Education 3504

Jazmin Roe
October 5th, 2016

Assessment in Art Education Reflection

My groups topic: What are current issues in assessment in art
education?
The most prevalent issue in art education is subjectivity. How does a
teacher grade art and what would grading art look like? One aspect of
research I completed for this project that affirmed my understanding is how
important having clear rubrics are in assessment. Having clear rubrics helps
create a connection between what the teacher is asking of students and how
students can check that they are meeting the criteria.
Rubrics in assessing art meet the three concepts of reliability, validity,
and fairness. First, teachers can make sure that their assessment is reliable
by making sure that the rubric is dependable, consistent, and error free. For
example, if a word is changed on a rubric it could change the entire
meaning/criteria for the student. Second, rubrics can also be valid because
teachers can make sure that their rubric is assessing what the teacher
intends to assess. For example, in art education teachers do not want to
grade on natural ability when they are looking for personal growth and
teachers need to refer to Alberta Education curriculum when choosing the
criteria for rubrics. Third, teachers can also make sure that rubrics in art
education are fair by providing students with all the materials they may need
to complete the project. Another aspect of fairness in art education would be
helping students who dont have a natural ability, by teaching and practicing

Education 3504
Jazmin Roe
October 5th, 2016

some art skills that would make the students feel successful before they are
summatively assessed.
One of the key take aways I learned about assessment for this project
was how important it is to provide students with a self-reflection piece no
matter what subject I am teaching. I have always thought that rubrics
provided with examples was a good way to assess students, but without the
self-reflection piece included in the final product and rubric, I cannot
understand the thought process the student went through during the project.
The value of this realization for the ongoing development of my personal
theory of teaching is that I will provide ways to understand my students
thought process before I summatively assess their work. Having a selfreflection piece would help me make a more fair assessment because not
every student will be naturally gifted at a subject, but they can explain their
thought process. I believe that their individual thought process shows more
understanding than their final project or exam. Another way I can formatively
assess my students is by having them complete drafts and handing back
feedback, so that I can make sure they are meeting and understanding the
criteria.
One thing about this assignment that you should know is that I really
enjoyed the group presentations because I feel more prepared to handle
assessment issues in education. Before this assignment I wasnt sure how to
deal with some of the assessment issues that would come up in my teaching
career, but now I know that there are a variety of resources available for

Education 3504
Jazmin Roe
October 5th, 2016

teachers to make sure that fair, reliable, and valid assessments are not just
something teachers should do, but can do. For me, this project also reaffirmed how important it is for students to have formative assessment
before they are given summative assessments. As a teacher, I believe that
formative assessment is one of the key components in making sure that my
students develop a deeper understanding of the concepts I am teaching.