Assessing Students' Artwork

Art teachers need a way to assess the work of their students. But how do you allow for creativity and plan a lesson plan to be graded at the same time. Chapter 5 of Emphasis Art says, "Although art teachers need to value spontaneous creativity, defined objectives of any task are also important, both to meet standards and to provide clarity for assessing student performance." By setting specific standards and objectives, this helps to later assess whether or not students have met the goals outlined to them. So how should a teacher evaluate and grade a student's artwork? Three good tools are portfolios, journals and group critics.

Portfolios help to keep the art produced by a student together for further review. Art portfolios are a good tool for teachers because they help students remember the concepts learned in earlier assignments. This helps the teacher to build upon these concepts and to explore them in greater depths. In an online article about assessing visual arts it says, "Portfolios are an excellent way of balancing the assessment of both process and product as students can demonstrate their ideas, self assessment and revisions on projects." (Reference 2) Art portfolios can help in other areas then just in art. In chapter two of Assessment of Art Ed, "art portfolios promotes learning through reflection and self-assessment, encourages student-teacher collaborations, validates different learning styles and approaches and encourages the research, resolution, and communication of ideas."

Art journals can help in many of the same way that portfolios do. They allow students to reflect on the art assignment given. Journals can be in the form of writings about the artwork or a sketchbook. I think the most important way that journals can help the teacher assess the work of a student is by allowing the student a place to express the intention of the artwork they created. A teacher can better learn what the student is trying to say with the artwork by reading the student's intentions in a journal. Teachers can also see if the child understood and followed the objectives of the assignment that was given. Journals can be used in art, as well as subjects other than art, to help the teacher understand the thinking of a student. This will help the teacher to know what areas that student needs help in and will help them assess the work completed by the student.

Group critiques or discussions can help the students be able to express verbally what it is that they were trying to express in the artwork. This also allow the teacher know whether the students understood the process and objectives that they set for the students to follow. This will help the teacher also understand whether or not the students learned the strategies and the lesson that was intended to be taught and whether or not the method the teacher used to teach the lesson was successful or needs to be revised. Group discussions also help the students learn what they can do to make improvements to their work. Also critiquing other works can help students to learn the principles that the teacher wants them to apply in their works. By showing them examples of ways to accomplish the objectives, students can apply what they have learned to better follow the objectives set out for them. Group discussion can help in other subjects as well. This will help them to understand and follow the guidelines of assignments better, not just art assignments. This also opens communication between the teacher and student so that the student is more comfortable asking questions and allows the teacher to learn the best way to teach each student, which, in my opinion, allows for better learning.

References

1. Clements, R. D., & Wachowiak, F. (2009). Emphasis Art (9th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

2. Utoronto. (1997). Assessment in the visual arts. Retrieved from http://home.oise.utoronto.ca/~hinwood/art_assessment.htm

3. Assessment in Art, Chpt. 2 by Dr. Donna Kay Beattie