The impact of formal assessment procedures on teaching and learning in art and design in secondary schools

International Journal of Art and Design Education

Volumn 25, Issue 2, 2006, Pages 119-133

  Mason, Rachel ^a   Steers, John ^b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF ROEHAMPTON   (United Kingdom)

^b National Society for Education in Art and Design   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 33646157084     PISSN: 14768062     EISSN: 14768070     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1476-8070.2006.00477.x     Document Type: Review

References (53)

1. SEC. (1986) Report of the Working Party: Art and Design Draft Grade Criteria. London: Secondary Examinations Council.
2. Ibid. note 1.
3. Eisner, E. (1985) The Educational Imagination. New York: Macmillan, p. 367.
4. Price, E. (1982) National Criteria for a Single System of Examining at 16+ with reference to Art and Design, Journal of Art & Design Education, Vol. 1, No. 3, pp. 397-407.
5. Binch, N. (1994) The Implications of the National Curriculum Orders for Art, Journal of Art & Design Education, Vol. 13, No. 2, pp. 117-32.
6. Examination specifications may lead to the general qualification title Art & Design (unendorsed) or to one of the 'endorsed' (i.e. specialisms) such as Art & Design: Fine Art; Art & Design: Three Dimensional Design; Art & Design: Photography; Art & Design: Graphic Design.
7. Downing, D. & Watson, R. (2004) School Art: What's In It?. Slough: National Foundation for Educational Research.
8. Terminal test - in art and design this is not a test in the usual sense but normally the final, summative or confirmatory examination unit. Often takes the form of an extended assignment that is externally set, internally assessed and externally moderated. Several weeks may be allowed for research and preparation but the 'test' consists of a defined period (say 10 hours) for the candidate to work unaided under examination like conditions.
9. Examination specifications usually include a number of units and/or components - units are the smallest part of an examination or qualification that can be separately assessed; components are discrete assessable elements within a specification but which are not separately certificated.
10. Current specifications for art and design examinations in England and Wales can be accessed from URL: www.qca.org.uk
11. For a discussion of these issues see: Hickman, R. [Ed] (2005) Critical Studies in Art Education. Bristol: Intellect Books.
12. Coursework - work completed during a course, typically an assignment, project or investigation, which is usually marked internally by the student's teacher before being moderated by an awarding body.
13. See, for example, various editions of the 'GCSE and GCE A/AS Code of Practice' published jointly by QCA, CCEA and ACCAC. The current 'GCSE, GCE, VCE, GNVQ and AEA code of practice 2005/6' is available from URL: www.qca.org.uk/13269.html (Accessed 14th January 2006).
14. Boughton, D. (1995) Six Myths of National Curriculum Reforms in Art Education, Journal of Art & Design Education, Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 139-52.
15. GCE AS and A level examinations are usually taken by students aged 17 and 18 years respectively.
16. A'N'D (ISSN 1475-7486) is published by the National Society for Education in Art & Design (NSEAD). Correspondence on the examination system featured in a number of issues including: 1/2001; 2/2001; 9/2003; 11/2004.
17. Hardy, T. (2002) AS Level Art: Farewell to the 'Wow' Factor? International Journal of Art & Design Education, Vol. 21, No. 1, pp. 52-9.
18. OECD (2000) Proceedings of CERI/OECD Conference, Lisbon.
19. Hargreaves, D. (1996) Teaching as a Research Based Profession: Possibilities and Prospects. Teacher Training Agency Annual Lecture.
20. See, for example, Tooley, J. & Darby, D. (1998) Educational Research a Critique: Survey of Educational Research. London: OFSTED
21. Edwards, J., Sharp, C. & Benefield, P. (2000) Systematic Reviews of Educational Research: Does the Medical Model Fit? Paper presented at British Educational Research Conference, Cardiff University;
22. Hillage, J., Pearson, R., Anderson, A. & Tamkin, P. (1998) Excellence in Research on Schools, Research Report No. 74, London: HMSO.
23. Tooley, J. & Darby, D. op. cit. note 20.
24. Bassey, M. (2000) Reviews of Educational Research, Research Intelligence, Vol. 71, pp. 22.
25. The National Education Research Forum (2000) was set up by the then Secretary of State, David Blunkett in 2000. For the British Educational Research Association's response to this initiative and the consultation papers see their publication Research Intelligence, No. 74, into the impact of public examinations on the curriculum as taught in January 2001.
