National Contest Judges’ Information
The 2020 National History Day Contest will be held virtually in June 2020. National History Day (NHD) is looking for historians, educators, and others to judge student projects at this year’s contest. Confirmed judges will receive information about the virtual schedule by email.
Students in 6th through 12th grades conduct extensive research on topics related to an annual theme and present their findings in historical papers, exhibits, documentaries, performances, and websites.
If you are interested in judging, please sign up here.
If you have any questions, please contact judges@nhd.org.
Please note: If you would like to judge for your local or affiliate NHD contest, please contact your affiliate coordinator.
NHD relies on consensus judging. That means that instead of giving entries numeric scores, you will be ranking them. If you are confirmed as a judge, you will be assigned to a team of 3 judges, one of whom will be designated as the captain. It is important that everyone on your team agrees on the overall rankings of the entries you judge.
Historical Quality (60%)
- Historical accuracy
- Historical context
- Analysis and interpretation
- Use of available primary sources
- Wide research
- Balanced research
Relation to Theme (20%)
- Clearly relates to theme
- Demonstrates significance of topic in history and draws conclusions
Clarity of Presentation (20%)
- Presentation, written materials are original, clear, appropriate, organized and articulate
- Entry is organized; visual impact is appropriate to topic
Below are the Judging Instructions for each category, which confirmed judges will receive with their assignments:
Documentary | Exhibit | Paper | Performance | Website