How MeritBoard Scoring Works
This is how student work becomes certified proof: fast, consistent first-pass scoring from a computer panel, with a teacher verifying every result and MeritBoard certifying it. Consistent and trustworthy — and still celebrations of student work, not grades.
The process
- 1
Computer scores & ranks
Each entry is scored against a clear rubric for that contest type, with a short written rationale. A multi-pass approach keeps rankings consistent across the whole field.
- 2
The teacher reviews
The teacher sees every score and rationale, and can reorder or adjust the results — they know their students best.
- 3
The teacher verifies & publishes; MeritBoard certifies
Nothing is shared until the teacher clicks Confirm & Publish. Once published, MeritBoard certifies the record. Results can be made private again anytime.
What the computer looks for
All nine contest types. Eight get a score on each of four criteria; a Question Contest is scored answer by answer. On those eight, the teacher can add their own criteria.
Visual Arts
Photography
- Composition
- Technical quality
- Creativity
- Visual impact
Physical Art
- Technique & craft
- Originality
- Composition
- Expressive power
Digital Art
- Intentionality
- Originality
- Composition
- Visual impact
Written Work
Poetry
- Imagery & language
- Emotional resonance
- Form & intentionality
- Voice & originality
Persuasive Writing
- Argument strength
- Evidence & reasoning
- Structure
- Persuasive force
Creative Writing
- Voice & originality
- Storytelling & structure
- Character or world
- Emotional experience
Speech, questions and more
Speech
- Content & argument
- Organization
- Evidence & support
- Delivery
The video’s transcript is scored. Delivery rests on filler words and, where it can be measured, speaking pace; transcript spelling never counts against a speaker.
Questions
- The same five questions for each group
- Every answer is scored
- The highest total wins
One proctored sitting; when a contest is split by grade, each group sits its own set. A tie goes first to the harder questions, then to the shorter total time; time is never the main score.
Mixed / Other
- Originality
- Craft
- Clarity of intent
- Overall impact
These are the defaults. The teacher can write their own criteria, and the computer scores against those.
One example, step by step
Illustrative: the numbers are not a real student’s.
- 1
The entry. A painting of a fox, in a 4th-grade Physical Art contest with 24 entries.
- 2
The computer compares. It reads all 24 entries together and places this one 2nd.
- 3
The computer scores. Technique & craft 21 · Originality 23 · Composition 20 · Expressive power 24, each out of 25, plus two or three sentences of feedback for the teacher.
- 4
The teacher verifies. They read the feedback, agree it is the painting with the most life in it, and move it to 1st.
- 5
MeritBoard certifies. The teacher clicks Confirm & Publish. The family sees “1st Place” and the certificate, not the numbers.
Our data & AI commitments
Student work is never used to train AI models
Submissions are sent to our model providers only to score that contest. They are never used to train or improve any model.
A teacher verifies every result; MeritBoard certifies it
The computer ranks entries and drafts feedback. The teacher verifies the work, can reorder, and must explicitly Confirm & Publish before anything is shared; MeritBoard certifies the published record. Nothing goes public automatically.
Privacy by default
Results start private. Public pages show a first name and last initial (or a screen name you choose), and any student can be excluded from public display.
You control your data
Teachers can delete any submission or contest at any time. We never sell student work, and we never use it for anything but running your contests.
Clear AI-entry rules per contest
Each contest states whether AI tools may be used to create entries — from “original work only” to “AI-generated entries welcome” — and entrants confirm the rule when they submit.
For schools & districts
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