Picking up and Understanding Your Scores
Your team has completed their performance. ย Now what?
Picking Up the Raw Scores
The Team Manager and one team member (selected by the TM or elected by the team) should go together to pick up the raw scores from the appraisers. This allows the team to have the perspective of both an adult and a student when the scores are discussed.
Assemble the team before you go to pick up the scores. You only have a limited amount of time after you pick up the scores to ask questions and get any necessary corrections made to the score sheet so, you donโt want to have to chase any of the team members down. Have the team wait in a private location with an adult while you pick up the scores.
Reviewing the score sheet is a matter for the team members and Team Managers ONLY. Parents and supporters should not be present or participate in this discussion. Read the scores aloud and then let the team members look at the scores and discuss anything they want to cover. Once the discussions are complete, the team should collectively decide whether to accept the scores as is, or to ask questions of the appraisers by initiating DIalogue (see below).
Remember that the raw scores are only one component of the team’s final results, and that other teams may not yet have performed. Gloating, bragging, or discussing scores in public is impolite โ so don’t do it! ย Raw scores should be discussed with people outside the team [including parents and supporters]ย only after the Awards Ceremony.
Remember about DIalogue!
If your team feels that there is a problem with their scores, any objections must be raised to the Appraisers within 30 minutes of receiving the scores. After that scores are final! ย Full details on this process can be found in Rules of the Road.
Learning from Scoring Sheet
The Team Challenge score sheet is a valuable tool for feedback and planning. When the team receives the scoring sheet at Regionals, it should be read and analyzed carefully. It is one of the best indicators the team has of where it can improve โ at the Affiliate Tournament and / or Global Finals if the team advances โ or next year if they they do not. ย As a Team Managers, note that you should reserve your own personal opinions until the year is over and all competitions are complete.
Raw vs. Scaled Scores
Raw Scores
The points awarded by the Appraisers are called Raw Scores. Raw Scoresย are calculated and reported in three sections: Central Challenge, Team Choice Elementsย and Instant Challenge. Below is an example of teams competing in a possible Tournament. Imagine that these teams are competing in the same Team Challengeย at the same Competition Level.
Sample Raw Scores
ย Team |
Central Challenge Raw Score (225 Possible) |
Subtract Central Challenge Deduction |
Total Central Challenge Raw Score |
Team Choice (75 Possible) |
Subtract Team Choice Element |
Total Team Choice Element |
Instant Challenge Raw Score (100 Possible) |
Subtract Instant Challenge Deduction |
Total Instant Challenge Raw Score |
A |
183 |
ย |
183 |
62 |
0 |
62 |
52 |
0 |
52 |
B |
195 |
-20 |
175 |
70 |
0 |
70 |
61 |
0 |
61 |
C |
172 |
ย |
172 |
65 |
0 |
65 |
75 |
0 |
75 |
According to the Appraisers in the above example, Team B had the strongest Central Challenge score while Team A earned the most Team Choice Elementย points and Team C clearly achieved the top score in the Instant Challenge component.
Can you tell which team won the First Place trophy?
First of all, deductions are subtracted from the appropriate Raw Score. So in this example, a 20-point deduction must be removed from Team Bโs Raw Score of 195, leaving 175 as their total Central Challenge Raw Score. This means that Team A actually received the highest Central Challenge Raw Score with 183 points. There were no deductions for any team in Team Choice Elements or Instant Challenge.ย
Scaled Scores
Once Raw Scores for every team have been compiled, the scores are โscaled.โ This means that the team with the highest total Raw Score in each area is given the total possible points for that area. This โsets the curveโ for all of the other scores. All other teams then receive a scaled score based on comparing their Raw Score to the top Raw Score.
Using the sample Raw Scores in the table above, the scores are scaled in the table below. The high score in each column is in bold. Scores are adjusted to three decimal places and rounded back to two decimal places.
Sample Scaled Scores
ย Team |
Total Central Challenge Raw Score (225 Possible) |
Scaled Central Challenge Score |
Total Team Choice Element Raw Score (75 Possible) |
Scaled Team Choice Element Score |
Instant Challenge Raw Score (100 Possible) |
Scaled Instant Challenge Score |
ย Final Scaled Scores |
A |
183 |
225.00 |
62 |
66.43 |
52 |
69.33 |
360.76 |
B |
175 |
215.16 |
70 |
75.00 |
61 |
81.33 |
371.49 |
C |
172 |
211.48 |
65 |
69.64 |
75 |
100.00 |
381.12 |
In this example, then, Team C took first place with combined scaled scores of 381.12. Note that Team C had the highest score only in Instant Challenge, and was in second place for Team Choice Elements and third place in the Central Challenge. This can be a reminder to your team that you need to practice and work hard in ALL THREE major components of the program if you want to score well!
Teams are tied when their total scaled scores differ by one point or less. In a multi-team tie, teams are tied when their total scaled scores differ from the leading score for that place by one point or less.
ย