A level art regradiing

[overitall100]

Hello. My dd received her A level results yesterday and though they aren't bad, we are really confused by her art one. She followed the AQA guidelines which most others did not, so she did many mediums and a whole load of research with some great books that were used as an example to the class.
One of her friends got much higher and had done one medium throughout. As lovely as the work is I don't understand how their gradings were so different.

It has been a huge struggle the whole last year as her art teacher has zero enthusiasm and often didn't update with important information when she promised to.
DD's grading went up, down, up, down and we never knew where she was at. Even in the exam the teacher pulled a rude face when she looked at my dd's piece and was praising others which threw dd a bit.

I have spoken to the school and strangely the person I spoke to didn't disagree with some of my points but also said "well, it's subjective" which worried me as are art teachers allowed to grade art on their own preferences?

DD luckily has unconditional offers so is very lucky. Her art teacher just frowned when she told her excitedly about that and said "I wish they'd stop giving those out". No well done or anything.

I am tempted to get the art regraded just because I feel the teacher just doesn't like my DD, which may sound paranoid but she never once said anything nice about DD's work. I am also aware that the teacher's DS wanted to date my DD and DD wasn't in to that which is interesting as the teacher was much nicer to DD years ago before this happened.

Is it worth it? Really we just want explanations to help DD moving forward but have met a brick wall so far.

Was it the work not externally moderated? So not graded according to one person's opinion.

I used to teach A level art. It isn’t about what media or how many different ones you use.

I wouldn’t be suprised to see an exam piece done in one media. The exploration goes off in the research. Also it depends on the syllabus what different media they have to use.

Depth and annotation are important, as is technical skill. But technical skill isn’t the be all and end all. And a clear link between other artists and the work. The final piece doesn’t hold that many marks.

If you want a remark, the whole cohort would have to remarked.

This is interesting thanks. The exam piece of some others' were in one media but so was the rest of their work over 2 years. That was what confused me as this got a much higher grade than dd and she really did go for depth and annotation along with trying all sorts of mediums.
Yes I realise this re the remark and it is the last thing we need right now with other things going on but it doesn't make sense currently and unless the school give us a good reason we might have to.

Thanks for your response.

Hi @LIZS yes it was. So again I am unsure because I recall my DD's Gcse being regraded too and the gradings going up for all the class.
Basically it's the amount of work DD did, her work being showed to the class as an example by a different art teacher and her following the AQA guidelines for this year that are confusing my family.
It seems given all of this put together makes me really question it all and whether it is in fact subjective grading.

They all have to use different media whatever the course.

Eg fine art, they have to do painting and sculpture
Broad art at least 3 areas
Textiles, graphics and photography not sure. But l think they have to explore more than one area. E.g Textiles could be fashion and printed textiles.

Exactly this!! She did all of this.

It’s not subjective.

The dept marks it all according to quite strict criteria. They have to check each others marking. Then a moderator comes in and marks it all again. When we used to mark as a department we were quite close to each other usually.

If the two sets of marks aren’t in tolerance, then there is a remark and the moderator comes in again. If it’s still wrong, moderators marks stand.

Anything could have happened. They can move them all up or down. They don’t move individuals up or down. It has to follow their special graph.

What I’m trying to say is the checks are quite rigorous.

Did she get a breakdown of her marks?

I hear you on that and would understand it much more if she hadn't bothered with the subject but as I mention before showing her work as an example to others and then grading way under makes no sense.
We were promised an update on anything she needed to do to fill any gaps but that never came and sometimes emails responses were sarcastic.
She was told the book was very important so she really went to town on them and really did make the research in depth and lots of practices before outcomes. Someone I know who teaches art said she was shocked that she didn't get higher after looking at all her work.

It is a mystery.

I suspect there would maybe have been one of the assessment criteria that was a bit short that caused the unexpected result.

Its good practice to use a wide variety of students work as examples.

As for the chance to add missing bits. This is often done as a self reflection exercise. The teacher sounds horrid. I always used to sit down with mine and go through missing bits. It’s a very stressful time though and easy to overlook bits.

Sorry - i didn't see the question re marks and yes. We have looked it up. They are not even near what she was targeted. My frustration is why set guidelines for a year which were followed (and she is a good artist even though I am biased but 3 top uni's obviously agree to give her unconditionals) and as i say others didn't. I don't want to put down others as I think all art is great and personal but if it's an exam and you do what is asked then you expect to do okay! :)

You sound like a really measured and nice teacher. Thanks - you have explained more than they ever did. which is quite bizarre really as you'd think they would want the best for all.
I was warned by other parents that the art dept at the school would not be a terribly positive experience - but really didn't think it would be this bad.
Thank you so much for helping me understand itl

I would ask the school for an explanation then. My guess is there was something missing unintentionally.

Did the rest of the group reach their targets?

There are 3 components, coursework, exam and essay. Which one pulled her down? How did she perform on all of them?

Thanks. This is what I have asked but as yet no reply.

I am not sure re all others. I know obviously a few did much better than they thought they would given targets.

This is what we would like to know and I think the teacher has been quite cruel knowing she is upset but not reaching out, which I have to be honest does feel a little personal. Having said that, as I say we were warned that kids can leave feeling dejected.

But really, I am very grateful for your help. Thanks again.

The components should be on her results sheets.

Oh ... no not on our result sheet. Just the overall scores.

Oh! Maybe I’m wrong then. It’s 3 years ago!

Well, I have a better idea now of what to focus on so thank you.

And also it is so nice to talk to someone who I can tell is kind with kids. This teacher was as hard as nails and really didn't seem to care at all.

Not much help, but my art teacher was an absolute witch. I got a D and she told me I’d never have a career in the arts.
I’ve been working my dream job since I left college! (Which is about as artistic as you can get.)
I hear my coursework was still used as a ‘what not to do’ example in her class as of two years ago.
I too wonder how art can be graded as it is subjective. I know how rubbish that feels so sympathy for your DD. 😡

Such great news and congrats on not letting these soul suckers stop you from achieving your dream.
What is wrong with these people? They give good art teachers a bad name.
How dare she use your work like that.
I too work in the creative industry and know what is expected of people these days to do well. We have been tip toeing around this teacher for a couple of years now and she seems very controlling.
Hate to hear of anyone being put down when we all need lifting up! I have come to the conclusion that their mean comments come from their own self doubt. Thank you for your thoughts on it.

Thinking about some responses here...

The teacher did not do what she promised which was to let us know of gaps that needed working on (which she clearly felt were there giving dd a lower grade)

So what can be done?

The grade can only be assessed on the work submitted. You stated your dd read and worked to the AQA mark scheme but is it possible she overlooked some elements or lost some of her creativity in being overly literal. Teachers can only have limited input.

Other students 100% overlooked elements and still did well. Creativity wise - I can honestly say as someone who works in the industry that there was masses of individual creative input.
I wouldn't be posting here if I felt otherwise.

My DD had the same issue a few years ago and this was the response that we got from the school:
Over the weekend, Mr X and I met to discuss the marks awarded and compared them with the national average results. Because of the rigour of the new examination specification, the grade boundaries have changed significantly and with the exception of students achieving an A* in Fine Art (which has increased this year for AQA) A-E grades nationally have declined. Yesterday I arranged an external re- moderation of the portfolios to see whether it was advisable to have the work marked again. However it was concluded that the marks awarded from AQA were in tolerance of the new linear framework and that a re-mark would not be advisable.

don't know if this helps or not.

Thanks for this. It helps to know how they think.
It is so far removed from anything creative that I wonder why they examine art.