Northampton Area High School sophomore Ashlee Kitzhoffer placed second at the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science state competition in May.

For the Region 3 competition, which took place throughout February and March, Kitzhoffer won first place. This qualified her to present at states with 1,153 other students across Pennsylvania.

Both competitions were held virtually this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Usually, the regional competition would be held at Northampton Community College, while the state competition takes place at Penn State University’s main campus.

The state competition allows students from seventh to 12th grades to conduct a research project in one of the 12 scientific categories, including biology, engineering and physics. Students then give an oral presentation of no longer than 10 minutes to a group of judges based on their findings.

Kitzhoffer’s project was in the biology category and examined the molecular concentrations of caffeine in caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee. She chose this project because, like many people, she enjoys drinking coffee and wanted to see if decaffeinated coffee is as caffeine-free as expected. Most of the research is done independently with some guidance provided by science teachers and advisers Leigh Zakutansky and Jason Jones. The Northampton Area School District has PJAS clubs at the middle school and high school level for those interested in presenting at the competition.

For judging, students are divided into middle school and high school groups, then by their project category. Each subdivision is divided into a smaller group of at least five students that is critiqued by two to three judges.

Projects are scored on four criteria: scientific thought, experimental methods, analytical approach and overall presentation.

Scientific thought includes the selection and statement of the problem, validity and value of the experiment and the scope of the project design.

The experimental methods category assesses proper controls and sample size, as well as choosing and developing techniques for valid analysis.

Analytical approach evaluates the student’s ability to draw conclusions using the entirety of their data and findings. This also includes interpreting potential weaknesses of their design and providing ideas for future research.

For each category, students can receive a score of one (unacceptable) to a five (excellent). Scoring in these areas is based on the scientific merit of a presentation, rather than against other students. Any student who earns a score higher than a four receives first place, a score of three and up earns second place, and students with scores below three earn third place. Because of this, multiple students can earn first, second and third places based on their scores. However, only students that earn first place at their regional competitions are able to advance to the state competition.