Explanation of Assessment Grading Criteria & Scoring
The PSD School District enforces an important assessment tool to measure the 4 levels of accomplishment (Standards: Comprehend, Reflect, Transfer & Create), which they refer to as the PSD Growth Assessment for Elementary Art. This assessment is organized to evaluate students at a Pre and Post level, in which it will then reflect their growth in Art over the course of the semester.
The assessment is used to measure students’ learning on a basis of: Plan, Create, and Reflect. Within Plan, the district measures how students formulate their ideation process, ability and sufficiency in documenting and exploring materials, and communication/expression of intended meaning. Within Create, the assessment measures the students engagement and perseverance in the creative process and how they demonstrate sophisticated use of materials. Lastly, within Reflect, the assessment evaluates how a student reflects and creates connections with works of art, including their use of artistic vocabulary.
Regarding scoring and determining each students’ stance (within Plan, Create, and Reflect) and level of growth, my teaching partner and I used a sort of ranking method (pre and post semester) for each category on a scale of 1 to 4 each. In determining these scores, we examined their work/art-making/creativity, their ideation/problem-solving and their ability to reflect on art and ability to implement art vocabulary as a guide to determining their scores.
(Further below you can view how each student individually scored (pre & post) and how their work reflected their growth.)
The PSD School District enforces an important assessment tool to measure the 4 levels of accomplishment (Standards: Comprehend, Reflect, Transfer & Create), which they refer to as the PSD Growth Assessment for Elementary Art. This assessment is organized to evaluate students at a Pre and Post level, in which it will then reflect their growth in Art over the course of the semester.
The assessment is used to measure students’ learning on a basis of: Plan, Create, and Reflect. Within Plan, the district measures how students formulate their ideation process, ability and sufficiency in documenting and exploring materials, and communication/expression of intended meaning. Within Create, the assessment measures the students engagement and perseverance in the creative process and how they demonstrate sophisticated use of materials. Lastly, within Reflect, the assessment evaluates how a student reflects and creates connections with works of art, including their use of artistic vocabulary.
Regarding scoring and determining each students’ stance (within Plan, Create, and Reflect) and level of growth, my teaching partner and I used a sort of ranking method (pre and post semester) for each category on a scale of 1 to 4 each. In determining these scores, we examined their work/art-making/creativity, their ideation/problem-solving and their ability to reflect on art and ability to implement art vocabulary as a guide to determining their scores.
(Further below you can view how each student individually scored (pre & post) and how their work reflected their growth.)
Qualification of Terms:
Within the assessment itself are four terms for “scoring criteria” that are important to understand: Advanced, Proficient, Partially Proficient, and In Progress.
Graph A: Individual Student Growth
Within the assessment itself are four terms for “scoring criteria” that are important to understand: Advanced, Proficient, Partially Proficient, and In Progress.
- For the Advanced sector of the rubric, students have exceeded expectations by provided exquisite planning & ideation (clearly formulating ideas, clearly communicating/expressing intended meaning), extensive creation & exploration (proving great independent perseverance and high level effort), and exceptional reflection & connection (thoroughly analyzing and communicating connections with works.)
- For the Proficient sector of the rubric, students have provided great planning & ideation, worked hard in creation and exploration, and provided great reflection and connection to works of art.
- For the Partially Proficient sector of the rubric, students have sometimes documented/somewhat explored and experimented with materials in planning and ideation, shown some levels of engagement in creation and exploration, and began to analyze and connect in reflection and connection.
- For the In Progress sector of the rubric, students have attempted to document and formulate ideas in planning and ideation, they have shown minimal engagement in creation and exploration of materials, and attempted to communicate and connect in reflection and connection.
Graph A: Individual Student Growth
- This graph identifies each individual students’ pre/post Growth assessment scores. The blue signifies their pre score, and the red signifies their post score.
Graph B: Comparison Growth (4th Grade vs. 5th Grade)
- This graph compares the pre and post assessment growth scores of 4th versus 5th grade students. Both grades had an equal number of students. Blue- 4th Graders, Red- 5th Graders.
