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The assessment framework for WJEC GCSE Art and Design (Wales)

6 dot points across 6 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

What does AO1 reward, and how do you show critical understanding rather than just collecting sources?

AO1, Critical understanding, develop ideas through investigations demonstrating critical understanding of sources: building a focused line of enquiry from contextual and first-hand sources, weighing and responding to each source rather than copying it, and letting the investigation keep deepening across the project. AO1 is one of four equally weighted objectives (25 percent each).
What AO1 (Critical understanding) rewards in WJEC GCSE Art and Design: developing ideas through investigation and critical understanding of sources, built into a focused line of enquiry that weighs and responds to sources rather than copying, and keeps deepening across the project.
13 min answer →

What does AO2 reward, and how do you show refinement through experimenting with media?

AO2, Creative making, refine work by exploring ideas, selecting and experimenting with appropriate media, materials, techniques and processes: trying media purposefully, reviewing what each attempt teaches you, and selecting and improving towards a stronger outcome rather than repeating one safe technique. AO2 is one of four equally weighted objectives (25 percent each).
What AO2 (Creative making) rewards in WJEC GCSE Art and Design: refining work by exploring ideas and experimenting with appropriate media, materials, techniques and processes, reviewing what each attempt teaches, and selecting and improving towards a stronger outcome.
13 min answer →

What does AO3 reward, and how do you record ideas and observations well?

AO3, Reflective recording, record ideas, observations and insights relevant to intentions as work progresses: recording first-hand and continuously through drawing, photography, notes and annotation, keeping it relevant to the intention, and using annotation to capture reflection and decisions. AO3 is one of four equally weighted objectives (25 percent each).
What AO3 (Reflective recording) rewards in WJEC GCSE Art and Design: recording ideas, observations and insights relevant to intentions as work progresses, recording first-hand and continuously, and using annotation to capture reflection and decisions.
12 min answer →

What does AO4 reward, and how do you present a personal response that realises your intentions?

AO4, Personal presentation, present a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and demonstrates understanding of visual language: producing a final outcome that resolves the project, connects clearly to the development that led to it, and uses the formal elements deliberately to carry meaning. AO4 is one of four equally weighted objectives (25 percent each).
What AO4 (Personal presentation) rewards in WJEC GCSE Art and Design: presenting a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and demonstrates understanding of visual language, resolving the project and connecting clearly to the development that led to it.
13 min answer →

How do the four assessment objectives map onto the creative process, and how are the marks and grades worked out?

How the four assessment objectives map onto the creative process (a cyclical record, develop, refine and realise journey rather than four separate tasks), the fact that the AOs are equally weighted at 25 percent each and applied to both units, that work is marked holistically against bands and totalled across the units, and that the qualification is graded on the 9 to 1 scale.
How the four assessment objectives map onto the creative process in WJEC GCSE Art and Design (a cyclical record, develop, refine and realise journey), how the equally weighted AOs are applied to both units and marked holistically, and how the qualification is graded 9 to 1.
12 min answer →

How is WJEC GCSE Art and Design structured, and how is each unit assessed?

The two-unit structure of WJEC GCSE Art and Design for Wales (Unit 1 Portfolio at 60 percent and Unit 2 Externally Set Assignment at 40 percent), the fact that it is a wholly practical, coursework qualification with no written exam, that both units are internally set or marked by the centre and externally moderated by WJEC, and the endorsed titles such as Art, Craft and Design and Fine Art.
A clear guide to how WJEC GCSE Art and Design for Wales is structured: two practical units (the Portfolio at 60 percent and the Externally Set Assignment at 40 percent), no written exam, internally marked and moderated by WJEC, and the endorsed titles available.
12 min answer →