:: Assessment
Organisation of the SDA Scheme

The assessment and organisation of the SDA Scheme has been set up to be helpful to both students and teachers

STUDENTS can use the assessment criteria as a checklist to remind themselves of the sustainability issues they should be considering in each section of the design and making process. There are various ways of doing this:

A student friendly version of the assessment criteria provides a less complex way of checking progress that can be photocopied and included in their folder.  Assessment criteria for AS and A2 are included in the teachers’ handbook which can be photocopied for students to use. However, these criteria are written in the language of examination boards which students may find difficult to understand.

Sustain-a-balls is an alternative checklist in itself. We suggest that, throughout their projects, the students note down page references from their folder in the boxes provided to show where they think they have met specific criteria. Teachers can also initial the boxes to show they have seen and positively assessed the students’ work. If possible, students can download the criteria and include them in their folders.

TEACHERS are asked to moderate students’ work to check whether or not they have met the required number of assessment criteria for AS level or A2 level

If you would like us to have a look at any student’s work, please contact us

Once you are happy that students have reached the necessary level, send their names to us, indicating whether they are AS or A2 students, and we will send certificates to them via your school.

We may ask you to nominate students whose work you think is exceptional for further commendation. In 2004 several students’ work was exhibited at the Design and Technology Association’s annual conference. They also received their certificates at a special presentation ceremony. More students were presented with certificates and had their work displayed at DATA's 2005 conference.