I am more aware than ever that art
assessment needs to be well-rounded and analyze student learning in a plethora
of content areas. Assessment needs to be dynamic enough to accurately measure
what the students know as well as the specific areas that are proving
problematic. The most concrete way to know what your students have successfully
learned is to evaluate the progress (and/or lack thereof) made from one
assessment to the next. The areas in which progress is slow or non-existent are
clear indicators of where changes must be made in teaching strategy.
In assessment, it is important to
take into account not only the factual knowledge that students are able to
glean from course content, but also the attitudes and motivations within each
one of them. Rating scales, when used for student self-assessment, can be very
revealing in relation to their own perception of the learning process. I intend
to use this technique for my own assessment of student work, as well provide my
students with an opportunity for self-assessment. By taking these self-assessments
into account, an educator can obtain a better idea of where the students are
personally excelling or struggling, rather than just what they observe. They
also encourage students to evaluate themselves in a measurable way. These kind
of assessments give the teacher the opportunity to give tailored feedback to
students on an individual basis, which I believe is vital to student progress.
When students respond to that feedback in a way that allows the educator to
ascertain measurable improvement in student work and attitude, only then can he
or she be sure that their efforts are effective.
My personal philosophy on assessment
is that it is less about measuring achievement in terms of set standards than
it is about communication and individual progress as a result. Art is probably
the only academic subject in which this philosophy can actually be put to
effective use because more often than not there are no right or wrong answers.
Every child sees the world through unique and precious eyes. Who is to say that
ones view is any more accurate or correct than anothers? This is why critiques
can be such an invaluable tool to utilize in the classroom. Critiques allow
students to learn from each other, and they also provide teachers with valuable
opportunities to acquire knowledge as to how and why students learn. I will
most likely always practice critique in my classroom, although for sensitive
junior high students I have created a specialized critique that I intend to use
as formative assessment in my unit plan. I am envisioning a small group
critique in which each student contributes a pertinent piece of helpful
information they observe in the work of their peers. I will make sure to
encourage students to write down observations of what is working well in the
artwork being observed as well as where there is room for improvement. Out of
the created list, the small groups will pick four of their observations to
present to the class, two of them being positive and two being more along the
lines of constructive criticism. I feel that this balance will be more likely
to prevent students from becoming discouraged and overwhelmed, as I have often
experienced in harsher college level critiques.
In my assigned chapter I also read
about an assessment strategy called "Measuring Sticks" that I will
most likely make use of at some point in my unit plan. In this form of
assessment, several very different works by a variety of artists are displayed
for the students, though all of them connected by the topic being taught.
Students are asked to place their finished works of art next to that of the
artist with whom they feel most closely connected, as well as give an
explanation of their reasoning. It’s another way all of the students can learn
and gain inspiration from each other, and the exposure to a variety of styles
further perpetuates the idea that there are no right or wrong answers in art.
