ML Speech Adjudicator Guidelines

• Familiarize yourself with specific rules and evaluation criteria of categories you will evaluate.
• Make sure you’re not adjudicating any students you know personally; report problems to officials.
• Position yourself so your view and hearing for evaluation are unobstructed.

• Accessibility requests – Accommodate contestants with disabilities as noted on the ballot, without drawing undue attention. Evaluate each contestant on their own merits..
• Time limits – If a contestant continues presenting beyond the maximum time, the adjudicator shall stand, and the student may finish their sentence. Although there are no minimum time limits, adjudicators may reduce their rating and note as such in the second evaluation criterion, for a lack of development of content..
• Disqualification – If you believe a student is violating rules, please listen to the entire presentation and evaluate the best you can, then report the matter to contest officials, who will investigate and render a decision. Never announce disqualification, except Demonstration Speech, RULE 4, where illicit items may endanger safety.
• Implicit Bias – We are all influenced by implicit bias, or stereotypes that unconsciously affect our decisions. When adjudicating, our implicit biases negatively impact students who are traditionally marginalized and disenfranchised. Before writing comments or rating, reflect on any biases that may impact your decision-making process.
• Video (virtual contests) – Video quality may be impacted by lighting, internet, access to equipment, and other constraints. Your ratings and comments should focus only on the presentation itself and questions in evaluation criteria. Please watch videos continuously without pausing, rewinding/rewatching, so you are evaluating the work as if you were watching the presentation live, in person.
• Face masks – do not take presence nor absence of masks into account in your evaluation (in-person or videos) as you do not know circumstances by which students may need to be masked.

Make specific written comments apply to each of the five evaluation standards – leave no
area blank, and circle a proficiency level for each (Mastery, Proficient, Developing, Emerging, Minimal). Be honest, positive, supportive and helpful with suggestions for improvement or reinforcement of effective tactics. Use specific examples of what the contestant(s) did or said in their presentation. Need assistance for what to say? See the Descriptive Words/Phrases List for Middle Level Adjudicators below.

• Level 1: The presentation is beginning its development, and the contestant(s) should make several improvements.
• Level 2: On balance, the presentation falls short of proficient for at least three of the evaluation standards.

• Level 1: The presentation is engaging and meets expectations of proficiency or better for at least two evaluation standards.
• Level 2: Consistently meets expectations of proficiency or better for at least four of the evaluation standards, with just a few “fine tuning” comments for improvement.

Whenever you select a rating less than Mastery, describe how contestants did not meet your expectations. When selecting a lower standards rating, describe several items for improvement, or explain magnitude of a single issue. If something applies under multiple evaluation items (e.g., soft volume impacted both audibility as well as emotional intensity called for), explain how your concern specifically relates to each area (to avoid “double jeopardy”).

Written Comments: Make specific written comments apply to criteria for evaluation – leave no area blank. Any rating less than five should have justification for reduction in score, citing specific examples of what a student did or said. Be honest, positive, supportive and helpful with suggestions for improvement.

Return of Forms: (in-person)

• At the conclusion of each section, record points from signed student evaluation sheets on the ballot provided, making sure points on the ballot are the same as those on the evaluation sheet.
• Sign the ballot and return it, along with the student evaluation sheet (unless otherwise instructed by the festival host) to the festival headquarters.

Descriptive Words/Phrases for Adjudicators

AVOID vague terms: good • great • weak • needs work • practice more

Instead, tell them: exactly what they did well; how they should improve; specific ineffective aspects of their presentation