How Contest Entries Were Judged

We judged the contest entries to determine which entries had the most "correct" answers in each grade level.

1) Our first step was to separate the entries by grade level. (If the entry came from a mixed-grade classroom, we ranked the class according to the highest grade in the class.)

2) Our next step was to carefully review each entry to determine how many "correct" answers there were. As stated on the Checklist, to be a "correct" answer, the answer needed to provide both:

a) The correct CITY/TOWN/VILLAGE (or correct place/facility name if a true city or town is not involved.)

and

b) The correct COUNTRY (or correct continent or region if a true country is not involved).

 
Questions? Or Don't See your Class Listed?

If you expected your class to be included among the list of those with the most correct answers, please ask yourself this question:

"Did each of my answers give BOTH the correct
CITY and the correct COUNTRY?"

Example:

Correct:
City: Sheffield; Country: United Kingdom

Incorrect:
City: Sheffield; Country: South Yorkshire

Example:

Correct:
City: Palampur; Country: India

Incorrect:
City: Palampur; Country: Asia

Then, read the Special Notes below about how we judged specific Mystery Class sites this year.

Special 2012 Judging Notes

For MC#1 (Rabat, Morocco), the correct city is Rabat, and the correct country is Morocco. If you listed Casablanca, Marrakech, Tangiers, or Sale as the city, those are not be correct because the clues did lead specifically to Rabat.

For MC #2 (Maseru, Lesotho), the correct city required Maseru to be named, and the correct country required Lesotho to be named.

For MC #3 (Vientiane, Laos), the correct city location is Vientiane. The correct country required Laos to be named. If you listed Patuxai as the city, that is not correct; or if you listed Thailand or Vietnam or Asia as the country, those are not correct.

For MC #4 (Montevideo, Uruguay), the correct city needed you to answer Montevideo; the correct country is Uruguay. If you listed Ecuador as the country, that is not correct.

For MC #5 (Sheffield, England), the correct city is Sheffield. If you gave Leeds, Liverpool, London or any other city in your answer, that is not correct. Similarly, if you listed a county such as Yorkshire in place of Sheffield, that is not correct because the answer required a city. For the country, in addition to the UK, we also accepted the England, United Kingdom, or Great Britain as correct.

For MC #6 (Casey Station, Antarctica), this location has no city, and no country because it is in Antarctica. In place of the city your answer needed to refer to the specific place Casey Station, because the clues did lead to that specific site. Listing another Australian Antarctic base at a different location (like Mawson) is not correct, nor is listing of Wilkes Station, Windmill Islands or Wilkesland in place of Casey Station. In place of country, in addition to Antarctica, we also accepted references to the specific region of Antarctica where this Casey facility is located, or to Australia because of Casey Station's Australian nationality, so long as Casey Station itself was identified in the answer.

For MC #7 (Singapore, Singapore), this location is a city-state, so the correct city is Singapore, and the correct country is also Singapore. If you listed a specific location within Singapore for the City such as Marina Bay or Merlion Park, we considerd that to be correct, so long as you also listed Singapore as the country. If you listed Malaysia or Asia as the country, that is not correct.

For MC #8 (Blantyre, Malawi), the correct city is Blantyre, and the correct country is Malawi. If you listed Livingstonia or Lilongwe for the city, that is not correct. If you listed Mozambique or Zambia as the country, those are not correct.

For MC #9 (Palampur, India), the correct city is Palampur, and the correct country is India. If you gave Himachal Pradesh as the city, that is not correct because Himachal Pradesh is a state, not a city. Listing other cities or regions such as Kanga also is not correct for the city.

For MC #10 (Shaw Island, USA), for the correct city, you needed to list Shaw Island specificially. This small island with a very small population is part of the San Juan Islands in the state of Washington. However, if you listed only the San Juan Islands, San Juan Island, Orcas Island, or Lopez Island, none of those is correct because they are not Shaw Island. Similarly, answers giving cities on the other San Juan Islands, such as Friday Harbor or Lopez Village, are not correct.

 

Note: If you still feel your answer should have been listed, don't be alarmed, we will look into it for you. Just send any questions to our feedback form. (Include the name, e-mail address, school, grade etc... that you included on your Contest Form.)