Assessment and reporting in Visual Arts

Schools are required to submit to NESA a grade for each student based on their achievement at the end of the course.

Teachers use professional, on-balance judgement to allocate grades based on the Common Grade Scale for Preliminary courses.

Teachers consider all available assessment information, including formal and informal assessment, to determine the grade that best matches each student’s achievement at the end of the course.

See ACE (Assessment, Certification and Examination rules and requirements) for further information.

Assessment programs must reflect course components and weightings

The course components and component weightings for Year 11 are mandatory.

Schools may determine specific elements of their assessment program

Schools have authority to determine the number, type of task and the weighting allocated to an assessment task. Schools may also follow the sample assessment programs provided by NESA.

Sample assessment program

NESA’s sample Year 11 formal school-based assessment program for Visual Arts includes:

• 3 assessment tasks, including:
  • a formal written exam.

The recommended weighting for any individual task is 20% to 40%.

NESA requires schools to submit a school-based assessment mark for each Year 12 candidate in a course. Formal school-based assessment tasks should reflect the syllabus outcomes and content. The mark submitted by the school provides a summation of each student’s achievement measured at several points throughout the course.

A school’s program of school-based assessment includes both mandatory and non-mandatory elements.

See ACE (Assessment, Certification and Examination rules and requirements) for further information.

Assessment programs must reflect course components and weightings

The course components and component weightings for Year 12 are mandatory.

Schools may determine specific elements of their assessment program

Schools have authority to determine the number, type of task and the weighting allocated to an assessment task. Schools may also follow the sample assessment programs provided by NESA.

Sample assessment program

NESA’s sample Year 12 formal school-based assessment program for Visual Arts includes:

• 4 assessment tasks, including:
  • a minimum weighting for an individual task of 10%
  • a maximum weighting for an individual task of 40%
  • one task that is a formal written exam with a maximum weighting of 30%.

Formal written exam

This task may assess a broad range of course content and outcomes. Schools may choose to replicate the timing and structure of the HSC exam.

If a school includes the development of the externally assessed body of work in conjunction with the written paper, the combined weighting of the tasks should not exceed 30%.

School-based assessment of Art Criticism and Art History

The syllabus offers flexible areas within the mandatory content allowing for various interpretations and modes to be taught.

Areas of content:

• Practice in art criticism and art history
• The Conceptual Framework – known as the agencies in the artworld: artist, artwork, world and audience
• The Frames – subjective, structural, cultural and postmodern

In the Preliminary Course there should be focus on the key components of content areas.

In the HSC Course more interpretive and integrated relationships should be investigated.

Case Studies provide the opportunity for in-depth study of artists, artworks, art movements, art critics and historians and ideas relating to Visual Arts through critical and historical investigations. Each case study should take into account practice, the conceptual framework and the frames. In the Preliminary Course students may be introduced to case studies that integrate broad-based understandings of content. In the HSC Course a minimum of FIVE case studies should be undertaken.

School-based assessment of the body of work

Students are required to keep a Visual Arts Process Diary (VAPD) as a personal record of their ideas and intentions in artmaking. The VAPD should provide a record of research, investigations into subject matter, development of technical skills and process, reflection and directions for further development and refinement.

The VAPD must be taken into account in school-based assessment tasks for the body of work. Schools will use the VAPD as evidence of student progress and authorship of the body of work as it develops over time.

Schools may choose to informally monitor the practice of artmaking using the VAPD as the basis for feedback.

Teachers should regularly comment on student progress and sign and date the VAPD.

The VAPD is not part of the external exam mark.

Schools are reminded that when assessing the development of the body of work, appropriate school-based marking guidelines should be developed. Use of external HSC marking guidelines is not appropriate.

NESA provides advice to schools regarding content and certifying works in:

• Practical exam rules
• Certifying HSC practical component.

Development of the body of work may commence from the beginning of the HSC course.

The body of work must be conceived and executed by the student under the supervision of the Visual Arts teacher. Group projects are not permitted.

Schools must have procedures in place that will allow effective supervision of the development of the body of work for each student. This is particularly the case where work is done away from school. Schools must be confident of the appropriateness of the content and that effective supervision and sufficient documentation of this work is possible, before giving consent for students to begin work on their body of work.

Certification of work submissions (ACE 2.5 HSC practical exams) is required to ensure that each body of work is the work of the student entered for the HSC and has been completed under the direct supervision of the Visual Arts teacher.

