Predicting Performance in Art College: How Useful are the Entry Portfolio and Other Variables in Explaining Variance in First Year Marks?

Abstract

This article examines if and to what extent a set of pre‐enrolment variables and background characteristics predict first year performance in art college. The article comes from a four‐year longitudinal study that followed a cohort of tertiary art entrants in Ireland from their time of entry in 2002 to their time of exit in 2006 (or before, for those who failed or dropped out). Using descriptive and inferential statistics, the article shows that portfolio score at entry and school leaving examination results predict performance in first year. The predictive validity of both measures, however, was not particularly strong. Combined, portfolio score at entry and school leaving examination only accounted for 15.5 per cent of variance in first year marks, leaving a large percentage of variance unexplained.

Predicting Academic Success: A Longitudinal Study of University Design Students

“…This implies that novices will not perform academically as well as experts; university design students with no prior learning in visual communication may not perform as well academically as those who have studied graphics or art at secondary school. While there is limited research into the visual mode of learning, and academic performance in design studies at university, there is some research into prior learning and art college performance where it is common to use portfolios of prior artistic work as part of the college entry assessment, though portfolios have been shown to not be a strong predictor of academic performance (O’Donoghue 2009).…”

The creative artistic portfolio and reporting by art education students on their student teaching

“…university programmes as part of entrance exams for art and art education programmes and as a basis for exams in practical art courses (O'Donoghue, 2011, 2009, Madeja 2004. Professional teaching portfolios have long been used in degree programmes to demonstrate that students meet state-mandated standards for teacher certification (Delacruz and Bales 2010: 33).…”