How high are standards?

How high are standards?

Standards and achievement

Evaluate standards in art and design by deciding on whether what you see is what you would expect for the pupils’ age. Be clear about what pupils can and cannot do. Take account of the National Curriculum level descriptions and DfEE/QCA non-statutory guidance for art and design. Use your Level Portfolio.

Judge pupils’ standards in:

investigating and making art, craft and design;
exploring and developing ideas;
evaluating and developing work; and
knowledge and understanding.

Evaluate achievement by deciding if the standards match what you would expect of pupils with their capability. Look for these essential features to help you evaluate pupils’ standards and achievement in art and design. Check how well pupils:

use colour, form, texture, pattern, line, tone and different materials and processes to communicate imaginatively what they see, feel and think;
develop aesthetic taste and use this to judge what they like and dislike and use this awareness to help them make practical decisions about how to proceed and improve their own art work;
know about, explore and use the ideas of artists/craftspeople from their own and different cultures and times; and
enjoy the visual arts.

Base your judgements on standards and learning seen during lesson observations, analysis of work and displays, discussion with pupils and the demands posed by the teaching.

Using data

Unlike the core subjects, you will have no national performance data to which to turn. Check whether the school uses other means to assess standards and achievement in art and design; for example through regular teacher assessment which tracks pupils’ development in drawing and other skills as they progress through the school.

Analysing pupils’ work

In the sample of work include sketchbooks (for Key Stage 2, but do ask and expect them in Key Stage 1), a trawl of the school displays and any portfolios which might be available. Focus especially, but not exclusively, on the beginning and end of each key stage.

Look for pupils’ developing abilities to:

respond to, explore and collect aesthetic ideas to use as starting points for their work;
use a range of materials, tools and techniques when creating art work;
evaluate and develop their work;
know about artists and craftworkers from different times and cultures;
mix paint successfully;
use different media to depict shades and tones;
understand colour, pattern, tone, line, shape, form and space and use these words to describe their work;
work in 2D and 3D and in different scales;
show depth and distance in their work;
depict shadows, lightness and darkness in their work;
draw people from different angles;
be organised and tidy in their work;
select appropriate techniques and tools for the purpose;
work with a variety of materials and techniques, for example: clay, print, weave, batik, tie-dye, collage, carve, computers, stencil;
draw from memory, observation and imagination;
look closely at images and notice important elements;
experiment confidently with different media;
use ICT to generate ideas for artwork to learn more about art and artists and to produce art images;
show care and suitable maturity in finished artefacts and works of art; and
show developing literacy and numeracy skills where appropriate, for example in written responses in sketchbooks.

Talking with pupils

Talk with pupils about their work and get at achievement by evaluating whether the activities are challenging enough and the levels of interest and effort put in by pupils are good enough.

Talk to pupils both in and out of lessons about their knowledge, skills, understanding and experiences. This is particularly important near the end and beginning of each key stage. Your evaluations from analysis of work will provide you with useful points to pursue. Other points to explore might be the contribution that information and communication technology makes to learning or how art and design contributes to pupils’ spiritual, moral and social development. Ensure that your questions fit in with the context of pupils’ work rather than trying to cover all aspects of the curriculum and inspection criteria. Useful questions stimulate discussion might include:

at or near the end of Key Stage 1:

‘Do you know the names of any artists?’,
‘Tell me what you know about them and their work?’;
'Tell me about the work and what you learned?’;
‘Have you looked at art from other countries?’;
‘Describe how you mixed this colour?’ (a non-primary colour);
‘How do you mix lighter and darker tones?’;
'Have you visited an art gallery?’, What do you remember?’; and
What do you think about your work?’,
‘What do you like and dislike about it?’,
‘What would you change?’;

at or near the end of Key Stage 2:

‘What do you need to do to improve your work?’;
‘Do you use your sketchbook regularly? ‘What do you record In it?’;
‘In what ways have you used the computer to find out about art or help you with your designs?’;
'Tell me about the different ways that you have learnt to use paint/clay/textiles in your artwork?’;
‘Describe to me why you selected printing/collage/paint/clay to do this project?’; and
'Which artist’s work do you like/dislike?’, ‘What features interest you?’.