Assessment in the Visual Arts
http://home.oise.utoronto.ca/~hinwood/art_assessment.htm
Introduction
• Assessment is the collecting, recording and analyzing of data about a student's progress and achievement
• Evaluation is the ongoing process of making judgments or decisions based on the interpretation of data
• Reporting is the sharing of information with parents, students and the community
The primary purpose of assessment is to determine students' achievement of the Arts expectations; however, this same information can also be used to determine the effectiveness of programs and teaching methods to enable all students to achieve to the best of their abilities. Diagnostic assessment allows teachers to anticipate the needs and interests of students in the early planning stages, while formative assessment and evaluation during the program can modify and maximize students' learning experiences. Summative assessment and evaluation monitors students' attainment of the expectations and provides for program improvements in the future. All of these forms of assessment and evaluation should be viewed as continuous and essential parts of teaching and learning in the arts.
Assessment strategies should be congruent with the expectations, student demonstrations and teaching/learning activities in any unit of study. Assessment should therefore be planned in advance and be an integral, meaningful part of the instructional process. It is important that all assessment focus on individual performance in meeting the expectations.
In order to collect valid and accurate information about students' attainment of the outcomes, assessment should involve a variety of strategies used frequently throughout the instructional process. Assessment should also be collaborative, involving all participants in the learning process: students, peers, family and teachers. In this, the criteria on which assessment is based should be made clear to all of the participants at the outset.
The establishment of the criteria is best achieved with the students themselves; this gives them a role in deciding which aspects or qualities of the project are most important to assess. Once established, a clear list of the assessment criteria should be made easily accessible to remind students of the perimeters of the project. Opportunities should be provided for students to assess their own process and product during and after the project is completed.
It is of special importance that equal attention be placed on both the processes and products of learning in the visual arts. In the past assessment has focused too heavily on the final artwork or product as the sole measure of a student's achievement. The evaluation of this product must be balanced with an examination of the process each student has undergone.
The role of constructive criticism is also important to consider. As involvement in the visual arts is a subjective and often individual experience, positive, constructive criticism should be emphasized so as to build confidence and encourage students' efforts of self-expression. While students may need direction initially about critiquing their peers' work in this manner, once developed their insight and support can be a valuable assessment tool for students and teachers alike.
Students' ability to assess and correct their own work, assess the work of their learning partners, and give and receive constructive criticism are important skills to develop in any evaluative process. The ultimate purpose of assessment and evaluation is to develop students' self-evaluation skills, necessary for life-long learning and success.
Checklist: How does your assessment measure up? …
The following is a quick way to check the quality of your approach to assessment, summarized from Assessment in Art Education by Donna Kay Beattie. For more detailed information on this topic, refer to this excellent publication (details in the Learning Resources section.)
• is it student-oriented and teacher-directed?
• does it support instruction and learning objectives?
• have the criteria for assessment been made clear to all participants?
• is it based on the Arts expectations?
• is it on-going?
• does it include a balance of formal and informal strategies?
• does it focus on product and process?
• does it provide opportunities for students to revise or change their work?
• is it responsive to different types of knowledge?
• does it respond to expanded notions of intelligence and creativity?
• does it take into account students’ pre-assessment information?
• is it equitable for all participants?
• does it responsive to collaborative and cooperative learning?
• does it measure students’ individual growth (rather than comparing them to each other?)
• are the assessment tools easily understood and well-ordered?
Reporting Considerations
An integral part of the assessment and evaluation process is reporting, which involves interpreting and sharing what students have achieved. It should be directly related to the expectations of a unit of study, and should explain the purpose of the evaluation as well as the assessment criteria and methods used. It should also detail any program modification that was made to improve the program's effectiveness or the student's achievement of the outcomes. Reporting should involve the student, their family and others involved in their learning, and should be conducted on an ongoing basis both verbally and in writing.
Assessment Techniques
The following is an overview of the traditional and performance-based techniques frequently used by teachers in visual art education assessment and evaluation. Select and incorporate those that best complement your existing program.
Portfolios
Portfolios are an excellent way of balancing the assessment of both process and product as students can demonstrate their ideas, self-assessment and revisions on projects. As they can be used to store sketches, working drawings, notes, and final artworks, some refer to them as 'processfolios.' Refer to the sample Portfolio Assessment Review on page - as a means of assessing portfolios.
Sketchbooks/Visual Journals
This is a great way for students to reflect on current projects or collect images for future ones. Notes or thoughts can be written or drawn; images can be student-created (drawing, photography) or ready-made from magazines, newspapers, packages, etc. They provide students with a private space to practice drawing/painting/photography skills and to track themes and/or ideas that interest them. In turn these can then be used as preliminary sketches for other artworks or as elements for collages. Can be assessed with a tally sheet (recording regularity of entries) or as a means of checking the development of ideas for a project.
Students' Demonstrations
Students' acquisition and/or application of skills and techniques can be assessed as they work on projects or when asked to demonstrate for others. Record your observations using checklists or anecdotal records. Focus equally on their experience of the process of art-making as on their final product.
Integrated Performances
This form of assessment combines new learning on a topic and assessment into one simultaneous experience. Performances should encourage creative thinking, open-ended responses, and the synthesis of previously learned material. Conducted individually or in groups, these tasks can be plays, simulations, innovative written assignments or projects. Criteria for assessment must be clearly identified at the outset.
Tests
A wide variety of tests can be used to assess students’ learning in the visual arts as they can be used to assess cognitive skills (such as knowledge gain or retention) or metacognitive skills (such as comprehension or problem-solving.) Traditional tests include visual identification of artworks and ‘pen and paper’ tests to assess art historical knowledge, but with a little imagination, tests can be made more games-based and done in groups rather than individually (eg. artwork bingo, solve an art mystery, art auctions, etc.)
Writings
Like tests, written forms of assessments can be done in a traditional manner, or take a more imaginative form. Instead of a straightforward essay on the biography of an artist, ask students to take on the role of the artist and write a letter to a friend from their perspective, perhaps describing an artistic challenge they are facing (eg. Van Gogh writing to Gauguin.) Have them write a poem or a story to complement an artwork’s style, or a critique of an exhibition in the neighbourhood. At minimum, provide opportunities for students to combine literary demonstrations with visual ones, illustrating their words with pictures; this offers students different ways to excel in the same assessment vehicle.
Group Discussion
Group discussions can be useful in assessing oral responses to works of art. Criteria can include frequency and quality of individual participation as well as quality of interaction with others, and should be clearly identified in advance. Combining this with a follow-up technique, such as a journal entry, allows an opportunity to assess those not verbally-oriented.
Critiques
Critiques can be done by the student (self-critique), by his/her peers, or by the teacher in written or oral, public or private form. They can be conducted mid-project or at the end, but should always be positive in tone, noting what was done well and what can be improved on. Opportunities for revision or re-making a project based on critiques should be offered.
Self-Assessment
Given the subjective nature of art-making, students must be given opportunities to reflect on their own work and assess whether or not it achieved the criteria of the project a