Assessment in primary art can be difficult to get right. If it becomes too rigid, it can reduce creativity. If it is too vague, teachers may be unsure what pupils are learning or how they are progressing.
The key is to remember that assessment in art should help teachers understand pupils’ development as young artists. It should not simply judge whether a final piece looks “good”.
Start with the purpose of art education
The National Curriculum for art and design says pupils should “produce creative work”, “explore their ideas”, “record their experiences” and “evaluate and analyse creative works” using the language of art, craft and design (Department for Education, 2013).
This gives art leads a useful framework. Assessment should look at more than finished outcomes. It should consider how pupils generate ideas, use materials, develop techniques, reflect on their work, understand artists and make creative choices.
In other words, assessment should focus on the journey as well as the product.
What should art leads look for?
When reviewing art across the school, art leads should look for evidence in several areas.
1. Are pupils developing ideas?
Good art assessment considers whether pupils can generate and develop ideas. This might be seen through sketchbooks, discussion, experimentation, annotations, collected images, observational drawings or material tests.
Look for whether pupils:
- explore more than one idea;
- use sketchbooks to collect, test and develop thinking;
- make links to artists or source material;
- adapt ideas as they work;
- show curiosity and imagination;
- make increasingly independent choices.
AccessArt’s progression guidance is helpful here because it recognises that pupils develop as artists through looking, talking, making, reflecting and using sketchbooks. (We recognise AccessArt as a high-quality provider of art education; The Primary Art Network is independent and not affiliated with it.) This supports a broader view of assessment, where ideas and process matter as well as the final artwork.
2. Are pupils improving their use of materials and techniques?
The National Curriculum expects pupils to “become proficient” in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques (Department for Education, 2013). Assessment should therefore consider whether pupils are developing control, confidence and understanding of materials over time.
This does not mean every child’s work should look the same. Instead, look for whether pupils are becoming more purposeful.
For example:
- Can pupils choose appropriate tools or materials?
- Are they developing control in drawing, painting or making?
- Can they talk about the effects they have created?
- Are they willing to practise and refine?
- Do they understand that different materials behave in different ways?
- Are they using vocabulary such as line, tone, texture, form, colour, shape, pattern, scale or composition?
Progress in art may be seen in small decisions: choosing a thinner brush, changing pressure with a pencil, altering the scale of a sculpture, layering colour, refining a print or explaining why a material did not work as expected.
3. Are sketchbooks being used meaningfully?
In Key Stage 2, the National Curriculum refers to pupils using sketchbooks to record observations and “review and revisit ideas” (Department for Education, 2013).
For assessment, sketchbooks are valuable because they show thinking. They can reveal what pupils tried, changed, questioned, noticed and developed.
When looking at sketchbooks, art leads might ask:
- Do they show exploration, or only neat final work?
- Are pupils testing materials and ideas?
- Is there evidence of observation?
- Are pupils reviewing and revisiting earlier work?
- Do sketchbooks show individuality?
- Are pupils using them as working spaces rather than presentation books?
A useful principle is that sketchbooks do not need to be perfect. In fact, overly perfect sketchbooks may suggest that pupils are not taking enough creative risks.
4. Can pupils evaluate and talk about art?
The National Curriculum expects pupils to “evaluate and analyse creative works” using the language of art, craft and design (Department for Education, 2013). This applies both to their own work and the work of others.
Assessment should therefore include pupil talk.
Useful questions include:
- Tell me about what you are making.
- What inspired your idea?
- Which materials have you chosen and why?
- What have you changed as you worked?
- What did you discover?
- What would you do next?
- What do you notice about this artist’s work?
- How is your work similar or different?
NSEAD’s assessment and progression materials are useful for subject leaders because they emphasise the importance of checking what pupils have learned and building formative assessment into the curriculum. (We recognise NSEAD as a high-quality provider of art education; The Primary Art Network is independent and not affiliated with it.) In art, this often happens through conversation, observation and reflection during the lesson, not just after the work is complete.
5. Do pupils know about artists, craft makers and designers?
Art assessment should also consider pupils’ knowledge of artists, craft makers, designers and architects.
However, this should not become a memory test of disconnected facts. The most meaningful assessment looks at whether pupils can use artists’ work to inform their own thinking.
Look for whether pupils can:
- talk about artists or designers they have studied;
- describe similarities and differences between creative practices;
- use art vocabulary when discussing work;
- make links between an artist’s work and their own choices;
- understand that art, craft and design exist across different cultures, periods and purposes.
This supports the National Curriculum aim that pupils should learn about artists, craft makers and designers and understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms.
6. Is assessment manageable for teachers?
Art assessment should be useful, not burdensome. Long tick-lists can be difficult to maintain and may not capture the richness of the subject.
A manageable approach might include:
- teacher observation during lessons;
- short notes against key learning intentions;
- pupil voice;
- sketchbook reviews;
- photographs of practical work;
- examples of progression across year groups;
- end-of-unit reflective questions.
Subject leaders should support teachers to understand what they are looking for, without expecting excessive written evidence.
What should art leads avoid?
Try to avoid assessing art only by:
- how attractive the final outcome looks;
- whether all pupils’ work matches the model example;
- whether a display looks neat;
- whether pupils can copy an artist’s style accurately;
- whether sketchbooks are tidy;
- whether every child has written a long evaluation.
These things may show effort or presentation, but they do not necessarily show artistic development.
Final thought
Primary art assessment should value process, progression and creative thinking. It should help teachers notice how pupils explore ideas, use materials, develop techniques, talk about art and make choices.
The best question for art leads is not, “Is this artwork good?” but:
What does this show me about the pupil as an artist?
When assessment starts there, it becomes more meaningful for pupils, more useful for teachers and more faithful to the nature of art and design.
Looking for practical support with primary art assessment?
The Primary Art Network provides online CPD and networking for primary art subject leaders, including support with assessment, curriculum progression, sketchbooks and whole-school art provision.
Reference note: This article draws on the National Curriculum for Art and Design, and references design and guidance from NSEAD and AccessArt, which we recognise as high-quality providers of art education. The Primary Art Network is independent and is not affiliated with either organisation.
