Destination Imagination rules require that certain scores be scaled, or graded on a curve. A set of scores is scaled by setting the highest actual score to the value of the highest possible score and distributing the other scores proportionally.
Scaling helps judges to score all performances fairly. Judges can set an early performance as a standard, and grade other performances by comparing them to the standard. This method prevents early performers or late performers from being at a comparative advantage or disadvantage. The resulting scores might be unusually high or unusually low, depending on the final ranking of the standard performance. Therefore, scores are scaled to eliminate this variation.
Scaling also provides an objective standard when a challenge level competition must be split into two sites with two panels of appraisers. Scaling makes the scores comparable, and prevents teams judged by conservative appraisers from being at at disadvantage.
In Destination Imagination tournaments, the component raw scores -- the Instant Challenge, the central component of the Team Challenge, and the Team Choice component of the Team challenge -- are each summed and scaled separately. A team's final total score is the sum of their scaled scores, minus any deductions.
The DI Scoring Program converts the raw scores into final or scaled scores automatically. But it doesn't hurt to understand how it's done.
To scale a set of scores:
For example, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
For example, 5, the actual score, is set to 100, the maximum score.
For example, 100/5 = 20.
For example:
| Raw score | Scaled score |
|---|---|
| 5 | 100 |
| 4 | 80 |
| 3 | 60 |
| 2 | 40 |
| 1 | 20 |