So how can you grade an art project fairly if you know that there are some students who are just not that artistic? They may understand what they are supposed to do and understand what the project is supposed to teach them; however, they are simply not able to complete the activity as well as other students because they are just not artistically inclined. How do you grade their projects if you know they have this disadvantage? You can’t mark students off just because they aren’t artistic.
In performance assessment, students must create a project of some sort in order to demonstrate what they have learned. In other forms of assessment, students will be graded based on their progress or they will be tested on their knowledge of something (via an exam, for example). You are still being tested on your knowledge in performance assessment; however, the way in which you demonstrate your knowledge is different. In my content area (elementary school French), I could have the students create a project or a timeline of important events that have happened in France’s history. Or perhaps we are studying famous French figures. In this case, the students can dress up and act out the role of an assigned figure. They would demonstrate their knowledge of the figure by pretending to be that person and reciting important information to the class about their famous person. I would know if they learned information about the figure based on how accurately their performance and speech reflect the important information about that person (if that makes sense). I could provide a rubric or questions for the students to answer while coming up with a speech for that person. The questions would include: Who are you? Where were you born? Tell us about your childhood/family. Why are you important? What did you accomplish? Etc. This oral presentation would test them require the students to verbalize their knowledge and they would also have to work on their oral communication skills. Depending on the grade level, the students may have to present in French, which would test them on their ability to understand and speak French. I could also have the students work in groups to write and act out simple skits that use the vocabulary terms and grammar that the students have learned in the class. This would test them on their ability to write and perform (speak) in French. They would also learn to work in groups to accomplish a task. The timeline would test the students on their reading, writing, and speaking abilities, as well as their ability to research information and present it in a neat fashion.
I think that in art class everything should be based off of effort. Not every student is going to excel in the content area but a teacher can tell if a student put effort into their project. It always made me feel better when an art teacher would just tell me to do the best I can. I was never a great artist but my confidence seemed to boost a little when my teacher reassured me that my best effort was all he or she was asking for.
ReplyDeleteAs long as the student is showing improvement and they are putting their best effort into the project, then that is all you can ask for. A lot of the studio classes here at IU grade based on how well the project is done artistically. That makes sense because most the people that take these classes has a major that has to do with art. But still it pisses me off when I put a lot of effort into my project and it does't turn out conceptually as good as someone who put hardly any effort into it all. This is something you have to avoid in elementary and high school art classes because if you grade on ability, then some students may feel like they have no chance at all at getting a good grade.
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