#4 Assessment

This week I focused on chapter 1, 3, and 7 from the book Assessment in Art Education. The main principle of my readings were tests.  Since I have already have the privilege to see Michelle Livek's one page portfolio, and honestly I am in love with it and will try to implement it in my unit plan, I will just primary focus on the aspects of tests and how I would implement them in my unit plan.

Along with the one page portfolio for artwork during a unit plan test would also be used.  They would primarily be used at the end of the lesson to cover shown art work, key concepts, and any other aspect of the lesson that couldn't be covered in the one page portfolio. I am personally a fan of open-ended assessment techniques because I want to find out what my students know not just what they can memorize.  The first aspect was color coding instances giving students a way to identify concepts or ideas and then ask them a follow up question of what they identified. What drew me to it was it asks them to identify (think critically) and then ask a follow up question (more critical thinking with justification). Its also a type of question that I think most students can easily understand/preform the format while also helping themselves gradually build up to a high quality and revealing answer. The second testing aspect that drew me in was visual identification.  As the book states its something that most educators use to asses a students knowledge on art history.  Though the book used a different method I am actually drawn to format of the way I was assessed during my college career.  When it came to slide ID's I had to know the standard title, date, artist, location, etc. However a certain amount of points was also based on WHY the work was important.  This was huge for me because it allowed me to connect with the piece while also having to think "why is this actually in this book? Should it be?" This opened another door of critical thinking during my tests and actually would show more then that I could memorize 35+ paintings for a test. Finally I was draw to the strategy of essays. For me essays allow for a student to show what they actually know but also give them the ability to share a opinion. A student who shares an opinion with supporting evidence is doing critical thinking while also showing in depth what they know or what they lack in knowing. By being able to find what they lack you can then easy help them and give them the knowledge they need, because most likely they might need it later down the road and make the same mistake.