INFORMATION FOR
Volunteer Judges are the heart of the History Day experience. Judges provide students with a high-quality educational experience—whether or not they win a prize. Your background, knowledge, and perspective are a valuable contribution of insight and confidence for students to take their next steps in life.
Judging is a rewarding experience. Judges often tell us that they leave contest events feeling inspired by students' creativity and accomplishments, and always learn something new from the students' in-depth investigations. Contest events are a get-together of like-minded people who love learning, history, and the adventure of research, and are great for networking and professional development. It's a wonderful way to contribute to the celebration of history in New Jersey.
Any adult with a love of history, learning, and supporting student growth! No particular qualifications are required, besides enthusiasm and interest in encouraging middle and high school students in their development as researchers. We especially appreciate help from educators, professors, librarians, archivists, museum professionals, youth development professionals, community historians, and museum volunteers, but we welcome people from all walks of life who are interested in giving their time and thoughtful feedback to students. Whether you have a background in history or simply enjoy learning something new, your perspective matters. For teachers: NJHD is an accredited provider of PD hours a 5-hour certificate is available for judging a contest.
In the National History Day program, students in grades 6–12 conduct extensive research on topics related to an annual theme and present their findings in historical papers, exhibits, documentaries, performances, or websites. At the contest events, students present their research to volunteer judges, who provide feedback and select projects to advance to the next level of the competition. Students rely on judges' responses to understand their rankings and improve their work for future presentations. Conversations and feedback from judges help build student confidence, encourage them to continue being curious researchers, and hone their academic and presentation skills.
Judges work in teams of two to three people, with each team viewing 6-8 student entries. NHD uses consensus judging, which means that instead of giving entries numerical scores, judges rank the entries after discussing them with their teams. Together, they provide appreciative, constructive feedback and guidance on each project to help students develop their research skills.
There are two ways to judge for History Day: virtual and in-person.
Virtual Judges review student entries in the paper and website categories. Virtual judges receive student entries two weeks before the contest day and may review them at their own pace. Reviews are scored and submitted online in a written comment form.
In-person Judges join us for the contest day – about 8 AM to 2:30 PM. Breakfast and lunch are included. After a short orientation, judges break into teams and are assigned a category of student entry to judge: documentaries, exhibits, or performances. Working with team members, judges have brief conversations with students about their work, then collaborate on feedback and select the entries that will go on to the next round.
To register as a judge, go to the zFairs website for the contest or contests you want to participate in. At the site, you'll create an account and answer a few questions that help us match you with your team and project category. Links to contest websites below:
February 28 - Regional Contest at Monmouth University
March 7 - Regional Contest at Rutgers University-Camden
March 21 - Regional Contest at St. Elizabeth University
May 2 - State Contest at William Paterson University
