Summative Assessment
What is Summative Assessment and why is it important?
The issue of assessment in art education will always be controversial due to the inevitably subjective nature of art. However, assessment is an integral and essential element of teaching and learning as it provides information about student learning that can help to shape further teaching and learning in a variety of ways (Robinson, 2008).
Summative assessment plays a critical role in art education and can be defined as an assessment of student learning that occurs at the end of some period of instruction and is used to determine proof of learning (Gareis & Grant, 2015).
Types of Summative Assessment:
Performance Assessment:
In art education, performance assessment is a commonly used method to determine what students have learned. Performance assessment can be defined as “a measure of assessment based on authentic tasks such as activities, exercises, or problems that require students to show what they can do” (Robinson, 2008, p.22). Authentic assessment allows students’ progress and achievements to be measured against their past achievements, rather than against traditional standardized norms or criteria (Zimmerman, 1992). When assessing students through this method, a rubric, checklist, or other form of scoring guide should accompany this type of assessment (DeLuca, 2010).
Types of Performance Assessment:
Importance of Rubrics:
Rubrics and checklists are valuable and effective tools for summative assessment. They allow the teacher to set out the criteria before the task is given to students, thereby allowing students to know what is expected of them. While they are useful, rubrics can be challenging to create. The key to an effective rubric or checklist is to ensure all of the necessary and appropriate criteria are included, and sufficient distinction is made between different levels of performance (i.e. beginner to advanced) (Zimmerman, 2010).
Sample Assessment Techniques and Rubrics:
https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspxsrc=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fulton.k12.ga.us%2FDEPT%2
Fcurriculum%2FArt%2Fdocuments%2FPerformanceAssessment-Rubrics.doc
http://kms.kapalama.ksbe.edu/art/rubrics.html
http://kms.kapalama.ksbe.edu/art/rubrics.html
gov/ciai/arts/pub/artsampvisual.pdf
http://www.incredibleart.org/files/Rubric.htm
References
DeLuca, C. (2010). The capacity of assessment in arts education. Encounters on Education, 11,
3-12. Retrieved from http://library.queensu.ca/ojs/index.php/encounters/ article/view /25 26/3157
Gareis, C.R. & Grant, L.W. (2015). Teacher-made Assessments: How to connect curriculum,
instruction, and student learning. (2nd Ed). New York: Routledge.
Robinson, S. (2008). Promising practices and core learnings in arts education: literature review
of K-12fine arts programs. Retrieved from http://education.alberta.ca/media /900551/ promising.pdf
Zimmerman, E. (1992). Assessing students’ progress and achievements in art. National Art
Education Association, 45(6), 14-24. doi: 142.66.3.42
The issue of assessment in art education will always be controversial due to the inevitably subjective nature of art. However, assessment is an integral and essential element of teaching and learning as it provides information about student learning that can help to shape further teaching and learning in a variety of ways (Robinson, 2008).
Summative assessment plays a critical role in art education and can be defined as an assessment of student learning that occurs at the end of some period of instruction and is used to determine proof of learning (Gareis & Grant, 2015).
Types of Summative Assessment:
- Performance Task
- Written Product
- Oral product
- Standardized Test
Performance Assessment:
In art education, performance assessment is a commonly used method to determine what students have learned. Performance assessment can be defined as “a measure of assessment based on authentic tasks such as activities, exercises, or problems that require students to show what they can do” (Robinson, 2008, p.22). Authentic assessment allows students’ progress and achievements to be measured against their past achievements, rather than against traditional standardized norms or criteria (Zimmerman, 1992). When assessing students through this method, a rubric, checklist, or other form of scoring guide should accompany this type of assessment (DeLuca, 2010).
Types of Performance Assessment:
- Exhibitions of student work
- Portfolios of student work
- Profiles of student behaviour
- Student reflective journals
- Student interviews and questionnaires
- Samples of student writing
- Teach-back methods
- Video tapes of student behaviours
- Immediate retrospective verbal reports
Importance of Rubrics:
Rubrics and checklists are valuable and effective tools for summative assessment. They allow the teacher to set out the criteria before the task is given to students, thereby allowing students to know what is expected of them. While they are useful, rubrics can be challenging to create. The key to an effective rubric or checklist is to ensure all of the necessary and appropriate criteria are included, and sufficient distinction is made between different levels of performance (i.e. beginner to advanced) (Zimmerman, 2010).
Sample Assessment Techniques and Rubrics:
https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspxsrc=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fulton.k12.ga.us%2FDEPT%2
Fcurriculum%2FArt%2Fdocuments%2FPerformanceAssessment-Rubrics.doc
http://kms.kapalama.ksbe.edu/art/rubrics.html
http://kms.kapalama.ksbe.edu/art/rubrics.html
gov/ciai/arts/pub/artsampvisual.pdf
http://www.incredibleart.org/files/Rubric.htm
References
DeLuca, C. (2010). The capacity of assessment in arts education. Encounters on Education, 11,
3-12. Retrieved from http://library.queensu.ca/ojs/index.php/encounters/ article/view /25 26/3157
Gareis, C.R. & Grant, L.W. (2015). Teacher-made Assessments: How to connect curriculum,
instruction, and student learning. (2nd Ed). New York: Routledge.
Robinson, S. (2008). Promising practices and core learnings in arts education: literature review
of K-12fine arts programs. Retrieved from http://education.alberta.ca/media /900551/ promising.pdf
Zimmerman, E. (1992). Assessing students’ progress and achievements in art. National Art
Education Association, 45(6), 14-24. doi: 142.66.3.42