Assessment in Art

            As future teachers, it’s important to emphasize assessment because, when used properly, it leads to growth. Nobody paints like Rembrandt the first time they pick up a brush. It takes time to get really good at something and assessment is part of that. Whether it’s through self-assessment or peer critiques, you need to find your weaknesses before you can eliminate them.

            So how do you know what your students have learned from assessment? I think that the most obvious indicator is through their work. If you give them suggestions on things to change and they make these changes in later projects without compromising their vision, they have learned from it. I also think that the student’s ability to articulate these problems and possible solutions back to the teacher is another huge indicator. Granted, some students are much better at articulating than others, but it’s a skill important to assessment that we should also address to our students.

            But in the end (at least with art), I think success is mainly based on the students’ understanding of their assessments and satisfaction of their own, finished work. Not everyone has the same skill level in any given art class, and therefore, not everyone’s finished work will be of the same quality, even if flaws have been addressed and corrected. The individual is usually the best judge of what he or she can accomplish. And besides, it’s the students’ work, not mine. If they understand a criticism and its solutions and are still adamant about not making changes, I’ll probably let them do what they want. It shows that they’re more concerned with their work than their grade … or they’re just being lazy. But as a teacher, you can usually tell whether or not your students are trying anyway, so if they are trying, why not give them the opportunity to explore their ideas? I understand that certain fundamentals need to be taught, but if you know they understand them, let them explore. It’s an art classroom.

            As far as feedback between my students and myself is concerned, I think there should be a lot of it, and I think it should be well thought-out. Communication is very important for both parties to understand what the other is thinking. It gives me a better sense of how my students view art, and it gives my students a better understanding of what I expect from them. I also think it’s very important for me to see the students’ pieces and for them to see each other’s pieces while they are works-in-progress. I’ve always felt that critiques are next-to-useless if it’s the first time those critiquing have seen the work, and they only have a few moments to give their response. Sometimes you need to spend a little time with a piece of art to really know how you feel about it. It’s not always instantaneous. If the students get a feel for a piece before they have to critique it, they’ll give denser responses, which makes for a better assessment.