, judges should
give ample consideration to the age of the student; less should be expected
of younger students.)
The following judging
criteria and point distributions are based on the Regional and State
Science Fair Guidelines provided by the Boulder Valley School District.
| Part I: Creative Ability (Missing = 0, Unsatisfactory = 2, Satisfactory = 4, Excellent = 6) | |
| _____ | Title: The project title is creative or clever. |
| _____ | Approach: The student demonstrates original thinking and creativity in the purpose and hypothesis, and in the problem-solving approach. |
| _____ | Materials: The student chose appropriate-perhaps even ingenious-measurements and materials, taking into consideration time and budgetary constraints and availability of useful equipment. |
| _____ | Exhibit: The style of the exhibit or other aspects of the project are creative or clever. Student uses creative lettering. All posters, charts, etc. are securely attached. |
| _____ | Discussion: The student is able to critically evaluate the experiment (looking back on what could have been improved), and demonstrates creativity in exploring additional research needed to substantiate the findings or extend the research to a closely related question. |
| Part I SUBTOTAL: __________ (maximum = 30) | |
| Part II: Scientific Thought or Engineering Goals (Missing = 0, Unsatisfactory = 1, Satisfactory = 3, Excellent = 5) | |
| _____ | Purpose or Question: The purpose or question is clearly stated. |
| _____ | Scientific Merit: The student asks a question that has real scientific merit and is genuinely curious about the question. |
| _____ | Hypothesis: The student's hypothesis either uncovers an underlying pattern in the natural world or identifies a cause-and-effect relationship-experimental variable(s) that influence the dependent variable(s). |
| _____ | Procedure: The student shows evidence of careful planning in designing a procedure that can test whether the hypothesis is true-emulating a professional scientist's desire to discover what is true and to search for proof. |
| _____ | Variables: The student clearly identifies the experimental and dependent variables in the project. |
| _____ | Controls: The student carefully considered other variables that could contaminate the results or confuse the interpretation of what caused the results; the student responded by using a control group, by making an effort to keep these other variables constant, or by performing naturalistic observations in a way that disturbed the subjects as little as possible. |
| Part II SUBTOTAL: __________ (maximum = 30) | |
| Part III: Thoroughness (Missing = 0, Unsatisfactory = 1, Satisfactory=2, Excellent = 3) | |
| _____ | Observations (Data Records): The exhibit includes very complete and accurate data records (recorded immediately and carefully), and the student has been completely open and honest in reporting results, even if the results undermine or disprove the hypothesis. |
| _____ | Observations (Repeated Measures or Tests): The student experimenter repeated the procedure a sufficient number of times to give confidence in the results. The repetition enabled the student to prove/substantiate that a pattern occurs regularly, a cause-and-effect relationship exists, a theory or principle is accurately illustrated, or a technical device or computer program works satisfactorily. |
| _____ | Research: The student thoroughly researched the topic and thought seriously about the problem before forming the hypothesis. |
| _____ | Conclusion and Discussion: The student has drawn logical conclusions based on the data collected, evaluating the significance of the experimental findings. The students have written a thorough discussion of the results and have weighed alternative interpretations of the data. |
| _____ | Sources: The student has acknowledged the people consulted and the sources used, including a bibliography. |
| Part III SUBTOTAL: __________ (maximum = 15) | |
| Part IV: Skill (Missing = 0, Unsatisfactory = 1, Satisfactory = 2, Excellent = 3) | |
| _____ | Laboratory Skills: The student shows evidence of the laboratory, computation or engineering skills required to collect the data for the project. |
| _____ | Results: The student has analyzed the results in depth by preparing tables and/or graphs, and by computing averages and other statistics. The student has accurately labeled graphs and tables using correct units. |
| _____ | Adult help: The student did the research and prepared the exhibit with minimum help from adults. |
| _____ | Safety: The student used safe procedures in conducting the experiment and in presenting the results. |
| _____ | Responsibility: The student is polite and respectful of judges, teachers, and other students. |
| Part IV SUBTOTAL: __________ (maximum = 15) | |
| Part V: Clarity (Missing = 0, Satisfactory = 1, Excellent = 2) | |
| _____ |
Title and Student's Name: The title accurately describes the project. The student's name and grade level are given. |
| _____ |
Oral Presentation: The student's oral explanations are clear and effective, and reflect a good understanding of the project and the exhibit. |
| _____ | Exhibit: The exhibit communicates effectively. The display is well organized and uses large lettering or visual aids to emphasize main points. Details are clear from a distance of 3-5 meters. |
| _____ | Backboard: The backboard is clearly written and uses correct grammar and spelling. |
| _____ | Written Report: A written report is on display that includes most of the same elements as the exhibit. |
| Part V SUBTOTAL: __________ (maximum = 10) | |
TOTAL
SCORE: __________ (maximum = 100)
Some of the best features of this project:
Some ideas the student might like to try in the future:
Introduction
| Guidelines
|
2001 Schedule
| Grading
& Rubrics
| Resources
Summit
Middle School Science Fair
Designed
and updated by Mery
Molenaar
October
2000
URL: http://www.geocities.com/mery_molenaar/sci_fair