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Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Art Assessment on the Run


by Bob Reeker, published in SchoolArts Magazine, March and April 2014
Part I
Art educators are busy educators!  With assessment requirements abound and the focus of many different stakeholders (students, parents/guardians, colleagues, administrators, the community, policy makers, and others), it is a key element we must all work with and develop.  At the same time, we haven’t added any extra time to our teaching and learning day to address the many assessment needs, so we must be strategic and use the time we have as wisely as possible.

Assessment can be a daunting and overwhelming task for any art educator whether novice or veteran; it can be a very time-consuming venture.  So, through an exploration and reflection of the many multitudes of theories, concepts, and practical applications for assessments, art educators must develop and refine those assessment techniques that work best for them as educators and for the learners in their classrooms. 

We’ve all heard the saying, “Keep it simple, silly!”  It is a must when it comes to assessment in the art room.   Strategize and come up with a system that works for you.  Whether electronic or paper on a clipboard, there are a multitude of ways to document what and how your students are learning.  Can the tool you use serve several functions?  Can your grade book be your attendance?  Your seating chart?  Your documentation when contacting parents/guardians?  Trying to make that one tool do many things for you can be a huge time saver for the art teacher on the run.

An art educator on the run must be a great multi-tasker.  Having the necessary supplies, good instruction, and then add assessment to the mix requires an art teacher to juggle many things at once.  When assessing, can you meet several standards or objectives in one assessment session?  After my students have completed their sketching and come to a solution, I will often have them conference with me one-on-one.   Students will share with me their inspiration, thought processes, and how they came to their “final” solution.  Through this assessment activity, I can meet my district’s standards of the Creative Process, Connects to Art, and Talking/Writing about Art.  With our many time constraints, we must find ways to work smarter, not harder.

Assess what is necessary and what you need to best report to others the success of your students.  We can get wrapped up in the idea that I must assess every learning activity I provide students.  You must understand your state/district standards and be able to articulate assessment procedures and tools that demonstrate learning in those standards.  Can an assessment also connect to and meet work being done in Professional Learning Communities or data teams?  It should.  Here the adage of “killing 2 birds with 1 stone” applies.  Be sure the work you are doing is focused on what you have to teach and assess.


Part II

Explore the many assessment tools available out there online.  There are many great resources if you are willing to do a little research.  Some of my favorites include:

Formative Assessments (AKA 100 meter dash) 

·      Questioning is vital when assessing.  Questions are developed to get both individual and group feedback.  Students often use thumbs up or down to agree or disagree.  Students can rank or rate based on a 1-5 finger count.  Or questions can be phrased with 1, 2, or 3 choices with students holding up the # finger accordingly.
·      Walk arounds:  All work is laid out, usually 1/2 to 2/3 the way through the unit. Students walk around and observe each piece.  Criteria for what to look for may be written on the whiteboard.  When done observing (and I do it with them to model), students discuss with the group and me what they saw.  Much information about understanding can be derived from the sharing following.
·      Closure: I “borrowed” this from a student teacher - At the end of class, in order to line up, the table must discuss and volunteer an answer to the question I pose:  Name a significant style of art Picasso developed.  Tell me a color family.  What purpose might a Native American Hopi create a Kachina doll?
·      Another simple tool I like to use with children, as a formative assessment is the use of colored disks or squares of construction paper.  At some point in a unit (usually two thirds through the project), children will lay their artwork at their tables and find a different piece of art to assess.  In the middle of the table is a pile of colored disks or construction paper squares…usually 3 colors.  Each color represents a concept and/or criteria that has been shared with the children throughout the unit.  Red may be shape variety, blue may be pattern, and yellow may be paint technique.  Each child will assess how the art they are in front of has dealt with each of the 3 components.  If the critic feels shape variety is the strongest, a red disk or paper is laid near the art.  Blue is used if pattern is the strongest element to the work, and if paint technique is the best part, yellow is used.  Children will travel around to 3 peer works and do this activity for each.  The real assessment happens when children return to their own work and look at what peers have given for colors.  We spend time debriefing what the combinations may mean…having one of each means you have probably successfully dealt with all 3 criteria well; having only one color shows you nailed that criteria very well, however, the other two concepts may be lacking.  And finally, I reinforce that any missing color would be a criteria that the artist may want to review to see if he/she can address to make stronger.  And I do see children respond to this formative assessment and rework their art.  I find I can do this activity in about 20-25 minutes and will do this activity with children as young as 2nd grade.  It’s simple, quick, and provides much formative feedback to children.


Summative Evaluation (AKA The Marathon) 
·      Rubrics – whether developed by the teacher or in symphony with students, rubrics give students valuable feedback.  Self-assessment, peer assessment, and teacher feedback can be several components of the rubric process.  These are time-consuming but the pay off is rich and comprehensive critical thinking and reflection.
·      P.A.T.S. (Praise, Ask, Tell, Suggest) – whether written or verbal, using these components in a critique or feedback session can be useful to students and teachers.  Students travel to four different art pieces to provide a reflective piece for each of the categories.  At the end of the activity, students return to their own work and write a summary of what information was shared.
·      Portfolios – in this digital age, portfolios have become very manageable and easy to access, but they are still time-consuming.  There are many tools on the Internet where students can collect work and then write about it through artist’s statements.  This tool provides a summative look at the work done by students in a unit, semester, or career in a school.


“On your mark, get set,….GO!”  Art educators often feel this way each day they enter their classrooms.  We are on the go meeting the many needs of students, as well as the concerns and questions of parents/guardians, and administrators.  It is important that you find ways to keep records that are effective and efficient, keep things simple, multi-task where you can, assess what is necessary and vital, and research the tools that best fit what and how you are assessing.  Here’s to you getting on those running shoes and winning the assessment race!

Bob Reeker is a K-5 Visual Art and Integrated Technology Specialist at Lincoln Public Schools in Lincoln, Nebraska. He was awarded NAEA Elementary Art Educator of the Year for 2013. breeker@lps.org 

As the 2013 NAEA Elementary Art Educator of the Year, Bob will be showcasing his efforts at NAEA San Diego. He'll be presenting on Sunday at 9:00 to 9:50 in the Convention Center/Meeting Room 8/Upper Level. 

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