It is essential that:

• the main development of the body of work takes place in school time
• work completed away from the school is regularly monitored by the supervising Visual Arts teacher
• each student signs a statement, witnessed by the supervising Visual Arts teacher, to certify that the body of work is their own original work.

Principals must be able to endorse the teacher’s declaration that the work:

• has been done under the teacher’s supervision
• is the student’s own work, consistent with earlier drafts and other examples of the student’s work
• was completed by the due date.

Teachers should:

• advise on all matters related to the development of the body of work
• demonstrate techniques upon another surface/object
• refer students to sources of ideas, themes or examples
• give information about availability of materials and sources of technical assistance
• provide feedback in the VAPD (see below), including a dated record of the development of the body of work.

Under no circumstances can any teacher or other person work directly on any part of a candidate’s body of work submission.

Schools will be notified by NESA of the exact date for the completion of the body of work. Dates for completion, hand-in to school and submission to NESA are specified in HSC Practical Exams Important Dates.

Visual Arts Process Diaries (VAPD) are not marked as part of the body of work submission and must not be submitted with the body of work. The VAPD must be retained at school until the HSC marking of submitted works is complete. NESA may request the VAPD if the body of work needs verification or further evidence of a candidate’s work is required, and in cases of appeals.

The VAPD should suggest and provide evidence of a candidate’s practice of artmaking. Teachers should advise candidates to copy those parts of the VAPD they may need for studying for the written exam, as they will not have access to their VAPD while the body of work is marked.

For itinerant marking, schools should ensure that students’ VAPDs are readily available within the school, but not presented with the works. Candidates should ensure that their VAPD are clearly identified by their Student Number.

The teacher must keep a brief written record of each candidate’s progress throughout the body of work. This record should not be submitted with the body of work but may be requested in exceptional circumstances where the markers require further information. This record should be retained in the school together with assessment records.A ‘Practical Project: Record of Student’s Progress’ proforma is available to download from Schools Online.

The following information about the HSC body of work should be read in conjunction with the Visual Arts Syllabus Stage 6:

• Outcomes
• Content
• Course requirements.

A body of work may be submitted in one of the 12 expressive forms. These forms can reflect a wide range of artistic practices. They can encompass historical, digital and contemporary approaches. A candidate’s intentions and practice should inform the selection of the expressive form.

Expressive form selection

Teachers and candidates should make decisions concerning the body of work and the nominated expressive form by considering:

• the knowledge, intentions and understanding of practice demonstrated by the candidate
• the candidate’s predominant artmaking interest or focus
• the role of curatorial judgement in the choice and selection of work, and choice and selection of expressive form
• the multidisciplinary nature of contemporary practice, the blurring of boundaries between traditional media areas and the development of hybrid forms.

When selecting works for submission, teachers and candidates should carefully consider how each work demonstrates their knowledge, intentions and understanding of practice. Selection of works should involve critical curatorial judgements and refinement of the inclusion of pieces that contribute to the overall coherence of the body of work.

The following table provides advice for submissions in each of the expressive forms. This advice should be read in conjunction with the rules regarding overall size, weight, dangerous and prohibited materials, and duration of submitted works.

These rules apply to all bodies of work submitted for the HSC Visual Arts exam and should be strictly adhered to. Failure to comply with these rules could penalise marks awarded to students.

Suggested submissions

The complete body of work when displayed for marking must not exceed:

• 6 square metres in area for 2D works (2 square metres in area for individual flat, rigid works. Individual works which exceed 2 square metres must be rolled) OR
• 1 cubic metre in volume for 3D works and/or works with 2D and 3D components
• 35 kilograms in weight
• 6 minutes in duration (including credits) for submissions in Time-based forms
• 3 minutes in duration (including credits) for a time-based work included in a submission in another expressive form
• 6 minutes in duration (including credits) for submissions in Documented forms where the entire submission is a time-based work.

Two screens is the maximum number permitted for the simultaneous viewing of time-based works.

Bodies of work that include a projected image and 3D piece(s) should be calculated as for 3D works. The calculations are to include:

• the dimensions of the projected image
• the dimensions of the 3D item(s)
• any negative space between the projection surface and the 3D item(s)

The distance to the projector from the projection surface does not need to be included in this calculation.

The volume of a body of work must not exceed 1 cubic metre when displayed for marking. It is calculated by multiplying the maximum length, the maximum breadth and the maximum height (each measured in metres) of the work when displayed for marking. Positive and negative areas are to be taken into account in the calculation.

• Maximum length: the greatest horizontal measurement that can be taken of the longer ‘side’ of the work.
• Maximum breadth: the greatest horizontal measurement that can be taken of the shorter ‘side’ of the work.
• Maximum height: the measurement taken from the lowest point of the work to the highest point of the work.

