Rubric-+Science+Research+Project

Science Fair Experiment : Accelerated Biology Research Project

 * CATEGORY || 4 || 3 || 2 || 1 ||
 * Idea || Independently identified a question which was interesting to the student and which could be investigated. || Identified, with adult help, a question which was interesting to the student and which could be investigated. || Identified, with adult help, a question which could be investigated. || Identified a question that could not be tested/investigated or one that did not merit investigation. ||
 * Variables || Independently identified and clearly defined which variables were going to be changed (independent variables) and which were going to be measured (dependent variables). || Independently identified which variables were going to be changed (independent variables) and which were going to be measured (dependent variables). Some feedback was needed to clearly define the variables. || With adult help, identified and clearly defined which variables were going to be changed (independent variables) and which were going to be measured (dependent variables). || Adult help needed to identify and define almost all the variables. ||
 * Hypothesis Development || Independently developed an hypothesis well-substantiated by a literature review and observation of similar phenomena. || Independently developed an hypothesis somewhat substantiated by a literature review and observation of similar phenomena. || Independently developed an hypothesis somewhat substantiated by a literature review or observation of similar phenomena. || Needed adult assistance to develop an hypothesis or to do a basic literature review. ||
 * Descripton of Procedure || Procedures were outlined in a step-by-step fashion that could be followed by anyone without additional explanations. No adult help was needed to accomplish this. || Procedures were outlined in a step-by-step fashion that could be followed by anyone without additional explanations. Some adult help was needed to accomplish this. || Procedures were outlined in a step-by-step fashion, but had 1 or 2 gaps that require explanation even after adult feedback had been given. || Procedures that were outlined were seriously incomplete or not sequential, even after adult feedback had been given. ||
 * Diagrams || Provided an accurate, easy-to-follow diagram with labels to illustrate the procedure or the process being studied. || Provided an accurate diagram with labels to illustrate the procedure or the process being studied. || Provided an easy-to-follow diagram with labels to illustrate the procedure or process, but one key step was left out. || Did not provide a diagram OR the diagram was quite incomplete. ||
 * Analysis of Data || Data was collected several times. It was summarized, independently, in a way that clearly describes what was discovered. || Data was collected more than one time. It was summarized, independently, in a way that clearly describes what was discovered. || Data was collected more than one time. Adult assistance was needed to clearly summarize what was discovered. || Data was collected only once and adult assistance was needed to clearly summarize what was discovered. ||
 * Analysis of Data || Data was collected several times. It was summarized, independently, in a way that clearly describes what was discovered. || Data was collected more than one time. It was summarized, independently, in a way that clearly describes what was discovered. || Data was collected more than one time. Adult assistance was needed to clearly summarize what was discovered. || Data was collected only once and adult assistance was needed to clearly summarize what was discovered. ||
 * Conclusion/Summary || Student provided a detailed conclusion clearly based on the data and related to previous research findings and the hypothesis statement(s). || Student provided a somewhat detailed conclusion clearly based on the data and related to the hypothesis statement(s). || Student provided a conclusion with some reference to the data and the hypothesis statement(s). || No conclusion was apparent OR important details were overlooked. ||