High School:

• • 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place within each category. To qualify for 3rd place, the exhibit's score must average at least 80 out of 100. A second place award is given to an exhibit that scores no less than an average of 85, while a 1st place exhibit must attain at least an average of 90. That means it's entirely possible we might not give out a 1st or 2nd place award if none of the exhibits in that category scores beyond the minimum required

  • Top four or five (based on total number of registered exhibits) highest-scoring exhibits among all High School entries advance to the NYS Science Congress competition

  • 5th (or 6th based on total number of registered exhibits)  through 9th highest-scoring exhibits among all High School entries receive medals as alternates to the NYS Science Congress competition

  • Top-scoring exhibit among all High School entries is given the prestigious Marilyn Reiner Science in Education Award

  • The Top High School award at the fair is based on three criteria: 

    • the average score across all its exhibits

    • the average of its top three exhibit scores

    • the sum of points from category awards (3 for First Place, 2 for Second Place, and 1 for Third Place). 

    • Schools are ranked separately in each of these three areas. The ranks are added together to get the school's total rank.

    • If there's a tie in the total rank, the school with the highest individual exhibit score gets the better final rank. 

    • The school with the lowest total rank (or best final rank) receives the Frank Iacopelli Award for Academic Excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering  & Mathematics