S T UA R T Mac D O N A LD Developing Criteria: Changes in the Art and Design Curriculum and Examination for 14-16s in Scotland

As Art teachers in England and Wales become increasingly preoccupied with the G C S E National Criteria and other arrange- ments concerned with the new 16+ examinations it may be appropriate to compare how their counterparts in Scotland took advantage of a similar initiative to reappraise the syllabus and assessment procedures for Art and Design. Two reports, the Munn Report on the curriculum and the Dunning Report on assessment led in 1980 to the establishment of a development programme to look at the 14-16 age group. In 1983 a pilot study in Art and Design was initiated which was to examine not only what many saw as the contentious question of con- structing criteria for assessment but also the interrelationship of the Productive Domain, including both expressive and design aspects, and the Critical Domain. In terms of classroom practice these ‘domains’ have traditionally been dealt with in isolation. This isolation is especially true when one looks at assessment.

Such a thorough-going reappraisal was made necessary be- cause of the Munn and Dunning Development Programme’s requirement to identify key aspects of the subject and their concomitant skills and areas of knowledge thought to be worth assessing and reporting on. This was to be done within a Criterion Referenced System allied to descriptive profiles of pupil performance. Grade Descriptions, as with the G C S E Na- tional Criteria, were to be developed, in order to provide a guide for examiners, teachers, pupils and Certificate users. The Scot- tish system of Grade Descriptions or Grade Related Criteria goes further than the G C S E examples because two types of Grade Description are provided; summay, like those for G C S E and extended setting out in greater detail the areas of skill and knowledge within each of the key areas or ‘elements’ of the subject consistent with profiling. The new course had also to provide for the entire ability range and accommodate internal and external assessment procedures. Like the G c s E proposals, because teachers were to devise their own syllabuses taking into account local needs, resources and interests, guidelines had to be produced which would take account of this and at the same time ensure standardisation.

These developments have led to several conspicuous shifts of emphasis now embodied in a new course for 14-16s to be offered

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Journal of Art & Design Education

Vol 4, No 3, 1985

1. Third year project: Skara Brae, Orkney 1984.

by the Scottish Examination Board [ 11 . This new ‘Standard Grade’ course which will replace the existing ‘0’ Grade (equiva- lent to GCE ‘0’ level) requires that the ‘elements’ of Expressive, Design and Critical Activity be essential experiences in all courses for all youngsters. These ‘elements’, the central experi- ences of Art and Design are described summarily in these ways: E X P R E S S I V E A C T I V I T Y is the expression of personal ideas and feelings in visual terms; D E S I G N A C T I V I T Y should give pupils practical involvement in developing skill with materials and in testing their ideas on design problems and the process of design; C R I T I C A L A C T I V I T Y is the more reflective and contemplative element of the course and should help pupils become confident about discussing and expressing opinions on the visual arts. On the surface this may appear to be not dissimilar to the G C S E list of Assessment Objectives (G c s E National Criteria para 3 ) . How- ever on closer inspection the Scottish proposals are striking in that they advocate a ‘marriage’ of the Productive (Design and Expressive Activity) and the Critical whereas the G C S E pro- posals have been criticised for underplaying the role of criticism in terms of Art History and Appreciation. Also the three ‘ele- ments’ or Activities are to be given equal weight and each

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activity will be profiled on the new Standard Certificate. Grade S T U A R T M a c D O N A L D Related Criteria which will be used to assess strident perform- ance have been described for each Activity or ‘assessable ele- ment’ for each of the six grade levels to be used in the system.

Curriculum and Examination Changes in Scotland

2. ‘Battle of the Clans’, enacted for a class video production.

Perthshire Advertiser

Developments such as this Scottish programme, now parall- eled by the English 16+ initiative come at a time when a number of leading questions have been posed about the state of Art and Design in schools, most noticeably the 1981 Gulbenkian Report and the DES 11-16 Art Report. At this time there are also a number of projects grappling with problems like assessment and evaluation, profiling and establishing criteria for Art and Design Education.

It is possible, that despite the many and varied constraints of a national examination system the new arrangements for Art and Design in Scotland can go some of the way to answering those questions.

The Pilot Study It must be pointed out that scope both for curriculum design and assessment was available. No method of ‘differentiation’ (a key consideration of the programme because of the wide ability range for whom the new course was intended) was imposed in the form of class organisation, methodology or syllabus content. The Grade Related Criteria could be arrived at in a number of ways.

It was against this background that in 1983 a number of ideas

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3 and 4. Teaching and researching: ‘Critical’ element of a Design unit.

in the form of experimental guidelines prepared by a working party of subject specialists were put to the pilot schools, selected nationwide for the development task.

