In reply to Rick Wicklin.

Rick, that's absolutely correct. In the judging process, we have about 15 minutes to spend with each student. Each judge interviews about 8 students, and then we get together and rank the 50 projects in the particular category/age group. Who comes out on top is as much a function of the "judge advocate" as it is of the student performance, since we don't all get to hear the "student pitch" firsthand.

In our case, the stress of ranking is relieved a bit when we realize that: 1) our rankings do not influence the project grades, which have already been assigned by the teacher, and 2) our awards don't directly determine who moves on to a regional competition, as those projects must meet certain requirements that we don't evaluate during the fair. Our main objective is to recognize the outstanding work, and to provide a positive experience for all participants.