Name______

Science Fair Grading Criteria

Possible Points / Self Evaluation / Teacher Evaluation
Scientific thought-
  • Project demonstrates understanding of existing knowledge of topic
  • Experimental design demonstrates understanding of scientific methods (see scientific method review sheet and “Written Work Criteria” sheet)
/ 25
Written work-
  • Contains all required information as seen in the “Written Work Criteria” sheet
  • Contains proper spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and sentence structure
  • Information in paragraphs flow nicely,
  • No personal pronouns are used (I, we, they, etc.)
/ 25
Creativity-
  • The topic is original or the approach to the problem shows some originality and/or
  • The construction or design of equipment shows originality and/or
  • The materials/equipment have been used in an ingenious way
/ 10
Workmanship
  • Experiment is carried out with care and attention to detail
  • The results are precise, accurate
  • Workmanship of any model, experimental materials, or other construction is neat and well done
/ 10
Display-
  • Stands up on its own
  • Has relevant title that can be seen from a distance
  • Not too crowded with data
  • Well organized and self-explanatory
  • Pictures and graphs contain captions
  • Font style is easily read at 3 feet away from the display
(for more detail see “Display Hints” and “Sample Display Layout)
  • Visually attractive
  • Captions describe all diagrams, pictures, and graphs
/ 10
Scientific journal contains:
  • Interesting observations made during the experiment are summarized
  • All data collected (handwritten in data table)
  • Pictures with captions are used instead of writing where possible
  • All research notes and drawings
  • If notes are printed off computer they should be pasted in journal
/ 10
Interview/presentation
  • Student demonstrates knowledge of the subject area
  • Student presents information clearly
  • Visual aids are used
  • Student can make predictions from the results
  • If project is a team effort, the team participates in the interview process equally
/ 10
Total Points / 100