Who completes which levels?
Every student, including every Driver and Strategist, completes Levels 1–2. Each student demonstrates the skills and identifies their own contribution in the team Google Slides engineering notebook. Watching a teammate or finishing a video alone is not completion.
Lead engineers work through at least Level 4. Levels 5–6 are offered as full-team milestones, with useful roles for Drivers, Strategists and Engineers. Students may progress further regardless of role.
These are Spartan curriculum expectations, not official award requirements or Onshape certifications. The video series has its own numbering; follow this pathway for the six curriculum levels. Start with Level 1, demonstrate the deliverable, then proceed in order. A returning student may demonstrate existing evidence rather than repeat completed work.
Keep evidence in the team Google Slides notebook
Use the existing team notebook and its template and navigation. Students add a CAD progress index with: student/contributors, level, work date, deliverable/version link, linked evidence slide, and review date/status. Link to the exact slide from the table of contents and to a named Onshape version rather than only a changing workspace.
For each milestone, embed readable screenshots, dimensions or data and explain the decision in students’ own words. External CAD links help teammates reproduce the work; the submitted notebook must contain the evidence needed to understand it without signing into Onshape. Check permissions with a teammate without making district documents public. Follow the event’s submission format and deadline.
Use the notebook’s existing design-process sections and colors where helpful: setup/reference, ideas and selection, build, test, and iteration. CAD evidence belongs with the decision it supports, not only in an appendix. A student reviewer or mentor can check the demonstration and record feedback; students make the changes and write their own entries. See Engineering Notebook & Design Process.
Level 1 — Onshape setup
Do the work
Use your district account at dusd.onshape.com; confirm team access, units, naming and camera controls. Distinguish Part Studios from Assemblies and create a named version.
Student deliverable
A shared team document, a simple dimensioned practice part, and a saved L1 setup version.
Google Slides evidence & completion check
Add a dated setup entry with the student author, workspace screenshot, source-library link/version, and link to the named Onshape version. Each student demonstrates navigation and explains the two tab types.
Review is complete when the student can open the linked evidence, demonstrate the work, explain the decision, and identify any remaining limitation.
Use these lessons
Level 2 — VEX V5 component assemblies
Do the work
Insert verified V5 parts and assemble a supported wheel/shaft/motor unit or small drivetrain. Use fastened and revolute mates; check that only intended motion remains.
Student deliverable
A small constrained assembly with correct shaft, bearing, spacer and fastener choices. Each student makes and explains a meaningful assembly contribution.
Google Slides evidence & completion check
Embed an annotated assembly view and a mate/motion check. Link the Onshape version and identify each student’s contribution and the component sources. Explain one fit or motion problem and its correction.
Review is complete when the student can open the linked evidence, demonstrate the work, explain the decision, and identify any remaining limitation.
Use these lessons
Level 3 — Competing designs
Do the work
Define a measurable mechanism need. Model at least two genuinely different options at comparable detail; compare them using team-selected criteria and available evidence.
Student deliverable
Two concept assemblies, a comparison or decision matrix, and a justified selection with a tradeoff and an unresolved question.
Google Slides evidence & completion check
Show both concepts, link their versions, record the criteria and evidence behind the scores, and explain the team’s decision. Driver feedback addresses operation; Strategist feedback addresses game constraints. Do not invent rejected designs.
Review is complete when the student can open the linked evidence, demonstrate the work, explain the decision, and identify any remaining limitation.
Use these lessons
Level 4 — Verification
Do the work
Integrate the selected design into a robot layout. Check starting envelope, full motion, interference, shaft support, access to fasteners, cable paths, motor budget and current rules. Separate CAD checks from physical tests still needed.
Student deliverable
A versioned robot or subsystem layout and a verification table: requirement, method, measured result, pass/fail, evidence, owner and next action. Close failures or mark the design not ready for handoff.
Google Slides evidence & completion check
Embed dimensioned views and clearance evidence; link the checked version. Record manual version, rule IDs and source dates. Explain limits of CAD: material flex, friction, tolerance and loaded performance require real tests.
Review is complete when the student can open the linked evidence, demonstrate the work, explain the decision, and identify any remaining limitation.
Use these lessons
Level 5 — Fabrication / BOM handoff
Do the work
Prepare drawings, a bill of materials, fastener and shaft/cut lists, assembly sequence and legal material/process notes. Have a teammate review the package and build a representative subassembly using it.
Student deliverable
A released Onshape version, readable drawings, BOM with quantities/part numbers, dated cost estimates, and a handoff review identifying missing or corrected information.
Google Slides evidence & completion check
Place a drawing and BOM excerpt directly in Slides; link the full files and released version. Record the build review, actual parts used, discrepancies and corrections. Engineers prepare/review fit; Drivers check service access; Strategists track constraints and evidence.
Review is complete when the student can open the linked evidence, demonstrate the work, explain the decision, and identify any remaining limitation.
Use these lessons
Level 6 — Documented iteration
Do the work
Test the built design against the Level 3 criteria. Use measured results to revise CAD, rebuild and retest under comparable conditions. Repeat Levels 3–5 when the evidence calls for it.
Student deliverable
Before/after versions, a repeatable test record with units and conditions, a revised handoff package, and a decision to keep, revise or reject the change.
Google Slides evidence & completion check
Show dated before/after views, the data behind the change, links to both versions, named contributors and the next question. Drivers run repeatable trials; Strategists compare outcomes; Engineers revise and verify. Record unsuccessful changes honestly.
Review is complete when the student can open the linked evidence, demonstrate the work, explain the decision, and identify any remaining limitation.
Use these lessons
Use current V5RC constraints
Override is the 2026–27 V5RC game. Push Back examples from 2025–26 are historical practice, not current scoring, geometry or legality guidance. Use the official current manual, Official Q&A and game-element CAD sources. As checked November 4, v2.1 was published October 8 and took effect October 15, 2026; check again before each event.
For Level 4, check the 18-inch starting cube, motion and possession constraints, and motor allocation. Under v2.1 R10/R11, total motor power is at most 88W; Subsystem 2 drivetrain motors are limited to 55W and cannot power mechanisms outside Subsystem 1. A four-11W-motor drivetrain uses 44W; this power calculation alone does not establish robot legality. Check the robot rules and game rules. VEX U and VEX AI rules differ.
Verify V5 part numbers, units and dimensions. Standard shafts are 1/8-inch square; high-strength shafts are 1/4-inch square and need compatible hardware. The V5 Brain has 21 Smart Ports, not eight dedicated motor ports. Sources: VEX shaft hardware and V5 Brain specifications. Community CAD is a convenience, not proof of accuracy or legality.
Document learning under current GRSF guidance
Use the GRSF Engineering Notebook Rubric and Spartan rubric guide. The pathway helps you collect evidence; finishing six levels, adding screenshots, or counting design cycles does not guarantee a judging score or award.
Students write their own notebook and judged summaries. AI explanations may support learning, but rewriting generated text does not make it student-authored documentation. Credit outside models and ideas where used, and follow the GRSF Student-Centered Policy. For event-specific submissions, consult Season, Code and Credit Summaries and the event page. Older RECF/EN4 materials remain historical references.