Discussion of Pre and Post-Assessment Results:
Individual Student Results:
Below are descriptions of how each student progressed throughout the unit and how their work reflects their growth and dedication .
Below each description, are two example work images of that student, the first image is a beginning of unit work, the second image is an end of unit/more advanced work. (numbering is aligned with Setting & Context/ Graph A students)
Student 1– At the beginning of the semester, this student reflected a high intelligence in talking about art and an extreme interest in various art mediums and techniques. However, her work had not communicated the more abstract ideas and connections she was trying to implement. As our unit focused on self discovery and the importance of all types of symbolism in art, her symbolic references were more like drawings of things she liked (such as animals) rather than symbols of more abstract feelings and emotions she has with things such as animals. As she focused on her interest in animals, her work progressed by using materials and more intricate strategies to create more unique and personal imagery of this interest.
Student 2– Ever since the first day of class, this student always walked into the classroom with a excitement to create and learn anything she could about art and new art materials. Her work in the beginning stages were similar to Student 1’s work of creating quick sketches of ideal symbols of things she liked (for example- her interest in animals and nature were quick drawings of easily identifiable animals.) As she began to explore with materials and mixed media techniques, she was beginning to find how materials and textures could infuse her interest with nature/animals and the details that draw her in.
Student 3– This student was the only student who did not reflect growth after assessment (PSD Growth Assessment.) From the beginning of the unit, I could tell he was artistically intelligent with a great prior knowledge of various mediums, materials, and techniques. He was very good at talking about art and dissecting details. However, this student received a lower post assessment score due to not necessarily reflecting a change or push in his work from the beginning of the unit to the end. His ideas were all very similar in his approaches to each project and there were times when we tried to challenge him a little bit harder, but he seemed to stay in a sort of comfort zone within his artwork.
Student 4- This student reflected an intense growth throughout the unit. His ideas had always been very strong and unique, but with each project, he challenged himself more and more to communicate exactly what he was wanting to in a unique way. During a day of material exploration, I saw him take the most amount of risks out of all the students, mixing/blending various materials and mediums, activating all areas of the space, and taking time in deciding how to compositionally arrange imagery and other materials in his artwork.
Student 5- I have seen a very immense jump in her work throughout the course of the unit. Alike to Students 1 & 2, her imagery had a very basic quality in imagery and symbolism. As we progressed through the projects she routed in a direction that focused on “theme” very detailed-like. Using nature as her theme, she explored materials, patterns, imagery, color, composition, etc. that all applied to “nature,” and her specific experience within nature.
Student 6– This student showed advancement in taking risks with new materials, especially towards the last project (found object sculpture.) Towards the beginning days she made it known that she had an interest in cats and the imagery and colors she was working with was very repetitive. However, in the final two projects she took risks in using different materials to achieve a similar image she had in mind, but the way she combined materials became very unique and interesting.
Student 7– I have seen some progress in this students’ work, especially in the final found object project. She was someone that my teaching partner and I had to remind to keep at work and push her ideas a little farther. When we began working in a three-dimensional form she wanted to combine her interest for the world of animals in creating a hybrid animal, that touched on all the qualities that she loved about specific animals. She went from creating basic drawings of animals to creating an animal that was never seen before using materials that were often unrecognizable, keeping the viewer engaged in the entire work.
Student 8– This student advanced very much in ideation- planning an artwork, problem-solving constructional issues, and taking the time to achieve the work she had envisioned. In the beginning she expressed her interest in creating “random” drawings, where she would just play with materials and create abstract imagery quickly. Of course, this method was extremely interesting, but the jump from working quickly without really taking into consideration why she was doing the things she was doing with materials turned into finding more specific and time-consuming ways to create very intricate works. She would succeed with each piece and then start creating something with a similar approach but add more and more of a challenge each time.
