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ASSESSMENT When choosing and designing assessment for the visual arts, we need to keep in mind the unique qualities of art, its multiplicity, and spirit. In addition, we must ensure that the visual arts remain a solid component of every child's education as reflected in the Learning Results. The state will measure achievement of Visual Arts Performance Indicators that are testable with pencil and paper tests through the MEA's. It is equally important that assessment of all Performance Indicators continue in a meaningful manner at the local level. This section is designed to assist at the local level. The first question to ask is "Why do we need to assess the visual arts?" We are assessing three major areas: creating and performing, interpreting and responding, skills and knowledge. The "Why" question is answered in the NAEP "Guidelines for Visual Arts Assessment." Visual arts assessment shall: • Affirm the visual arts as a way of knowing with a unique capacity to integrate the intellect, emotions, and physical skills. • Honor the visual arts as a discrete art form, but also encourage students to see the artistic experience as a unified whole. • Examine and report on developing abilities of the students. • Connect with students' real-life experiences of the visual arts. • Evaluate students through performance. • Go beyond quantification to include judgment. • Use background variables to recognize differences in school resources (large-scale assessments only). • Address both the processes and products of the visual arts, and expand the public's awareness of the importance of each. • Produce information useful to a variety of audiences -- students, parents, teachers, administrators, policy-makers, artists, and other community members. • Reflect a pluralistic view of visual arts education, both in terms of individual products and the cultural bases of the visual arts. NAEA also provides a helpful list of "Purposes of Arts Assessment': Assessment Role -- Function or Purpose 1. Criticism - To inform a student or group of students about the quality of a performance or production 2. Grading - To inform students, parents, and others about student achievement levels 3. Qualification - To decide which students may enter (or leave) a specialized course or program 4. Placement - To identify the type or level of education most suitable for students in light of their abilities 5. Prediction - To help predict success or failure based on past or current levels of achievement 6. Diagnosis - To identify students who have particular learning attributes 7. Didactic Feedback - To provide direct and indirect feedback concerning various aspects of the teaching process 8. Communication - To convey information about the goals of educational programs 9. Accountability - To provide information regarding the extent to which the goals for educational programs have been achieved 10. Representation - To operationalize, objectify, or exemplify (through assessment instruments, tasks, and scoring criteria) the general or abstract goals of art education 11. Implementation - To provide information about the extent to which the arts program is being implemented as intended 12. Curriculum Maintenance - To assure that certain elements of the arts curriculum continue to be included 13. Innovation - To encourage the introduction of new and novel elements into the arts curriculum The next question to ask is "Who is assessed and who does the assessing?" To fully assess the visual arts, assessment must be approached from many different perspectives. • Teachers assess students And finally "How do we assess and what do we do with that information?” There are numerous tools and methods of assessment. Assessment must be as varied as the visual arts are complex. The information gained from the assessment should be used to evaluate students' achievement and to help improve the teaching-learning process. It should also be reflective of the unique qualities of the visual arts and their importance in every child's life! The following list is not meant to be a comprehensive list, but rather a starting point for teachers as they design their own assessment strategies: • Portfolios • Checklists, tallies • Art journals, reaction letters, memos, essays, etc. • Postcards to friends • Self-evaluations • Peer critiques/interviews (oral and/or written) • Quizzes/tests (multiple choice, short answer, true and false, essay, art tasks, etc.) • Teacher anecdotes/narrative summaries • Rating scale for an art product • Rubrics • Annotated art works • Web questions • Collaboration assessment • Cooperation assessment • Games, puzzles, simulations • Dialogue, talking, sharing • Teacher's log • Aesthetic problems • Debates • Models • Skits/plays • Graphs • Demonstrations Resources: • Assessment in Art Education, Beattie, D. K. (1997), Davis Publications. • Designing Assessment in Art, Armstrong, C. L. (1994), National Art Education Association. |