Refer to Body of work dimensions (PDF 34.31KB) for further information on calculating allowable dimensions and volumes.

Bodies of work containing multiple items or panels may require particular instructions for display. Teachers and students are advised to attach to the back of the first item in the submission:

• a clear, easy-to-follow diagram detailing the display format and/or
• a photograph of the body of work demonstrating the arrangement for display.

Careful consideration should be given to the display set-up to ensure compliance with the overall limitations on size, weight and duration of HSC submitted works in Visual Arts.

These guidelines apply to ALL expressive forms.

Works may be submitted on the following devices:

USB flash drives

• Thumb drives or memory sticks.
• Submitted USB flash drives must be securely attached to the pink identification label that records the Student Number, School Number, Title and Expressive Form. It should then be sealed in an A4 plastic sleeve or case. The information should also be clearly displayed on the plastic sleeve or case. The USB flash drive should be counted as one piece in the total number of artworks within the body of work submission.
• The maximum size of a single digital file is 4GB.
• The USB flash drive must be able to be played on standard consumer hardware including Apple or Windows standard software (Quicktime or Windows Media Player) or freeware such as VideoLAN VLC media player.

Rechargeable mobile digital devices

• This includes tablets, MP3 players, phones, digital photo frames.
• Each rechargeable device must be presented with a charger.
• The device must be able to be easily located, accessed and charged within the body of work.
• Instructions for operation of each mobile digital device must be included.
• Two screens are the maximum number of screens for simultaneous viewing.

Content created using Computer Generated (CG) development software

• All appropriated images and/or sound should be acknowledged in the credits or as a written addendum to the work.

Video or audiovisual (AV) works without audio files

• When a submission intentionally excludes audio files, a note indicating that this is the intention must accompany the work.

Students should check that all AV works operate on standard consumer hardware before submitting the work for marking.

The following are prohibited in any body of work submission:

• embedded or ancillary mobile digital devices that record and store video or audio with or without the subject’s knowledge
• embedded or ancillary devices with operating wireless network capability (WiFi or Bluetooth)
• access to the internet, directly or via embedded links (including QR codes), to download any software, apps or internet content for the submission, or embedded devices.

The running time of a submission must not exceed a maximum of 6 minutes (including credits).

All appropriated images and sound should be acknowledged in the credits or as a written addendum to the work. Titles and credits must not identify the candidate or school except by Student Number and School Number. All submitted works must be able to be played on standard consumer hardware.

Format for interactive submitted works

In addition to the general guidelines for the format of submitted digital devices and files:

• Interactive works must be submitted on a USB flash drive that have been formatted and are compatible with Microsoft Windows Operating System and/or an Apple Operating System.
• They must not require any program downloads or security codes for activation or authentication and must be able to function directly from the submitted hardware.
• Submitted works cannot be copied to a hard drive to enable or improve playback performance.
• Any number of interactive screens, frames, links and branches can be developed but the total time required to view and interact with the work should not exceed 6 minutes.

Dangerous materials must not be used (ACE 2.5 HSC practical exams). If a submission contains materials considered dangerous to health or safety it may not be unpacked, marked or returned to schools if marked corporately. Submissions considered dangerous to health or safety may not be marked in itinerant marking.

Teachers will need to ensure that artmaking practices comply with all current legislation relating to occupational health and safety as well as system and school requirements regarding safety.

Electrical

Submissions requiring a high-voltage electrical current (e.g. 240 volts) must have a certificate for electrical safety attached. Electrical wiring that has not been certified by an electrician must not be included in any submitted works. Details and records of such work should be noted in students’ VAPDs.

Prohibited materials

The following materials must not be included in any submitted works:

• Hypodermic syringes including new or used syringes, with or without needles
• Bodily secretions and blood products
• Food and/or perishable materials including rice, pasta, dried beans, coffee grounds, confectionary, tobacco and biological objects such as leaves or flowers
• Liquids in any form
• Medications in any form, including tablets and capsules
• Glass in any form, including unbroken glass such as bottles, mirrors or any other form including mosaics. If lighting is required, use of plastic LED lights is advised. Teflon-coated lightbulbs may be used only within a sealed light box.
• Materials with sharp or jagged edges including barbed wire, fish hooks, corrugated iron, broken machinery
• Live, blank and dummy ammunition casings.

The planning, development, content and presentation of the body of work must be the student’s own work, except for the limited material, if any, drawn from acknowledged sources.