Student 9– This student had an extreme jump in motivating himself and creating unique work. In the beginning, he was very frustrated with his drawings/sketches, since he wanted them to look exactly like characters and things that already exist (superheroes, sports gear, Spiderman, etc). During the day of exploring materials, he made interesting discoveries with different materials like glue and found objects and started to construct building-like structures. Each time he would work with a material, he would use the same material in a different piece with a new technique or idea in mind. This allowed for his work to have a recurring material interest, but in various explorations.
Student 10– This student started class with communicating and combining her interests in a very segmented/disconnected way in her drawings. For instance, she drew a horse eating candy because she rides horse and she loves candy. As she started to explore more with materials and found objects, she started creating artwork that abstractly referred to her personality traits. For instance, she created a stage-like mixed media piece to express her animated, sociable and outgoing personality. By adding a whole behind the curtains of this stage-like addition, it allowed for her to realize that she could then become a performative aspect of the work.
Student 11– This student has been the most quiet and reserved student, but always hard at work. As the unit progressed, and as he got to know us more and more, he started to open up with what thoughts and ideas were running through his head to create the interesting and unique work. In this, he became one of the most precise and reflective workers. He would reflect on his process and connect his use of materials with why and how they relate to the piece. His art started to have a very distinct and recognizable style, but each work done in a different manner.
Student 12– This student went from (like Student 1) drawing and making things he likes and things that already exist, like his interest in video games and technology. He advanced immensely by exploring with materials and techniques that referenced back to his interest in gaming and technology to create work that carried on the theme, as well as imply personal narratives to each piece. For instance, his mixed media collage was assembled using different art mediums and other references to create a technological theme, but he applied materials in a map-like manner to create a readable, unique story.
Student 13– This student progressed immensely, and also taught me a lot about the term “differentiation” (so, he became very important in his own learning as well as in my own.) The first few times of class he was completely unmotivated and refused to work on the project because they sounded “dumb.” I learned the term “differentiation,” which means applying different situations to students who need a different approach to get motivated and engaged. After finding new ways of communicating the same project, but in a way that interested him, allowed for him to skyrocket into his own exploration in creating a personal style artwork. Alike to Student 12, he was very interested in technology and very mechanical things, in which he carried this interest throughout all of his work. However, he transformed traditional materials (like paint, markers, and drawing) to translate into technological imagery.
Student 14– At the very beginning of the semester, she would create drawings of things like pizza, rainbows, and animals because she thought they were “pretty,” “cool,” or “cute.” With her way of describing these interests, she challenged herself by recreating these interests by using materials to translate into the descriptive words. She would then use objects such as cotton to translate as “soft” qualities in the sky and splatter paint to express rainfall. Process and metaphors became her central focuses that she acquired to create unique and abstract imagery/art. The way she applied materials such as paint by splashing techniques reflected the metaphors she made of things she likes and how they acted.
Student 15– This student started with a very high pre-assessment score, as he already had a strong prior knowledge of materials and the language of art. However, he pushed himself into applying this artist vocabulary and experimentation with materials into the content of his work. For instance, he had an interest in creating a found object creature with funny qualities to represent his happiness. He started to think about how meaning could work behind materials, like how paint colors could imply certain emotions and feelings in an artwork.
Student 16– At the beginning, alike to many students, this student would create basic/recognizable art based off his interests in nature. Then, he became really interested in experimenting with new approaches and making new discoveries, some often accidental. For instance, one day he made the accidental discovery of what effect he would achieve if he put duct tape onto a scratchboard and peel it away. Accidental discoveries, such as these, would lead to experimenting with that same discovery to different things using slightly different materials and approaches. He pushed himself away from creating drawings that already exist, and using materials that are obvious (such as leaves to symbolize nature) and use these unique findings to create textures and affects applicable to his ideas of depicting certain things, such as nature.
