Assessing Process and Product in Arts
Education
Sample Anecdotal Record Keeping Forms
Assessment is a broad term that involves collecting information on the progress of students' learning. Evaluation is making a judgment about the degree of merit or worth of the information collected relative to the learning objectives.
| Observation | Perception | Procedures | Conceptual Understanding | Personal Expression |
Student assessment in the Arts Education curriculum is based on the foundational objectives in each strand. Following the definition of each foundational objective in the four strands are statements and questions that will assist teachers in selecting evaluation techniques and determining specific assessment criteria. Teachers will need to look at this information carefully prior to their lessons and develop record-keeping forms that allow them to collect information in the areas needed. Sample record-keeping forms are included on pages 35 to 46 of this curriculum guide.
While some aspects of the arts program include the development of a concrete product (such as a collage in visual art), many products of learning in the arts are actions or behaviours that take place over time and are not easily captured for later reflection and appraisal. Two major challenges of student assessment in the Arts Education program are determining observation criteria and keeping records of student learning. It should be noted also that student peer and self-evaluation are important means to further the development of students' abilities in the arts program. Teachers should structure some lessons to provide for these evaluation opportunities.
Observation
Having clear ideas of what they will be looking for is the first
requirement for
teachers to become good observers. While observation should
always be based
upon the objectives, recognizing evidence for the achievement of an
objective is
not always a straightforward or easily described process. The
assessment of an
individual student's achievement of a foundational objective will
depend upon
the setting of criteria, both suggested in the curriculum guide
and determined
by the teacher and students.
As well as referring to the assessment criteria suggested for each foundational objective, teachers should be aware of four categories of student learning during observation: perception, procedures, conceptual understanding and personal expression. Assessment information collected on these four categories will encompass the development of students' knowledge, processes, skills, abilities, values and attitudes related to the Arts Education curriculum.
Perception
In order for students to develop their abilities and interests in
the arts, they
must develop their perceptual abilities -- their senses of sight
and sound and,
in dance, their kinaesthetic sense.
Perceptual abilities should be evaluated in conjunction with other objectives, as the students' abilities to understand concepts and express themselves using the languages of the arts are interdependent with their ability to perceive. It is important to include activities that are intended to develop perception even though teacher observation of perceptual development may only be apparent over an extended period of time.
Procedures
In each strand, students must develop an understanding of
procedures and
processes. These procedures and processes enable them to create
and respond to
visual art works, music, drama and dance.
In creating art works, successful completion of the product depends upon an understanding of the procedures involved; for example, creating a print in visual art. Students' understanding of procedures in this case can be evaluated by observing the project in progress and the final product.
The category of procedures also includes development of the ability to respond to various forms and works of art. This ability involves ongoing development and may be assessed through teacher observation and student self-evaluation over an extended period of time.
Conceptual Understanding
The assessment of conceptual understanding is focused upon:
Conceptual understanding contains a strong knowledge component and can be assessed, for the most part, using easily observable criteria. For example, an objective from the music program may be stated as "distinguish among various styles of music". Conceptual understanding can be observed when students are asked, for example, to indicate whether a selection of music is in the rhythm and blues or jazz style, and to describe the characteristics of each.
Personal Expression
The students' conceptual understanding will form a major basis
for development
of their expressive abilities. However, unlike conceptual
understanding which
focuses upon specific desirable outcomes which students are
encouraged to
attain, expressive abilities focus on individual responses,
creativity,
imagination and sensitivity to one's own feelings, contextual
features and
personal interpretations. What teachers need to guide them here
is a range of
appropriate criteria that might apply to students' visual art,
dance, music or
drama experiences. This type of criteria is described in
numerous sections
throughout the document.
Teachers should remember that an objective such as "express themselves through their dance compositions" could be achieved by students in a variety of ways. Responses by students will, and should be, idiosyncratic and there will be no one most correct response. Teachers should not ask, then, "Was this student composing dances in a personally expressive way?", but rather, "To what extent was this student composing dances in a personally expressive way?" To answer such questions teachers must:
Assessing Process and Product in Arts
Education
| Process | Products | Record-Keeping |
Process
When assessing each student's learning processes in the arts,
teachers may
determine the extent to which students are achieving the learning
objectives by
observing the following:
Products
When assessing products or presentations in the arts the teacher
may determine
the extent to which students are achieving the learning objectives
by observing
the following:
Some assessment techniques to use when evaluating objectives related to arts products or presentations include: anecdotal records, observation checklists, tests (performance tests, written and oral tests, etc.), portfolios, written assignments, homework, individual and group assessments, contracts, conferences, and peer and self-evaluation.
Record-keeping
Reports to students and parents must be based upon real evidence.
In order to
build up a comprehensive record of growth, teachers will have to
rely upon a
wide variety of assessment techniques and, to a great extent,
upon accurate
observation and record-keeping. In addition to the
assessment techniques
suggested in this curriculum, Chapter Four in Student
Evaluation: A Teacher
Handbook (1991) outlines a variety of general assessment
techniques that
teachers may wish to include in their student assessment
practices.
