Criteria, weights and calibration - so different judges reach comparable scores.
01Choose four or five criteria
For a case competition: insight, feasibility, financial logic, presentation and Q&A. More than five and judges start averaging their impressions instead of scoring.
02Describe each score level
Write what a 2, a 5 and an 8 look like for each criterion. Descriptions anchor judges far better than numbers alone.
03Weight what matters
If insight matters twice as much as slide design, say so in the weights - and publish the rubric to teams before they start.
04Calibrate before you score
Have every judge score the same two sample entries, compare and discuss. Ten minutes of calibration removes most of the disagreement later.
05Record the decision
Whatever tool you score in, record the outcome and a short note on each submission so the team - and next year's committee - can see why.