April 25 is DNA Day because on this date in 1953, Watson and Crick published their paper Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids. The 57 years that followed have led to remarkable advances in our knowledge of genetics and genomics.

Scientific method taught in schools and judged at science fairs is a series of steps that guides the student to design an experiment including listing the problem, hypothesis, variables, and procedure. After the experiment is designed, there is the collection and interpretation of data. I know that some people champion the need to emphasize and reinforce the scientific method among science fair participants. At a recent science fair, I overheard some judges debating the value of “study” projects compared to “experimental” projects. One went as far as suggesting that by eliminating all but “experimental” the quality of projects would improve (additional descriptions)

While I generally support the concept, I had to ask myself, would Watson and Crick have got past the first round judges with their model?

Science Fair judges and teachers always strive to make their evaluations fair and just. They are interested in both validity and reliability with their marking instruments. To have validity, the marking instrument must measure what it is intended to measure. To have reliability, it must deliver a fair and just mark to each and every assignment that is marked. At a science fair, there are many judges so it is important to have a valid and reliable marking instrument so that different project marks can be compared. Marking is often done by specifically designed rubrics which contain criteria and standards which allow the judge to evaluate objectively, complex and somewhat subjective elements. In my opinion, a rubric ensures reliability; it may not always deliver on validity.

One alternative to a marking rubric is called holistic marking. With holistic marking, the student project is judged based on a comparison not only to others, but to how it stands alone. Holistic marking rewards individual student creativity. When I use this system of marking, I like to see a number of projects first to get a sense of what the student has done, then, I go back to assign grades. Holistic marking is good to determine if a paper meets specified standards for example an A, B, C or D - usually recorded mathematically as 5, 4, 3, or 2.

In the 1980s, a list of scientific skills was compiled by the Science Team of the Calgary Board of Education to help elementary teachers:

• observing
• classifying
• measuring
• inferring
• predicting
• interpreting data
• controlling variables
• making operational definitions
• making hypotheses
• experimenting

The elements of insight and creativity shown by Watson and Crick may not have been captured by a science fair judging rubric which emphasises controlling variables and making hypotheses. Any of the skills of a scientist may be on display and the judging system must be ready to capture and reward the great projects. James D. Watson and Francis Crick along with Maurice Wilkins won the 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for their discoveries concerning the molecular structure of nucleic acids and its significance for information transfer in living material".