If copyright clearance and permissions are unable to be obtained for a body of work that contains limited material from acknowledged sources, public exhibition at ArtExpress may be prohibited.

Want to know more?

Read:

• All My Own Work for information about completing assessments honestly
• Certifying HSC practical component
• Practical exam rules
• ACE 10.1 Malpractice
• ACE 2.5 HSC practical exams
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island principles and protocols.

Teachers and students should ensure that the display requirements for marking the body of work are not complicated or time consuming to set up. In order to minimise any damage during handling, artworks must be stable in their construction. During marking, artworks might be handled many times. Set-up instructions, if provided, should be clear and easy to follow.

A pink label must be attached to each piece in a submission. It must be labelled with:

• Student Number
• School Number
• Title of the body of work
• Expressive Form
• Number of Works in a series indicating the sequential order for display.

A diagram and/or an image showing how the works are intended for display may be provided.

Framing and/or mounting of artworks

Works must NOT be framed under glass or rigid plastic. It impedes close inspection of the submission, and if broken, may cause damage to the work or to markers.

It is recommended that 2D works are presented either flat, or in a folder or box. If works are mounted, simple cardboard mounts are preferred.

Organisation of artworks and the marking area in schools

Schools are requested to make the following arrangements to facilitate the marking process:

• Marking areas must be private and secure from interruption. Staff and students must not be present in the marking area. Common rooms or libraries (unless closed) are not suitable marking areas, as staff may require access.
• The room must allow for 2 teams of 2 markers each to operate without overhearing each other. Two small rooms would be adequate in most schools.
• Good light is essential.
• Works should be grouped in expressive form categories and organised for marking.
• Some items for displaying works should be provided for each marking team. For example, one or more easels or boards, velcro or clips, a table or floor space.
• Every individual piece in a body of work submission should be labelled with a pink ID tag indicating the Student Number, School Number, Expressive Form, Title of the work and the number of pieces in the submission.
• Instructions, diagrams and/or photos indicating how a body of work is to be viewed are helpful. However, teachers and candidates need to be mindful of the limitations of the marking process and ensure that their requests can be accommodated in a reasonable amount of time and without complex set-up requirements. Teachers and candidates should ensure that it is possible for the markers to comply with these intentions in the space and with the materials provided for them.
• Where there is a specific set-up required for multiple pieces, the school should have the work set up and ready for marking.

Setting up works

Setting up a work for marking is different from displaying a work for an exhibition. It may involve:

• arranging individual pieces of a body of work into an order or sequence ready for marking; for example, a series of drawings or paintings that should be viewed or organised in a specific way.
• arranging 2D and 3D works so that they are within the size limit of 1 cubic metre when displayed for marking.
• placing pieces of a sculpture together as a floor piece or on a table to facilitate viewing, so that the work is ready for marking.
• turning on a computer, CD or DVD player or other digital hardware and including simple instructions for operating the hardware (including a login) so that markers can easily access images, time-based forms, and audio files.

Works must not be displayed as for an exhibition or installation. They must NOT:

• be hung, fixed or installed on walls or shelves. If a work has a number of small pieces, these should be fixed onto a single board so that the work can be easily transported and displayed for marking
• have spot lighting
• be displayed in a space that is outside the size limits for the body of work submission

Packaging bodies of work for corporate marking

Artworks should be well packed to minimise the possibility of damage during transport to the marking centre. Most breakages occur because of insufficient packaging or too many fragile articles being packed together.

Boxes used for packaging should be kept as light as possible, and all works within the box should be rigidly packed to stop movement. Damage can also occur when paintings are packed for transportation before paint is fully dry.

To protect artworks, the following ways of packing are the most effective.

Works in 2D

• Paintings: place a sheet of brown paper over the front of the painting then cover the whole painting with bubble wrap, cardboard or similar material.
• Drawing, photomedia, graphic design, printmaking and other 2D works: should be protected in a cardboard folder.
• Hanging devices, including hooks and chains: are not to be supplied with any 2D works as they can cause damage to other works when they are stacked or stored for marking.

Works in 3D

Ceramics, sculpture and other 3D works should be placed in a box with either shredded paper, straw or bubble wrap packed tightly in and around the work(s). Care should be taken to pack around and beneath the article before it is placed in the box.

Mannequins must not be included with submissions of wearables in the Designed objects expressive form.

NESA will decide each year which schools will have their Visual Arts submissions marked corporately and which will be marked by itinerant markers in schools. Schools are notified early in Term 3 if they are to be marked corporately or itinerantly.