Student 17– This student walked into the classroom always excited to make art and play with materials. At the beginning, he had very interesting constructional ideas in his head, however, would attempt to have me or Taylor do the actual work for him (glue, tape, hold things, etc). We needed to challenge him to try things for himself and find ways he could put things together most efficiently and with what tools. From that point and that challenge, he would then use his experience and apply it to new artwork with more confidence and take risks in trying new approaches. He was very interested in combining materials in unique ways to create unique sculptural forms, compared to simple drawings that he started off with in the beginning.
Student 18– This student has always had an excited to work and help others mentality. She grew very much in asking Taylor or I for our opinions or confront us with new things she was trying and if they would work. This comfort in talking to us, others, and helping others gave her a confidence to take chances and start a communication within herself in the decision-making process of art. Towards the end, I would be asking the questions of why she was doing things and how she wrapped her mind around these ideas.
Strengths & Weaknesses of Assessment Plan:
Strengths & Weakness of Assessment Throughout the Unit of Self Discovery:
As routine became a strong instructional/management aspect of our classroom, classroom discussion and presentations during the beginning of class were great cues of verbally discussing what we, as teachers, were expecting of students. With this, we were able to assess whether or not students were understanding and/or were comfortable enough to open up to classroom discussion. During discussion, many times students would rehearse inaccurate information, which in the end, was beneficial for us to redirect those who were not understanding correctly. Discussion was often a weak form of assessment for those who did not willingly participate in the discussion, making it difficult for us to examine if all students were truly understanding.
Vocabulary understanding became a very strong assessment aspect to our classroom through the use of reflective activities. Two vocabulary based reflective activities that served as very strong assessment instruments were, “The Mad Scientist” worksheet and the “Best Words” Activity/Critique. The “Mad Scientist” Activity provided three written steps; the first had students identify symbols they used (an assessment tool for understanding symbolism in Lesson 1&2), the second step required students to translate these symbols into potential found objects (a pre-assessment tool for understanding “found objects”), and the last step required students to rearrange the found objects into a “creature” (a pre-assessment tool for understanding three-dimensional form and post-assessment tool for planning an artwork.) The “Best Words” Activity also assessed students vocabulary understanding by having students label certain works with the “best words” to describe each work. This was a great way to see if students were capable of “reading” a work visually and transfer its’ visual representations back into a more literal sense. The main importance of these two strong assessment instruments is that they implemented high engagement and excitement for students, without students realizing that they were being assessed.
The lack of a concrete quiz for each individual student was a weakness to our assessment plan. At one point in the semester, my teaching partner provided a group vocabulary quiz, which seemed to work out very well. However, this was difficult to assess each student’s individual understanding of the terms we were presenting in the quiz. Although I strongly believe individual quizzes are not successful assessment tools for each student, it is difficult to assess each student’s individual understanding without a hard copy form of documentation.
Strengths & Weaknesses of PSD Growth Assessment:
In my personal opinion, I believe the PSD Growth Assessment is very successful in analyzing students’ pre and post unit effort and work. The idea of rating students within the three categories of Planning & Ideation, Creation & Exploration, and Connection & Reflection is extremely relatable to what the standards aim to achieve within each grade level. It is extremely beneficial to students that the assessment is based around if students qualify as advanced, proficient, partially proficient, and in progress; rather than assessing and determining a student’s work by grades for each project. This assessment does a great job of identifying and assessing each student’s work ethic and learning from beginning to end in each category.
However, one area that I believe is very weak is that each student comes into the classroom with different levels of prior knowledge and advancement. The assessment makes it unfair to those who have more experience to those who have more experience and prior knowledge of subjects/concepts being taught, than to those with less experience and prior knowledge. It is unfair because it then makes it more challenging for these students to have proven overall growth.
- Graph A: According to the results of Graph A, advancement and artistic success are extremely evident in almost each individual student. All but one student has proven to have grown between their pre and post assessment scores, which considers their stance at the beginning of the semester versus the end of the semester. To justify for the one student who did not reflect growth during the unit, they received one less point on their post score than they had received for their pre score, resulting in a decline. However, this student had a high pre score of a 9, in which the decline does not reflect the students’ overall high performance level and hard work, it only reflects that the student had not seemed to artistically advance from their positioning in the beginning to the semester. No other students received declining or equal scores.
