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March 20, 2013 <br />Item S.a.l <br />Essay Contest Process <br />Human Rights Essays Contest: Middle School <br />Proposed Process for Reviewing Student Essays <br />(March, 2013) <br />• Determination of Semi-Finalists (Initial Readers): Two initial readers will <br />independently read all submitted essays, and the essays will be individually scored <br />according to a shared rubric. Each initial reader will make a list of semi-finalists for the <br />full Commission. If either of the initial readers includes an essay in their list of semi- <br />finalists (which means that s/he would at least consider that essay for an honorable <br />mention), then it should be included in the group of essays forwarded onto the other <br />Commissioners. When the initial readers are done individually reading each (submitted) <br />essay, they will (individually) forward to staff/Carolyn their list of semi-finalists (which <br />may even be quite large - up to 30 or so) and they'll include the scores for each semi- <br />finalist. <br />• Reading of Semi-Finalists by Full Commission: After staff has the list of semi-finalists <br />from each of the initial readers, those essays will be forwarded on to the full Commission <br />for a blind evaluation by the others as well. The evaluations by the initial readers and <br />other commissioners are confidential, and they are not to be shared with any other <br />commissioners until all results are in at the Commission meeting. Commissioners will <br />receive the group of semi-finalist essays to read and score, and they will score them <br />according to the same rubric used by the initial readers. Commissioners will individually, <br />and privately, forward their scores for the essays onto staff/Carolyn. <br />• Determination of Finalists by Full Commission: Staff will compile a report of all <br />scores for semi-finalists as submitted by commissioners, and this report will include the <br />cumulative score for each semi-finalist. The Commission will meet and choose the first, <br />second, and third place winners for the essay contest based on a combination of scores, <br />school representation, and diversity of topics. The first place score (based on the <br />cumulative points given by all commissioners) will be the first place winner. The second <br />and third place scares will be the second and third place winners so long as both RAMS <br />and Parkview are represented in the three finalist positions and so long as the three top <br />finalists address three different categories of concern to human rights. Should two of the <br />top three scores focus on the same category of concern to human rights, then the essay <br />with the lower score of the two will be replaced by the next highest scored essay focusing <br />on a different categary of concern. (Likewise, should all three of the top scored essays <br />focus on the same issue, then the lower two will be replaced with the next two highest <br />scored essays until we have three topics represented in the top three finalists.) Should the <br />top three scored essays be from the same school, then the third place position will be <br />replaced with the next highest score from the other school (so long as that allows for <br />three categories of concern to be represented in the top three winners as well). After the <br />top three winners are determined, the next two highest scores will receive Honarable <br />