The curricular model proposed for the pilot study was a ‘Process Model’. This particular model is intended to involve pupils at all levels of ability operating on a common syllabus with differentiation being achieved through assessment of perform- ance. The focus here is on Process allowing for content variation between and within schools. This model implies considerable variety in terms of the experiences of different pupils but denies rigid separation into prescribed courses for different levels. (The Dunning Report on Assessment had recommended a 3 tier system of awards called Foundation, General, and Credit to be based on differentiated syllabuses, a model taken up by subjects such as

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5 and 6. Third year project: Wharbeth Beach, Orkney 1984.

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Mathematics and Science.) The Process Model thus avoided the setting of differentiated or graded objectives. The dangers of tying any Art and Design course too closely to pre-specified objectives are legion. For example, flexibility and responsiveness, two prerequisites of good teaching are stifled and this was found to be true in the pilot study. Pupils may also learn more than that implied by the original objectives and so lead to being unfairly and narrowly assessed. Therefore Eisner’s belief that those who emphasise Process tend to formulate learning opportunities that stimulate children to active enquiry and that the outcomes of the process are what children learn from the experience, brought about the view within the pilot study that a syllabus is more than a statement of aims and objectives backed up by a list of content. Rather a syllabus consists of every deliberate action taken in order to support and encourage learning. Similarly assessment was not to be seen solely as a matter of checking on whether pre-specified aims and objectives had been achieved. This led to an emphasis in the Study on teaching contexts as well as content; on first hand experience; on the suitability of sources and resources, on analysis of the activities in order to determine priorities for teaching and learning, and on improving pupil performance through formative and diagnostic assessment techniques, including Pupil Self Evaluation.

The pilot study confirmed that Art and Design Education is a process of interaction between teacher and class, teacher and pupil, pupil and pupil, with the teacher providing for different levels of attainment as he or she sees them appearing; and that Critical Activity linked to practical experience is relevant to the least as well as the most, able, and that assessment should grow naturally out of the curriculum as it develops.

This view that the syllabus was not to be seen as fixed and static had also to be reflected in the assessment and examination arrangements. Because the subject is not naturally amenable to highly specific objectives setting, or precise measurement, the establishing of criteria and the devising of test instruments presented problems. Behavioural objectives do have a role to play in Art and Design as for example in teaching certain practical skills, but the difficulty arises when one attempts to objectify the intangible or the ineffable because a deal of subjec- tivity and interpretation is involved.

However this problem was not to be insurmountable, aided by two factors. The first was having available an extended range of outcomes: Design and Expressive (cf. Eisner 1972) as well as Behavioural objectives. The second was having a construct like Grade Related Criteria which represent a descriptive mode of assessment allowing for a qualitative comparison of outcome, i.e. the pupil’s work to statement, as opposed to quantitative mea- surement. The helpful possibility existed therefore of having all three types of outcome contained in the Grade Related Criterion Statements, which were to be arrived at through an analysis of the central experiences of Art and Design, viz: the 3 Activities.

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Here the Standard Grade and G C S E systems diverge because the GCSE Grade Descriptions do not at the moment have a direct connection with the assessment objectives.

The best way to think of Grade Related Criteria would be to visualise the performance of 6 different pupils at 6 different levels in each of the 3 activities. Each of these grades or levels is then described by a criterion, a written standard of performance. This is a ‘soft systems’ approach to criterion referencing as opposed to in the ‘purist’ approach of Maths and Science who adduce G R c from graded behavioural objectives with set degrees of mastery. Constructing criteria in Art and Design has always been problematic because domains of experience like Design, Expression or the Critical tend to shade into one another and because their skills and sensitivities are often immeasurable in psychometric terms. One advantage of G R C was found to be that they can be broadened in definition or description, or even example, to handle the assessment of areas not concerned with

Extended grade related criteria: expressive activity G R A D E 3 The candidate has produced art work with some facility.

Drawing shows evidence of observation and line is controlled.

The candidate can demonstrate the use of visual elements with skill and some sensitivity, e.g. use of colour, tone and texture to express the atmosphere of a landscape.

The candidate can organise and arrange the work coherently and can suggest modifications in format and make alterations with some prompting.

Work is presented in a finished state.

A range of media and sources is used and there is some evidence of personal preference in the choice of media.

The candidate can express some personal ideas and feelings.

There is some evidence of development.

Extract from S. Grade Criteria by

G R A D E 2 The candidate has produced art work with facility.

Drawing shows evidence of close observation and elimination of extraneous detail, e.g. uses economy of line.

The candidate can demonstrate the use of visual elements with skill and sensitivity and express subtle qualities and relationships, e.g. demonstrate the interplay of light on 3-dimensional planes and surfaces.

The candidate can organise and arrange the work coherently, suggest modifications in format and make alterations with some degree of independence.

Work is presented in a well finished state.

A wide range of media and sources is used with considerable control and there is evidence of personal preference in the choice of media.

The candidate can express personal ideas and feelings.

A range of ideas is developed; these are realised in different media.

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GRADE 1 The candidate has produced various art works of high quality with equal facility.

Drawing demonstrates assurance and maturity.