- Graph B: This graph signifies the average growth comparison between the 4th and 5th grade level students, in regards to their pre and post-assessment results. According to the graph, the difference in growth within the 4th grade level was slightly (almost barely) higher than that of the 5th grade level. Although 4th and 5th graders appeared to have grown similarly during the course of the unit, it is apparent that, on average, 5th grade students scored higher scores than 4th grade level students. Regardless the difference in higher versus lower level scores, both grades appeared to have each grown similarly from the beginning of the semester to the end.
Individual Student Results:
Below are descriptions of how each student progressed throughout the unit and how their work reflects their growth and dedication .
Below each description, are two example work images of that student, the first image is a beginning of unit work, the second image is an end of unit/more advanced work. (numbering is aligned with Setting & Context/ Graph A students)
Student 1– At the beginning of the semester, this student reflected a high intelligence in talking about art and an extreme interest in various art mediums and techniques. However, her work had not communicated the more abstract ideas and connections she was trying to implement. As our unit focused on self discovery and the importance of all types of symbolism in art, her symbolic references were more like drawings of things she liked (such as animals) rather than symbols of more abstract feelings and emotions she has with things such as animals. As she focused on her interest in animals, her work progressed by using materials and more intricate strategies to create more unique and personal imagery of this interest.
Student 2– Ever since the first day of class, this student always walked into the classroom with a excitement to create and learn anything she could about art and new art materials. Her work in the beginning stages were similar to Student 1’s work of creating quick sketches of ideal symbols of things she liked (for example- her interest in animals and nature were quick drawings of easily identifiable animals.) As she began to explore with materials and mixed media techniques, she was beginning to find how materials and textures could infuse her interest with nature/animals and the details that draw her in.
Student 3– This student was the only student who did not reflect growth after assessment (PSD Growth Assessment.) From the beginning of the unit, I could tell he was artistically intelligent with a great prior knowledge of various mediums, materials, and techniques. He was very good at talking about art and dissecting details. However, this student received a lower post assessment score due to not necessarily reflecting a change or push in his work from the beginning of the unit to the end. His ideas were all very similar in his approaches to each project and there were times when we tried to challenge him a little bit harder, but he seemed to stay in a sort of comfort zone within his artwork.
Student 4- This student reflected an intense growth throughout the unit. His ideas had always been very strong and unique, but with each project, he challenged himself more and more to communicate exactly what he was wanting to in a unique way. During a day of material exploration, I saw him take the most amount of risks out of all the students, mixing/blending various materials and mediums, activating all areas of the space, and taking time in deciding how to compositionally arrange imagery and other materials in his artwork.
Student 5- I have seen a very immense jump in her work throughout the course of the unit. Alike to Students 1 & 2, her imagery had a very basic quality in imagery and symbolism. As we progressed through the projects she routed in a direction that focused on “theme” very detailed-like. Using nature as her theme, she explored materials, patterns, imagery, color, composition, etc. that all applied to “nature,” and her specific experience within nature.
Student 6– This student showed advancement in taking risks with new materials, especially towards the last project (found object sculpture.) Towards the beginning days she made it known that she had an interest in cats and the imagery and colors she was working with was very repetitive. However, in the final two projects she took risks in using different materials to achieve a similar image she had in mind, but the way she combined materials became very unique and interesting.
Student 7– I have seen some progress in this students’ work, especially in the final found object project. She was someone that my teaching partner and I had to remind to keep at work and push her ideas a little farther. When we began working in a three-dimensional form she wanted to combine her interest for the world of animals in creating a hybrid animal, that touched on all the qualities that she loved about specific animals. She went from creating basic drawings of animals to creating an animal that was never seen before using materials that were often unrecognizable, keeping the viewer engaged in the entire work.