26. For more information about EPPI visit URL: Eppi.ioe.ac.uk/EPPIWeb/home
27. The Research Evidence in Education Library (REEL) web site of the Centre for Evidence-Informed Policy and Practice in Education, can be found at URL: Eppi.ioe.ac.uk/EPPIWeb/home.aspx?page=/reel/intro.htm
28. Mason, R., Steers, J., Bedford, D., & McCabe, C. (2005) The Impact of Formal Assessment on Secondary School Art and Design Education: A Systematic Description of Empirical Studies (online). Research Evidence in Education Library. London: EPPI-Centre, Social Science Research Unit, Institute of Education, University of London. Available from URL: eppi.ioe.ac.uk/EPPIWebContent/reel/reviewòups/art/review_one/ Art_rv1.pdf (Accessed 10th December 2005).
29. Review Team: Dr Dennis Atkinson, Reader in Education, University of London (Goldsmiths College); Sheila Dowling, Senior Lecturer Art and Design, University College Northampton; Dr Richard Hickman, Senior Lecturer Art Education, University of Cambridge; Professor Rachel Mason (Director), Roehampton University; Dr Trevor Rayment, Course Leader PGCE Art and Design, University of Reading; Dr Paul Rinne, Deputy Head and Head of Art, Sheen School; Dr Dorothy Bedford (Research Officer), Roehampton University; Dr John Steers (Co-Director), National Society for Education in Art and Design; Dr Sylvia Willerton Education Consultant.
30. International members: Dr Doug Boughton, Professor of Art Education, Northern Illinois University; Dr Lee Emery, Associate Professor, Arts Education, University of Melbourne; Dr Lynn Galbraith, Associate Professor, Art Education, University of Arizona, Tucson; Dr Folkert Haanstra, Professor of Art Education, Amsterdam School of the Arts.
31. User members: Dan China, Association of Advisors and Inspectors of Art and Design; Melanie Fowke, art and design teacher, St Guthlac's School, Spalding; Dominic Harper, art and design teacher, Cowes Secondary School; Michele Kitto, art and design teacher, The Dragon School, Oxford; Nick McKemy, art and design teacher, Bacons College, London; Vivienne Reiss, Arts Council England; Robert Watts, primary teacher, Normand Park School, Fulham.
32. The selected studies were: I. Bennett, G. (1989) Words in My Eyes: The Assessment of Art and Design in GCSE, Educational Studies, Vol. 15, pp. 241-9.
33. Atkinson, D. (1998) The Production of the Pupil as a Subject within the Art Curriculum, Journal of Curriculum Studies, Vol. 30, pp. 27-42.
34. Macgregor, R. N., Lemerise, S., Potts, M. & Roberts, B. A. (1994). Assessment in the Arts: A Cross-Canada Study. Vancouver: Visual and Performing Arts, University of British Columbia.
35. Rayment, T. (1999) Assessing National Curriculum Art AT2, Knowledge and Understanding: A Small-Scale Project at Key Stage 3, Journal of Art and Design Education, Vol. 18, pp. 189-94.
36. Sabol, F. R. (1994) A Critical Examination of Visual Arts Achievement Tests from State Departments of Education in the United States. Unpublished PhD thesis. Bloomington: Indiana University
37. Blaikie, F., Schönau, D. & Steers, J. (2003) Students' Gendered Experiences of Art Portfolio Assessment in Canada, The Netherlands and England, Studies in Art Education, Vol. 44, pp. 335-49.
38. de Eça, M.T. (2004) Developing a New Conceptual Framework for Pre-University Art Examinations in Portugal. Unpublished PhD thesis. Roehampton University, London.
39. Willerton, S. (2001) GNVQ Art and Design: The Development, Distortion and Subsequent Dismantling of its More Radical Features. Unpublished PhD thesis. Brighton: University of Sussex.
40. Mason, R. et al., op. cit., note 28 (i).
41. Ibid. note 28 (ii).
42. Ibid. note 28 (iii).
43. Ibid. note 28 (iv).
44. Barrett, M. (1979) Art Education: A Strategy for Course Design. London, Heinemann Educational Books, pp. 55-9.
45. Mason, R. et al., op. cit., note 28 (v).
46. Ibid. note 28 (vi).
47. Ibid. note 28 (vii).
48. Zimmerman, E. [Ed.] (1999) Creating a Visual Arts Agenda Towards the 21st Century. NAEA Commission on Research in Art Education Status Reports. Reston, Virginia: NAEA.
49. Allison, B. (1988) Research in Art and Design: Research problems, Programmes and Data Bases. Unpublished conference paper, London: Central School of Art and Design.
50. Working Group on 14-19 Reform (2004) 14-19 Qualification and Curriculum Reform: Final report (online) London: Department for Education and Skills. Available from URL: www.14-19reform.gov.uk (Accessed 15th October 2005).
51. See, for example, the QCA Futures website at URL: www.qca.org.uk/ 11232.html
52. Ofsted (2005) Ofsted subject reports 2003/04: Art & design in secondary schools (online). Available from URL: www.ofsted.gov.uk/ publications/annualreport0304/subject_report (Accessed 14th April 2005).
53. Tattersall, K. (2003) A National Obsession, Guardian Education, 30 September, p. 4.