The candidate can: * demonstrate sophisticated use of the visual elements and express subtle qualities and relationships; - abstract and represent; - use stylistic conventions; - organise and arrange work coherently, modify format and make major alterations confidently.

Work is presented in a highly finished state.

A wide range of media and sources is used with considerable control and there is evidence of personal preference in the choice of media.

The candidate can: * express with flair an abundance of personal ideas and feelings; * develop a wide range of ideas and realise these in various media; * evoke an interested response in the viewer.

kind permission of Scottish Examinations Board

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7. Third year project: Ring of Brogar, Orkney 1985.

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measurable skills. What Grade Related Criteria should eventu- S T U A R T M a c D O N A L D ally represent is a reflection of the consensus views of those responsible for organising the course, the teachers, whilst also indicating achievement and clarifying the expected outcomes.

In the pilot study the construction of G R C was aided by the ‘Process Model’ which prescribed 3 broad areas of experience: Expressive, Design and Critical. These 3 activities were identi- fied for the purpose of certification and reporting in profile by their primary assessable purposes, i.e. the key targets of these activities in terms of pupil learning.

Thus the primary assessable purpose of Design Activity was seen to be the solving of problems of function and communi- cation using the Design Process, whilst expressing personal feelings and ideas was thought to be the primary assessable purpose of Expressive Activity. Apart from being characterised by their distinctive purposes these activities shape themselves through the combination of media, technique and approach appropriate to each and the ways in which they are employed. This is in contrast to the G C S E s definition of content (para 4). The primary assessable purpose of Critical Activity was seen to be handling of information and making judgements about the work of artists and designers. Critical Activity is to be done in context with the other two activities. (Giving priority to the purposes of the activities in this way was not found to harm any essential relationship between activities, indeed teachers have found this to be helpful.)

The Process Model in turn greatly influenced the complexion of assessment and certification. Arising from experiments in the pilot study, a unit based approach to course design was agreed, there being 5 units in the two years: in the third year and two in the fourth, leaving an appropriate amount of time during and at the end of the two year course for assessment and examination. The units could be based on either Expressive themes for enquiry or Design Topics in the form of problem briefs to be solved, with Critical Activity an essential component of each. Thus a pupil engaged in painting using the local landscape might also investigate the work of landscape painters in context with the theme of the unit. Or, a pupil solving a graphic design problem might simultaneously investigate Gra- phic Design through history and relate this study to his or her own work. This approach which corresponds in several ways to the aims of the Schools Council’s ‘Critical Activity in Art Education’ Project has been found to be very successful in piloting.

In a similar way to the GCSE National Criteria assessment will example is to be based on course work and takes the form of a 200 word minimum illustrated investigation.

The emphasis in the pilot study was not confined solely to assessment in terms of testing or other formal arrangements. combine internal and external procedures. Critical Activity for Diagnostic and formative assessment were stressed and in this

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context procedures such as self-evaluation, peer group evalua- tion, reports process diagrams, and algorithms pinpointing per- sonal successes, problems and difficulties were all found to have a place. Teachers experimented with a variety of formative assessment techniques using checklists, questionnaires, objective

8. Third year ceramics class.

tests, open-book projects and all proved valuable. Another be- nefit of G R C in terms of formative assessment is that they are informative as opposed to grades or marks which confer an air of legitimacy on the subject but do not illuminate weakness or prescribe remedies. G R c , to some extent do.

Teachers will see the new Standard Grade Syllabus though to best advantage when they come to construct their own courses and design their own assessment procedures. Mindful of the

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needs and interests of their pupils, teachers will be able to devise S T U A R T M a c D O N A L D courses to take account of available content and resources, Curriculum and Examination especially local examples and maximise their own skills and Changes in Scotland expertise.

9 and 10. ‘Authentic first-hand experience’: pupils visit local printers as part of visual communications unit.

The pilot study saw island schools devise themes based on local myth and legend, environmental projects in urban and rural locations, projects centred on museums and galleries, local artists, designers and photographers being invited into schools to talk about their work, a wide range of related Critical Activities from appreciation of film to study of local architecture, and an extended range of media used, from video to body decoration. The development of this experience into the wide context of the entire secondary curriculum should transform the Art and De- sign provision for the 14-16 age group, previously characterised by ‘exam-based’ art.

A number of projects in Art and Design have been operating in support of the programme. One such project invited teachers to review curriculum materials. Their reviews have been pub- lished in the form of a materiography by the Scottish Council for Educational Technology. Another project involved the collation of syllabus and test items in Critical Activity. A number of other

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projects to develop, collate and produce resources, several in conjunction with museums and galleries are now under way.

Through consultation the proposals for the new course have been overwhelmingly endorsed. There is every confidence that it will provide pupils of all abilities with interest and satisfaction across a wider range of activities.

Reference 1 The Standard Grade Arrangements in Art and Design is available from

the Scottish Examination Board, Ironmills Road, Dalkeith, Midlo- thian, Scotland.

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