Key Stage 2 design and technology · Evaluate

KS2 design criteria and evaluating work: a guide for parents

In Key Stage 2 design and technology, children use research to write their own design criteria, then judge their ideas and finished products against those criteria and against the views of other people. The aim is products that work, suit a particular person or group, and keep getting better because the child has tested them honestly. It is a habit as much as a skill: decide what good looks like, check, listen and improve.

Design criteria and evaluating work, explained

Design criteria are the things a product must do or be, written down before making begins. The curriculum asks children to use research to develop criteria that inform the design of innovative, functional, appealing products that are fit for purpose and aimed at particular individuals or groups. In practice this means that a child designing a desk tidy first finds out who it is for and what they will keep in it, and only then decides what the tidy has to do. The criteria come from the user, not from whatever the child feels like making.

Research in Key Stage 2 is practical. Children look at existing products, interview or survey the people they are designing for, observe how something is used and take measurements, such as the length of the longest pencil or the size of a small hand. Teachers show children how to turn what they find into criteria that can be tested. “It must be strong” is hard to check. “It must hold a full bag of rice without bending” can be tested, and the test gives a clear answer.

Evaluation happens throughout the project, not only at the end. Children compare their early ideas against the criteria and may make a quick mock-up from card or paper to find problems before spending time on the real thing. While they make, they keep checking and adjust. At the end they test the finished product against each criterion, record what they find and say what they would change. Teachers often ask for honest evidence, such as “it holds ten pencils, but tipped over when I nudged it”, rather than a general claim that it was good.

The second half of the objective is considering the views of others. Children ask the people the product is for, as well as classmates, family and the teacher. Schools often use a structure for feedback, such as saying two things that went well and one wish for improvement. Children learn to ask specific questions (“Could you take a pencil out with one hand?”) rather than “Do you like it?”, and to decide which suggestions fit their criteria and which do not. Not every comment needs acting on, but every comment needs thinking about.

From Year 3 to Year 6 the same cycle gets more demanding. Younger children write a few simple criteria with help and tick them off. By Year 5 and 6 they are expected to write more precise criteria, collect evidence from tests, weigh up conflicting opinions and explain why they made changes. Being able to say “my first idea did not work, and here is what I learned” is a mark of good design thinking, not of failure.

Words your child will hear

Design criteria: The list of things a product must do or be, which you check it against.
User: The person or group the product is designed for. Also called the target group.
Research: Finding out what is needed, by looking at existing products, asking people and measuring.
Prototype: A first version or model of a design, made to test ideas before the final product.
Evaluate: To judge how well something works, using evidence, and say how to improve it.
Feedback: What other people tell you about your product, which you can use to improve it.
Fit for purpose: Does its job well for the people it is made for.

What the National Curriculum says

The programme of study for Key Stage 2 says:

When designing and making, pupils should be taught to evaluate their ideas and products against their own design criteria and consider the views of others to improve their work
When designing and making, pupils should be taught to use research and develop design criteria to inform the design of innovative, functional, appealing products that are fit for purpose, aimed at particular individuals or groups

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Try it: criteria and feedback for a pencil pot

A Year 5 child is designing a pencil pot for a younger brother’s bedroom. Write testable criteria, test a card prototype and decide what to improve.

Research. Ask the user what he keeps: about twelve colouring pencils, two rubbers and a sharpener. Measure the longest pencil, about 19 cm, and measure his hand to see what size of opening he can reach into. Look at two pots he already has and note what he likes and dislikes about each.
Write criteria that can be tested. (1) Holds at least twelve pencils. (2) Does not tip over when nudged gently with a finger. (3) A pencil can be lifted out with one hand. (4) The tops of the pencils stick up above the rim, so they are easy to grab. (5) Made mainly from recycled card. (6) Uses his favourite colours. The first four can be measured or tried, and the last two can be judged by looking.
Test the prototype. Make a quick card version and try each criterion in turn. Suppose it holds twelve pencils (met), tips over when nudged with the pencils leaning to one side (not met), the narrow opening makes it hard to lift a pencil out with one hand (not met) and the shortest pencils sink to the level of the rim (partly met).
Ask others, with specific questions. The brother says he likes the colours but cannot reach the pencils at the back. A classmate suggests adding a lid. A lid would make the pencils harder to reach, which goes against criterion 3, so the child records the idea but chooses not to use it.
Improve and retest. Glue the pot onto a wider, thicker card base so it is harder to tip, and cut the opening 2 cm wider. Try criteria 2 and 3 again and record the new results next to the old ones.

Model evaluation: “My pot now meets criteria 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6. At first it tipped over because the base was too narrow and light, so I glued it onto a wider, thicker base. My brother could not reach the back pencils, so I widened the opening. I did not add a lid, because it would make the pencils harder to reach. Criterion 4 is only partly met, because the shortest pencils are still level with the rim. Next time I would make the pot shorter, so that every pencil sticks up above it.”

Common mistakes and how to help

Writing criteria that cannot be checked, such as “it must look nice”

Words like “nice”, “good” and “strong” feel like criteria, but two people can disagree about them and there is no way to test them.

What helps: Ask “how would we know?” Turn “strong” into what it must hold, and “nice” into the colours or finish the user asked for.

Thinking evaluation is something you do once the product is finished

Making is the exciting part, and a finished product feels like the end of the project.

What helps: Encourage a check at every stage: after the sketch, after the mock-up and halfway through making. Problems found early are far cheaper to fix.

Treating feedback as either an order or an insult

Some children change everything because one person said so. Others take comments personally and defend their design.

What helps: Show how to sort feedback by asking whether it helps the product meet its criteria for its user. Thank the person, then decide.

Writing the criteria after the product is made so they match

It is tempting to describe what you made and call it a plan, especially when the project has taken a long time.

What helps: Criteria belong at the start, drawn from research about the user. If the plan changes, say so and explain why, rather than rewriting history.

How to help at home

Write criteria before you buy or make. When choosing a lunch bag, a pencil case or a gift, ask your child to list three things it must do, such as fit a drink bottle or be easy to clean, and then check the options against that list.
Make a family test panel. When your child finishes something they have made, ask for specific feedback: one thing that works well and one wish. Ask your child to listen, write the comments down and decide what to do with them.
Mock it up in card first. Before a bigger project, such as a tidy for a bedroom or a shelf for a den, make a quick version from scrap card or paper. Finding out what is wrong with a throwaway model is a very useful experience.
Ask about real users. If your child is making something for a younger cousin, a grandparent or the dog, encourage them to ask that person what they need and measure what matters, for example the size of a hand. Designing for a real person is more motivating than designing for nobody.
Praise honest evaluation. When something does not work, ask what they learned and what they would change. Talking about a failed first attempt as useful information makes children more willing to test honestly.

Builds on

Key Stage 1: Exploring existing products
Key Stage 1: Evaluating against criteria

Leads on to

Key Stage 3: Studying designers and engineers
Key Stage 3: New and emerging technologies
Key Stage 3: Testing and refining a product
Key Stage 3: Impact and responsibility of designers