ronnidart 09/23/2012 at 05:15pm
I am not sure, but I am following this discussion because our state is going to teacher evaluations based on student performance. I am not sure if this will ever get off the ground but who knows.

She_paints 09/25/2012 at 08:11pm
I started with the Elements of Art. We pursued this throughout the year(s). Now, the students must sell me on their projects. Which Element or Principle of Art are they using? Their explanation of the project and work in progress let me know if I was doing right by them.

AmyHall 09/26/2012 at 03:34pm
I don't currently but would love other's input because I have considered it as well.

remembertheshadows 10/02/2012 at 12:31pm
No written exam... just an informal review. Vocabulary/spelling words the students have written in their sketch books. Half sheets of paper with three vocab words on each sheet. The student can illustrate by example their understanding. They don't even know it's a review. IEP students have the ability to complete this sort of review when I verbally/quietly give them a word or topic.

Artsology 10/22/2012 at 09:23am
Here's a fun little quiz which compares art to regular everyday objects and sees if students can determine "which one is art?"

http://www.artsology.com/which-one-is-art.php

ronnidart 10/29/2012 at 10:05am
We recently had a follow up inservice about the " testing" of our students. We are going to use project based assessments. The project can be different from teacher to teacher, but the assessment tool must be the same as well-as what is being assessed. So we came up with one element to assess each semester and a 12 point assessment tool with which to assess it. The kicker is that since we are doing these assessments and they will be part of our teacher evaluations, what is to prevent a poor teacher from scoring the students well on the assessment to boost his or her own evaluation?
The idea is to make teachers accountable. However there are too many flaws in the procedure. At least the assessment is something we can live with and it doesn't take away time from teaching students. I have a feeling there will be more changes coming.
In other areas of the state the teachers were given a flash drive with a lesson they were to teach and the assessment they were to use. This idea takes all the creativity away from the teachers and, in my opinion, ignores the needs of the students. I sincerely hope this is not what art education will become!

MrsImpey 11/29/2012 at 03:43am
I also have to do a form of assessment according to the new APPR standards and such...For my 6th graders, I am actually giving them a test...since I cover cultures based on what they learn in social students, they get 3 minutes per slide and they must identify which culture it comes from, and 2 sentences why they know that. There is also vocabulary on the test (that coincides with art as well as the vocabulary they learn in social studies). To make it a little more "art orientated", if you want to call it that, there is a section of vocab where they must draw a picture instead of simply writing the answer.

The other example that is more of a test format that I am doing is an art scavenger hunt with my 2nd graders. They receive a packet that has 3 famous artworks in it and some descriptors at the bottom. They need to follow the directions to circle all of the various elements and principles in the artwork (primary colors, thick line, diagonal line, 5 textures, 5 shapes, etc.).

For other classes, the assessment is more performance based. My 4th grade did a still life at the beginning of the year and at the end of the year, they will set up and draw another still life after I have taught them more about drawing from life and value. Again, the purpose of these assessments was to show growth as per my SLOs.

MrsImpey 11/29/2012 at 03:45am
Oh, and to answer the question, I do like having to give a formal assessment of some type. I feel in my district, it helps give validity to art. It's not like I'm just giving students a straight test...I tried to make my assessments have more to do with art than actually taking a test like they would in math. I also thinking giving these simple tests or quizzes is good for the students who might not be good at art, but are good at writing (multiple intelligences!!!)

3DpaintDigital 03/18/2013 at 02:49pm
At the end of each semester I give a final at the end of each semester because we are required to include literacy across the curriculum. A part of the California Visual Art Standards includes Aesthetic Valuing, so a part of the final is writing about art work.
The final I give is in 3 parts:
*Multiple Choice: Vocabulary definitions are written as questions and terms as the answer. These are worth the least points of the test, but I keep them around because students are use to multiple choice.
*Drawn Response: Assess the benchmark skills that we have covered in the course over the semester. I like this because it is quick to see if they get the concept we covered for each benchmark and spent a good amount of time on each drawing.
Written Responses: Critique artworks from the art/design styles covered and explain the process used to plan out and create the projects for the semester. This takes longer then the rest to grade, but it gives me a clear idea on the understanding that they have on what we learned each semester.
When we take notes and get vocabulary terms the students get points for writing assignments that have them use the vocabulary in context to critique artwork that relates to the projects they will be doing. Some other notes use drawings as a way to gauge the student understanding and work effort for the period that we did notes.