MTSEF Judge Participation Guide
Volunteer your expertise to guide students, recognize excellence, and strengthen our Middle Tennessee STEM community.
For most students, the judging interview is the highlight of the fair as it gives them the opportunity to present their work and engage with STEM professionals. For judges, it is an opportunity to meet and encourage some of the most talented science students in Middle Tennessee.
Projects have 3-5 judges on average to determine 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners in each category division. Judges rotate through projects in their given category. Students give an approximate 7 minute summary of their research to each judge individually. Judges then have approximately 5 minutes for questions and another 5 minutes to score their rubric and record notes before moving to their next project. Category judges deliberate as a group once all projects in the category have been judged.
Requirements
Minimum Judge Qualifications:
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Middle School Division
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Bachelors degree in science or engineering
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High School Division
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Masters degree or pursuing PhD
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Bachelors degree and 3 years of work experience
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What do I have to do?
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Watch a training video
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Attend 30 min training session before judging on the day of the fair
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Attend the fair judging events
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Reward the best, encourage the rest
Area K-12 teachers who are currently teaching STEM Research Courses are disqualified from judging.
Categories
High School Categories
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Animal Sciences (ANIM)
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Behavioral and Social Sciences (BEHA)
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Biochemistry (BCHM)
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Biomedical and Health Sciences (BMED)
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Biomedical Engineering (ENBM)
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Cellular and Molecular Biology (CELL)
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Chemistry (CHEM)
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Computational Biology and Bioinformatics (CBIO)
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Earth and Environmental Sciences (EAEV)
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Embedded Systems (EBED)
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Energy: Sustainable Materials and Design (EGSD)
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Engineering Technology: Statics and Dynamics (ETSD)
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Environmental Engineering (ENEV)
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Materials Science (MATS)
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Mathematics (MATH)
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Microbiology (MCRO)
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Physics and Astronomy (PHYS)
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Plant Sciences (PLNT)
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Robotics and Intelligent Machines (ROBO)
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Software Design (SFTD)
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Technology Enhances the Arts (TECA)
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Translational Medical Science (TMED)
Middle School Categories
Middle school projects are judged within grade-level categories:
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6th Grade
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7th Grade
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8th Grade
Rubrics and Insights
The following considerations are intended to support thoughtful and consistent evaluation of student projects. These insights complement the judging rubrics but might not be part of the additional scoring criteria.
Quality of Experimental Design
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Does the project include appropriate controls (if applicable)?
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Is the experimental design logical and well-structured?
Student Understanding
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Can the student clearly explain their project, methods, and results?
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Do they demonstrate a strong understanding of the underlying concepts?
Data Collection & Investigation
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Is there clear evidence of data collection, experimentation, or field work (beyond background research)?
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Are the methods appropriate for answering the research question?
Data Analysis (High School)
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Is there sufficient data to support meaningful conclusions?
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Has the student applied appropriate basic statistical analysis (if applicable)?
Engineering & Design Projects
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Are there clearly defined design criteria or goals?
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Did the student go through an iterative design process (testing, refining, improving)?
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Does the final design effectively meet the stated criteria?
Background Knowledge
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Is the student familiar with existing research or background information related to their project?
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Can they place their work in a broader scientific or engineering context?