Teachers should supplement their observation-based records with students' journal writing and other written or oral descriptions of their processes of decision-making and problem-solving related to specific tasks. Because journal entries are often of a personal nature, students and teachers should establish guidelines for their use in the class and in student assessment. In the visual arts, student portfolios of work and work-in-progress should be maintained. Larger work and three-dimensional work may be more difficult to maintain due to lack of storage space; therefore, accurate record-keeping must usually suffice. Audio and video cassettes in music, dance, visual art or drama, when used judiciously and appropriately, can also be helpful for record-keeping.
Checklists provide a practical tool for observation-based record-keeping. Teachers should devise individualized checklists for their units and lessons based upon the objectives and specific criteria developed from the task at hand.
The number of criteria on any type of form should be kept to two or three at the most for any one observation. Teachers' skill at observing and knowing what they are looking for will increase as they become more familiar with the curriculum. Initially, teachers may choose to record observations of no more than five students during the course of a lesson. However, teachers should always provide themselves with a means of noting progress by any student. They can either design spaces for open-ended comments on their forms, or keep notepaper handy for this purpose. Checklists similar to the samples on the following pages should make it easier for the teacher to record information while still being attentive to other students and the co-ordination of the lesson in progress.
Teachers will need to:
Sample Anecdotal Record-keeping Form for a
Dance
Lesson
Foundational Objective(s):Date: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Students' Names |
Criteria/Objectives | Uses starting-points as inspiration
for
improvisation and movement exploration |
Works effectively in large and small groups
|
Is becoming familiar
with choreographic forms Applies knowledge of the elements of
dance
|
Applies knowledge of the elements of dance
|
Wayne
|
Laurie
|
Françoise
|
Myles
|
Carol
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Foundational Objective(s): Date: | ||||
| Students' Names | Criteria/Objectives | |||
|
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
|
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Sample Rating Scale Form or Checklist (insert here)
Student's Name: Date: | ||
|
Foundational Objective(s): | ||
| Criteria/Objectives | Comments | Ratings |
| increase their understanding of the contributions of Saskatchewan and Canadian artists, including Aboriginal artists, to the field of visual art |
| |
| continue to determine and explore appropriate media, technology, forms and methods for visual expression | ||
| investigate how visual artists use symbols and other means to convey meaning |
| |
| identify and explore environmental, historical and social factors that influence visual artists and their work | ||
| support opinions and interpretations for particular types of art based on evidence found in the work | ||
| reflect on how the elements of art, principles of design, images and techniques used convey meaning in works of art | ||
| Rating Key |
N = Needs Improvement M = Meeting Expectations E = Exceeding Expectations | or | 1-5 |
Student Profiles
It is important to develop a composite profile of each student's progress for each reporting period in order to provide concrete information to students and parents. Report cards and parent-teacher interviews provide excellent opportunities to increase parents' awareness of the substantive content of the Arts Education program and of the benefits that students derive from their involvement in it.
Students and their parents will want to know the objectives and criteria upon which an evaluation was made. Observation forms and other pertinent material should be maintained whenever possible for reference and discussion. This is particularly valuable when reporting student progress that was not assessed through more familiar methods such as written tests or essays.
The main purpose of evaluation, of course, is to improve student learning. The time-consuming task of reporting student progress can often overshadow this objective, hence the necessity of designing the most efficient and time-saving record-keeping forms prior to teaching the unit of study.
Grading and Reporting
It is the responsibility of the school division, school principal and teaching staff to establish student evaluation and reporting procedures consistent with the philosophy, goals and objectives of the curriculum.
Evaluation and grading criteria should be derived from the foundational objectives and the learning objectives that they encompass. It is important that teachers make clear to students, in advance, the purpose of the assessments and whether they will be used as part of a final grade or summative comment. Students need to know what will be evaluated as well as how it is to be evaluated. Evaluation criteria should be discussed with students throughout the year, before, during and after each unit of study, so that students may be active participants in their own evaluation process. In fact, the students themselves may help to set the assessment and evaluation criteria once they understand the objectives.
The reporting of student progress may take the form of descriptive reports and a final grade. When translating assessment data into marks or summative comments, teachers should ensure that each of the foundational objectives has been assessed over the course of the year. At times during the year, teachers may place more emphasis or weight on certain foundational objectives depending upon the particular activity, project or classroom experience in which the students have been involved. The final mark or summative comments should reflect a balance among the foundational objectives, and the year's experiences should also reflect a balance among the three components of the curriculum.
The complexity of individual student development in the arts, as in many other subjects, cannot easily be represented by one single symbol and the school division, school principal and teaching staff may decide to replace or supplement grades with descriptive comments. Whether a letter grade, percentage mark or a descriptive report is used, the teacher and the report card must indicate clearly to both students and parents that Arts Education is a core subject that is developing important understanding, abilities and attitudes.