Standards

Visual Art Standards and Benchmarks

Standard One: 
	Students understand the impact of visual art on the history, culture 
and society from which it emanates.  They understand the cultural, social and 
political forces that in turn, shape visual art communication and 
expression.  Students identify the significant contributions of visual 
artists to cultural heritage.  They analyze the historical, cultural, social 
and political contexts that influence the function and role of visual art in 
the lives of people.

Benchmark A
	Explain how and why visual art forms develop in the contexts (e.g., 
cultural, social, historical, and political) in which they were made.

Benchmark B
	Compare works of art to one another in terms of the historical, 
cultural social, and political influences evident in the works. 

Benchmark C
	Explain ways in which selected, contemporary works of art relate to 
the themes, issues and events of their contexts. 

Benchmark D
	Select a culture and create an original work of art that demonstrates 
understanding of a historical, social, or political issue of the culture. 

Standard Two: 
	Students create artworks that demonstrate knowledge of materials, 
processes, tools, media, techniques and available technology.  They 
understand how to use art elements, principles and images to communicate 
their ideas in a variety of forms.

Benchmark A
	Demonstrate mastery of materials, concepts and personal concentration 
when creating original artworks.

Benchmark B
	Create expressive artworks that demonstrate a sense of purpose and 
understanding of the relationship among form, materials, techniques and 
subject matter. 

Benchmark C
	Engage in ongoing assessment to revise and improve artworks and to 
produce a portfolio of works.

Standard Three: 
	Students identify and discriminate themes, media, subject matter and 
formal technical and expressive aspects in works of art.  They understand and 
use the vocabulary of art criticism to describe visual features, analyze 
relationships and interpret meanings in works of art.  Students make 
judgements about the quality of works of art using the appropriate criteria.

Benchmark A
	Apply the knowledge and skills of art criticism to conduct in-depth 
analyses of works of art. 

Benchmark B
	Explain how form, subject matter and context contribute to meaning in 
works of art. 

Benchmark C
	Critique their own work, the works of their peers and other artists 
on the basis of the formal, technical and expressive aspects in the works.  

Standard Four: 
	Students understand why people value visual art.  They present their 
beliefs about the nature and significance of selected artworks and the 
reasons for holding these beliefs.  Students reflect on and respect diverse 
points of view about artworks and artifacts.

Benchmark A
	Communicate how an aesthetic point of view contributes to the ideas, 
emotions and overall impact of personal artworks and the works of others.  

Benchmark B
	Identify and analyze a variety of viewpoints on aesthetic issues and 
themes in visual art and develop a personal point of view. 

Benchmark C
	Judge the merit of selected artworks and provide the aesthetic basis 
for their positions. 

Standard Five: 
	Students connect and apply their learning of visual art to the study 
of other arts areas and disciplines outside the arts.  They understand 
relationships between and among concepts and ideas that are common across 
subjects in the curriculum.  Students recognize the importance of lifelong 
learning and experience in visual art.

Benchmark A
	Summarize and explain the impact of a historical event or movement 
(e.g. , realism, feminism, modernism, or postmodernism) on the development of 
visual art. 

Benchmark B
	Formulate and solve a visual art problem using strategies and 
perspectives from other disciplines. 

Benchmark C
	List and explain opportunities for lifelong involvement in the visual 
arts.