Student 8– This student advanced very much in ideation- planning an artwork, problem-solving constructional issues, and taking the time to achieve the work she had envisioned. In the beginning she expressed her interest in creating “random” drawings, where she would just play with materials and create abstract imagery quickly. Of course, this method was extremely interesting, but the jump from working quickly without really taking into consideration why she was doing the things she was doing with materials turned into finding more specific and time-consuming ways to create very intricate works. She would succeed with each piece and then start creating something with a similar approach but add more and more of a challenge each time.
Student 9– This student had an extreme jump in motivating himself and creating unique work. In the beginning, he was very frustrated with his drawings/sketches, since he wanted them to look exactly like characters and things that already exist (superheroes, sports gear, Spiderman, etc). During the day of exploring materials, he made interesting discoveries with different materials like glue and found objects and started to construct building-like structures. Each time he would work with a material, he would use the same material in a different piece with a new technique or idea in mind. This allowed for his work to have a recurring material interest, but in various explorations.
Student 10– This student started class with communicating and combining her interests in a very segmented/disconnected way in her drawings. For instance, she drew a horse eating candy because she rides horse and she loves candy. As she started to explore more with materials and found objects, she started creating artwork that abstractly referred to her personality traits. For instance, she created a stage-like mixed media piece to express her animated, sociable and outgoing personality. By adding a whole behind the curtains of this stage-like addition, it allowed for her to realize that she could then become a performative aspect of the work.
Student 11– This student has been the most quiet and reserved student, but always hard at work. As the unit progressed, and as he got to know us more and more, he started to open up with what thoughts and ideas were running through his head to create the interesting and unique work. In this, he became one of the most precise and reflective workers. He would reflect on his process and connect his use of materials with why and how they relate to the piece. His art started to have a very distinct and recognizable style, but each work done in a different manner.
Student 12– This student went from (like Student 1) drawing and making things he likes and things that already exist, like his interest in video games and technology. He advanced immensely by exploring with materials and techniques that referenced back to his interest in gaming and technology to create work that carried on the theme, as well as imply personal narratives to each piece. For instance, his mixed media collage was assembled using different art mediums and other references to create a technological theme, but he applied materials in a map-like manner to create a readable, unique story.
Student 13– This student progressed immensely, and also taught me a lot about the term “differentiation” (so, he became very important in his own learning as well as in my own.) The first few times of class he was completely unmotivated and refused to work on the project because they sounded “dumb.” I learned the term “differentiation,” which means applying different situations to students who need a different approach to get motivated and engaged. After finding new ways of communicating the same project, but in a way that interested him, allowed for him to skyrocket into his own exploration in creating a personal style artwork. Alike to Student 12, he was very interested in technology and very mechanical things, in which he carried this interest throughout all of his work. However, he transformed traditional materials (like paint, markers, and drawing) to translate into technological imagery.
Student 14– At the very beginning of the semester, she would create drawings of things like pizza, rainbows, and animals because she thought they were “pretty,” “cool,” or “cute.” With her way of describing these interests, she challenged herself by recreating these interests by using materials to translate into the descriptive words. She would then use objects such as cotton to translate as “soft” qualities in the sky and splatter paint to express rainfall. Process and metaphors became her central focuses that she acquired to create unique and abstract imagery/art. The way she applied materials such as paint by splashing techniques reflected the metaphors she made of things she likes and how they acted.
Student 15– This student started with a very high pre-assessment score, as he already had a strong prior knowledge of materials and the language of art. However, he pushed himself into applying this artist vocabulary and experimentation with materials into the content of his work. For instance, he had an interest in creating a found object creature with funny qualities to represent his happiness. He started to think about how meaning could work behind materials, like how paint colors could imply certain emotions and feelings in an artwork.
Student 16– At the beginning, alike to many students, this student would create basic/recognizable art based off his interests in nature. Then, he became really interested in experimenting with new approaches and making new discoveries, some often accidental. For instance, one day he made the accidental discovery of what effect he would achieve if he put duct tape onto a scratchboard and peel it away. Accidental discoveries, such as these, would lead to experimenting with that same discovery to different things using slightly different materials and approaches. He pushed himself away from creating drawings that already exist, and using materials that are obvious (such as leaves to symbolize nature) and use these unique findings to create textures and affects applicable to his ideas of depicting certain things, such as nature.
