Examining GCSE Design and Technology - Insights from the Nuffield Design and Technology Project

This article looks critically at the ways in which design and technology is currently examined at GCSE level. It identifies two key elements, technology for citizenship and designer maker capability, and explores how these might be assessed. It discusses the issue of group work in examined projects and questions the place of written examinations in assessing deigner maker capability. It presents a preliminary analysis of 1998 higher tier examination papers in terms of eight question types discussed in the Nuffield D and T KS4 Teachers' Guides. Finally, the article makes a plea for an assessment scheme that matches the requirements of teaching designer maker capability and technology for citizenship