Virtual Judge Instructions
The goal of History Day is to provide young learners with a positive experience, regardless of whether they win. We want all students to have a fair judging process and get meaningful written feadback.
The virtual contest will be judged off site.
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After reviewing projects you will work remotely with your judge team to discuss and rank projects.
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Your heat's top ranked entries from the First-Round of competition will advance to a Final-Round, which will be evaluated by a new set of judges.
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Each judge will write and submit their own comments for each project they view.
CONNECT
Email your judge team as soon as you get your materials to Set a date for a call or online meeting (zoom, facetime, cell phone 3-way, etc.) to discuss and rank the projects in your heat. Their contact information is in the email you received.
Let your category judge captain know right away if you have trouble reaching a member of your judge team.
TRAIN
Watch the training videos and review training materials.
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Virtual Contest Overview Video (5 min)
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Historical Paper Training Video (6 min)
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Documentaries Training Video (10 min)
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Website Training Video (9 min)
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Performance Training Video (19 min)
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Poster Training Video (18 min)
Even if you have judged before, Judge training is essential to ensure fair judging.
LOG-IN & REVIEW
Download & Print these forms to assist you:
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Forced Ranking Sheet (pdf)
Access & Review projects using the passcode that was emailed to you. The rubric is available on the Scoring Platform.
Take Notes. Use the Project Preview form to note the strengths and areas for improvement for each project in relation to the rubric. Focus on the content, argument, and research, not formating or grammar.
Score the entries according to the rubric.
Enter project numbers on your Forced Ranking Sheet to do your individual ranking. You will discuss your ranking with the other judges on your call.
DISCUSS & RANK WITH TEAM
Hold your call or online meeting with your judge team. You will need to come to consensus on the top 4 projects for your heat. The top three projects will advance to a final round.
Judges come to consensus on the projects to advance. Each entry is ranked in relation to the other entries you see in your heat. You should not compare these projects against what you may have seen at other competitions.
All final decisions will be based on the consensus of your judging team in relation to the National History Day criteria.
80%: Historical Quality
20%: Clarity of Presentation
SUBMIT CONSENSUS FORM
Judge One from each heat will see a Consensus Form button on their heat page when they log in to the Judge Scoring Platform.
After discussing the entries with other judges, Judge One will use the drop down menu to enter ranks for the top 4 projects.
All judges MUST agree on the top 4 ranks. It is not necessary to rank more than 4 for the preliminary rounds.
April 22nd - 29th Session 1
Consensus due by Wednesday, April 29th 11:00 AM
April 29th - May 6th Session 2
Consensus due by Wednesday, May 6th 11:00 AM
WRITE COMMENTS &
FINISH RUBRICS
Your rubrics for each project are located in the Judge Scoring Platform. Please be sure to score each area of the rubric and write meaningful comments in the Strengths and Suggestions box.
Judges should talk about the scores they have given to each project when they are on their call.
April 22nd - 29th Session 1
Rubrics completed by Wednesday, April 29th 11:00 PM
April 29th - May 6th Session 2
Rubrics completed by Wednesday, May 6th 11:00 PM