Student 17– This student walked into the classroom always excited to make art and play with materials. At the beginning, he had very interesting constructional ideas in his head, however, would attempt to have me or Taylor do the actual work for him (glue, tape, hold things, etc). We needed to challenge him to try things for himself and find ways he could put things together most efficiently and with what tools. From that point and that challenge, he would then use his experience and apply it to new artwork with more confidence and take risks in trying new approaches. He was very interested in combining materials in unique ways to create unique sculptural forms, compared to simple drawings that he started off with in the beginning.
Student 18– This student has always had an excited to work and help others mentality. She grew very much in asking Taylor or I for our opinions or confront us with new things she was trying and if they would work. This comfort in talking to us, others, and helping others gave her a confidence to take chances and start a communication within herself in the decision-making process of art. Towards the end, I would be asking the questions of why she was doing things and how she wrapped her mind around these ideas.
Strengths & Weaknesses of Assessment Plan:
Strengths & Weakness of Assessment Throughout the Unit of Self Discovery:
As routine became a strong instructional/management aspect of our classroom, classroom discussion and presentations during the beginning of class were great cues of verbally discussing what we, as teachers, were expecting of students. With this, we were able to assess whether or not students were understanding and/or were comfortable enough to open up to classroom discussion. During discussion, many times students would rehearse inaccurate information, which in the end, was beneficial for us to redirect those who were not understanding correctly. Discussion was often a weak form of assessment for those who did not willingly participate in the discussion, making it difficult for us to examine if all students were truly understanding.
Vocabulary understanding became a very strong assessment aspect to our classroom through the use of reflective activities. Two vocabulary based reflective activities that served as very strong assessment instruments were, “The Mad Scientist” worksheet and the “Best Words” Activity/Critique. The “Mad Scientist” Activity provided three written steps; the first had students identify symbols they used (an assessment tool for understanding symbolism in Lesson 1&2), the second step required students to translate these symbols into potential found objects (a pre-assessment tool for understanding “found objects”), and the last step required students to rearrange the found objects into a “creature” (a pre-assessment tool for understanding three-dimensional form and post-assessment tool for planning an artwork.) The “Best Words” Activity also assessed students vocabulary understanding by having students label certain works with the “best words” to describe each work. This was a great way to see if students were capable of “reading” a work visually and transfer its’ visual representations back into a more literal sense. The main importance of these two strong assessment instruments is that they implemented high engagement and excitement for students, without students realizing that they were being assessed.
The lack of a concrete quiz for each individual student was a weakness to our assessment plan. At one point in the semester, my teaching partner provided a group vocabulary quiz, which seemed to work out very well. However, this was difficult to assess each student’s individual understanding of the terms we were presenting in the quiz. Although I strongly believe individual quizzes are not successful assessment tools for each student, it is difficult to assess each student’s individual understanding without a hard copy form of documentation.
Strengths & Weaknesses of PSD Growth Assessment:
In my personal opinion, I believe the PSD Growth Assessment is very successful in analyzing students’ pre and post unit effort and work. The idea of rating students within the three categories of Planning & Ideation, Creation & Exploration, and Connection & Reflection is extremely relatable to what the standards aim to achieve within each grade level. It is extremely beneficial to students that the assessment is based around if students qualify as advanced, proficient, partially proficient, and in progress; rather than assessing and determining a student’s work by grades for each project. This assessment does a great job of identifying and assessing each student’s work ethic and learning from beginning to end in each category.
However, one area that I believe is very weak is that each student comes into the classroom with different levels of prior knowledge and advancement. The assessment makes it unfair to those who have more experience to those who have more experience and prior knowledge of subjects/concepts being taught, than to those with less experience and prior knowledge. It is unfair because it then makes it more challenging for these students to have proven overall growth.