Assesments

Traditional Assessment vs. Authentic Assessment:

• I think it is important for Art teachers to use authentic assessments with their students to show them how much art there is in the world in general. It is not just paintings in a museum. There are real life careers available to them if their passion is creating. Examples of assignments I might use for an authentic assessment are having the students create a logo for a company. I would make up different kinds of companies and give each student an overview of that corporation. For instance one student might have a restaurant chain that needs a logo design for their signs, menus, website etc. That student would have to take into consideration what kind of restaurant they want it to be, fast food, sit down, fancy, family oriented, etc. And then design something that fits its demographic. This kind of assignment can also be done by having them design a cd cover for different types of bands, or a movie poster, or even a soup can label. The options go on and on.

Paper-pencil Assessment vs. Performance Assessment:

• There is not too much systematic data to gather for art students. They need to learn the principles and elements of design as well as the color wheel and different color schemes typically used, but I would probably use more performance based assessment than paper-pencil assessment for those things. Especially for the color wheel. When teaching my students about complementary colors and analogous colors or what it means if a piece is monochromatic, instead of having them take a written out quiz or test with multiple choice, I would assign an art project that deals with them having to use each type of color scheme discussed. One idea for an example for this would be having them draw out an organic design across a longer sheet of paper, then have them split the paper into four sections. Each student would then have to paint or color each section in a different scheme we've discussed in class.

Informal Assessment vs. Formal Assessment:

• One of the major things I would want to teach my students is how to tap into their creativity. I want to teach them how to use both sides of their brain and figure out how to express themselves through visual art. I want them to learn that there is no such thing as good art or bad art and that every single one of them is capable to produce something outside of themselves that is worthy to show others. I want them to feel proud and gain a sense of confidence. This kind of thing can not be graded or preplanned. I can not judge this by a test or any kind of planned out assessment. This kind of thing I will judge as the class goes on, observing unsystematically. I will ask them questions about their work as they are having in class time to work and create to see where they are in this process.

Standardized Test vs. Teacher-developed Assessment:

• From what I have stated in my earlier examples, I feel it is obvious that no standardized test developed by experts will accurately reveal to me if the students are growing and learning what I want them to learn. Every student is completely unique and different. Every class in every school has a different dynamic and will learn art and react to teaching in completely dissimilar ways. So why would I critique them using a test designed for a blanket of classes and a blanket of schools? Instead I will develop my own kind of assessments for each classroom based off of what will be most beneficial to them and their development. 

Criterion-referenced Assessment vs. Norm-referenced Assessment:

• Again, I can not emphasize enough how uniquely individual students are in terms of art. I would never use a norm-referenced assessment or compare their performance to each other in any way at all. In fact I would stress that different styles are vital. I would use criterion referenced assessment to indicate what they have soaked in and what they haven't. One way of doing this is after they turn in an assignment or artwork, I would have the students look at the rubric of the assignment (that they will have received before they start their piece so they know what I am looking for) and write out what they feel they accomplished best and what they might have done differently the next time. They only need to be thinking about how they can improve themselves and how they can grow as individual artists, not in terms of how they did in comparison with others.