What is 4-H Project Evaluation?
Every coach and player looks forward to playing in the championship game. You and your members will have the opportunity to participate annually in 4-H’s championship round "4-H Project Evaluation".
Evaluation can take place at several levels: self, club, county, and state. Every 4-H member needs attention and deserves recognition for their personal achievements. Your members may choose a single evaluation method or a combination. Regardless of the method, 4-H Project Evaluations should:
- Provide the member with a sense of belonging to the club and the 4-H program;
- Encourage independence enabling member’s free expression of personal work;
- Challenge the member with new experiences to expand skills and knowledge;
- Offer positive and constructive verbal and written feedback to aid member’s personal growth and skill improvement; and
- Give recognition for achievement and success.
How Can You Prepare Your Members for Project Evaluations?
Start with remembering that 4-H is all about Champion Kids not Champion Projects. Focus on preparing members, not projects, for evaluations to insure members leave judging with a smile on their face regardless of the ribbon color received. Review your county’s project requirements and prepare members to participate in interview judging, skillathon, and/or project book judging based on your county’s guidelines.
- Interview Judging is a one-on-one interaction between the member and a judge. Depending upon the project, the member will present the actual project or exhibit and/or project book. Review Interviewing Tips for Judges to help members prepare or to use as you judge your members at the club level.
- Skillathon is a series of hands-on skill stations to assess members application of knowledge and skills learned through the project. Activities will include use of diagrams, drawings, situations, models, live specimens, and samples. View "How to Conduct A Skillathon", available from your County Extension Office, to help members prepare in your club. Conduct a club skill-a-thon using skillathon kits, feed samples, and teaching models, check availability from your County Extension Office or here to purchase. Encourage members to access web-based skillathon practice materials.
- Project Book Judging is a review of a member’s recordkeeping practices. Keeping concise and accurate project records helps members learn important documentation skills. 4-H project books are not scrapbooks, but members should include project photos, accounting records, experiment results and a log of experiences.
How Does Project Exhibition Differ from Project Evaluations?
Project Exhibition is your members’ competitive sharing of project work with the greater community. Members may exhibit at local fairs, festivals, shows, and Fashion Reviews and even sell their projects. For many 4-H families, the Junior Fair experience is the final round of the 4-H championship.
Will all your players make it to the 4-H Championship Round - Project Evaluation?
During project evaluation, each member can achieve 4-H excellence, but project exhibition usually ends with an overall winner. Members look forward to placing with their project, competing in showmanship, and achieving Outstanding or Premier Exhibitor status. County 4-H winners can represent their county at the Ohio State Fair in August. Your members may choose to enter in the Ohio State Fair, with some projects, without first qualifying as a winner.
You can help members prepare for judging and families keep competition in perspective by using "4-H Project Lingo" and "What Did You Learn" at a club meeting.
