Judging is key to the success of National History Day in Massachusetts! Hundreds of volunteer judges are needed to meet with students at regional and state-wide contests.  By volunteering your time, you are creating an opportunity for thousands of students to showcase their efforts.

2023 Important Contest Dates

Our two Regional Competitions will be held on Sunday, March 12th in Stoneham, MA at Stoneham Central Middle School and Leicester, MA at Leicester Middle School.

Our State Competition will be held on Saturday, April 1st at Winchester High School in Winchester, MA. 

During our 2023 contest season, NHD judges will do the following:

• January 5 - March 1 - Sign Up below to volunteer as a judge for our Leicester or Stoneham regional contest and let us know your judging preferences (exhibits, performances, papers, websites, and documentaries).
• March 3 - You will be assigned a category to judge and some orientation materials to review in advance of the contest. Judges for websites and papers will also receive their projects to review in advance; the other three categories will only review materials on contest day.
• March 12th​ (Contest Day) - Judges will meet in person at their assigned contest location (Either Stoneham or Leicester) for a judge orientation overview. You’ll then begin the presentation/ judging process where you will, with your teams, view projects, conduct “interviews” with students about their work, deliberate with your team, rank the projects, and write feedback. Following the project presentations, interviews and judging, there will be an awards ceremony where winning projects are announced and promoted to the State contest (April 1) and other notable projects are announced and rewarded with special prizes generously donated by several community and historical organizations.

How Does It Work?

NHD relies on consensus judging. Judges will be assigned to work in teams of three to review projects in their category (papers, websites, exhibits, performances, or documentaries) over a several day period. For more information, please check out the Quick Judging Links in the red sidebar on this page. 

As a judge, you are responsible for the following:

• Contact us as soon as possible if you cannot fulfill your commitment to judge. We may ask that you help us to find someone to fill your time slot.
• Pay careful attention as you review the  projects so that you can evaluate them well. Students have worked for months on their projects and are looking forward to this opportunity to share their work.
• Alert History Day staff to any conflicts of interest, including students you know personally or schools with which you have a close relationship.
• Set aside personal bias for or against topics. Judge each project based on the merits of the evidence and historical claim that the student presents.
• Contact History Day staff immediately if there are problems. We are here to help! 

Judging during Covid-19

All judges at an in-person competition are required to be fully vaccinated and up-to-date (boosted if due) and to show proof of vaccination, either by uploading a photograph of their vaccination card during registration or by showing a vaccination card or photos upon arrival to the contest. Everyone will be required to wear masks during the competition. We will update this information as the contest approaches, based on recommendations from schools, cities, and the state.

In the case that we are required to transition to a virtual contest all judging will still take place on your scheduled contest day. You will still meet with your judging team remotely to review and rank your projects.

Judge Training

All judges will be asked to view a prerecorded Judges Orientation prior to our competition and to review judging orientation materials in advance. We will also hold a brief orientation and have time for questions on the day of the competition. We appreciate your time and will do our best to make this experience rewarding for everyone involved!  If you have any questions, please contact us at nhd@masshist.org.