To:Judges

From:Edgar A. Bering, III

Re:Welcome

Welcome

First, I would like to thank all of you very much for your service here today on behalf of the students, their teachers, the AIAA, the Texas Learning and Computation Center and The University of Houston. We are all very much in your debt and we appreciate your selfless public service.

Your Packet

You should have picked up a judge’s packet when you signed in. This packet includes your judge number (printed on the outside of your packet as well as on your scoring forms). If you do not have a judging packet, please speak up and we will give you one.

Your packet contains the following:

1)Memo for Judges

2)Judging Schedule

3)Exhibition Map

4)Exhibition Rules

5)Judges Scoring Rubric

6)Judging Forms

a)Scoring Sheets (one per model assigned)

Judging Schedule

Each judge has a separate judging schedule so that each model is judged by a unique mix of judges. You can find your schedule on the sheet entitled “Judging Schedule” in this packet. Listed on this page are the tables (models) you are to judge and the time at which each model is to be judged.

There are 6 judging groups in this competition: including 2 age ranges (Elementary and Middle school) and 3 model categories (Free Form, Solar and Radio). Each judge is assigned primarily to one category. Elementary school models will be presented in the morning session, and middle school models will be presented in the afternoon Please be aware that owing to the smaller number of entries in some categories, some judges do score models in more than one category.

All judging occurs in 20 minute blocks. The elementary school models are judged from 10:00 pm until 11:20 pm (10:00, 10:20, 10:40, 11:00) and the middle school models are judged between 2:00 pm and 3:20 pm (2:00, 2:20, 2:40, 3:00).

Exhibition Rules

A copy of the Exhibition Rules is included in this packet for your reference. Please read these carefully so you will be aware of the guidelines and requirements the teams are to follow.

Judges Scoring Rubric

In your packet you will find a Judges Scoring Rubric. This document describes each area being scored, and provides you with descriptive anchors for determining what score to assign to a model in each area. This document in simply a guide, you should not record your scores for a model on the scoring rubric document.

Judging Forms

In your packet, there are two different kinds of scoring sheets: 1) a score sheet to be used for each model; and 2) an overall ranking sheet to be used for all models within a grade/category.

Individual Model Scoring:

In your packet there is a scoring sheet for each model you are assigned to judge. The table number, grade, school name, rover name, and model category for each model is pre-printed at the top of the form. You simply need to bubble in the score you are giving the model in each category.

When you have finished scoring a model, please promptly return your score sheet to one of the two tables labeled “Score Collection” on your map. It is very important that forms are collected at the end of each 20 minute scoring time block. Forms are being scanned and scores tabulated throughout the day so there will be enough time to accurately determine the winners.

Overall Ranking Sheet

Once you have completed judging for a grade level (elementary/middle), please be sure to complete any of the documents entitled Judge Ranking Sheet (Overall) included in your packet for that grade level. If you were assigned to score models in more than one category for a grade level, you will have one form per category, per grade level. On this form you will need to rank order the models you judged in the grade/category listed at the top of the sheet. For example, if you were assigned models in the elementary grade level, free form category, you will have one form for ranking only these models. If you were assigned 4 models in this grade/category, you will see those 4 models listed on the overall ranking sheet. You will need to rank these 4 models using 1, 2, 3, 4 – with one being the highest and 4 the lowest.

Overall ranking forms for elementary models should be returned to the “Score Collection” after the 2:00 judging session. Overall ranking forms for middle school models should be returned to the “Score Collection” after the 3:30 judging session.

Judging Tips

  1. These are little kids. Be patient, gentle and positive at all times. Encourage them to continue their studies, go to college, and become engineers.
  2. Ask questions. Give feedback. They are supposed to do a skit. Ask to see it.
  3. DO NOTshare your final evaluation with the kids or teachers. All these kids got A’s from their teachers and they will want you to match their grade.
  4. DO try to give us good discrimination in scoring. If all models receive the full amount of points possible, it does us no good when trying to determine awards.

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