Authentic assessment, though sometimes referred to as performance-based assessment is not a new idea, in fact its history dates back to the 1950’s. With more than half a century of debate on the subject in varying branches of thought, this paper will focus on a few of the key concepts of authentic assessment as seen through the lens of an artist. An investigation of the literature begins with a brief look at the historical concept of mastery as was practiced through the ancient system of patronage, workshops, and guilds. The discussion that follows will examine the theoretical thought on authentic assessment and the implications for practice. The idea of mastery can be traced as far back as Aristotle who “felt that artistic training included mastery of a medium and gaining knowledge of one’s environment” (DeHoyas, M., Lopez, A., Garnett, R., Gower, S., Sayle, A., Sreenan, N., Stewart, E., Sweny, S., & Wilcox, K. (2005). This concept of mastery has held true for many centuries in varying forms, with the “Medieval apprenticeship being one of the first examples of art instruction in the Western world” (DeHoyas et al., 2005). Beginning around the 11th century craft guilds played a major role in training apprentices, journeymen, and masters, with the earliest recorded guild dating from 1099 (Madaus & Dwyer, 1999). The craft guilds played an important role in the European economy, and by the 14th century became a powerful hierarchal organization (Madau et al., 1999), which we can still see today in the form of trades and unions. Throughout the history of art, the relationship between apprentice and master held a prominent position in the education of young artisans. The apprentice usually began training at the age of 13, although Leon... ... middle of paper ... ...ional Forum, 59(1) 14-21. DeHoyas, M., Lopez, A., Garnett, R., Gower, S., Sayle, A., Sreenan, N., Stewart, E., Sweny, S., & Wilcox, K. (2005). History of art education, University of North Texas. Retrieved from http://www.art.unt.edu/ntieva/HistoryofArtEd/index.html Herrington, J., & Herrington, A. (1998). Authentic assessment and multimedia: How university students respond to a model of authentic assessment. Higher Education Research & Development, 17(3), 305-322. Madaus, G. F., & O'Dwyer, L. M. (1999). Short history of performance assessment: Lessons learned. Phi Delta Kappan, 80(9), 688-689. Newmann, F. M. & Archbald, D. A. (1992). The nature of authentic academic achievement. Toward a New Science of Educational Testing and Assessment. State University of New York Press, Albany New York. 71-84. Wiggins, G. (1990). The case for authentic assessment. ERIC digest.
Miltich, Matthew. "Standardized Testing and Assessment Do Not Improve Education." Education: Opposing Viewpoints. New York: Greenhaven, 2005. 151-54. Print.
Cothren, M. & Marilyn Stokstad. (2011). Art History, Volume 2, 4th Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Learning Solutions.
Everyone perceives the role of the artist, whether it is a teacher, historian, visualizer, or innovator, and their art as something entirely different from the next. Charles Wilson Peale and William Sydney Mount present the profession of an artist as one of a welcoming educator in The Artist in His Museum and The Painter’s Triumph. However, Peale’s depiction of the artist is that of a revealer of history to an upper class audience where as Mount showcases a showman displaying evolved, less traditional art to the common man.
Popham, W. James. "Why standardized tests don't measure educational quality." Educational Leadership 56 (1999): 8-16.
Reeves, D.B. (2008). Leading to change/effective grading practices. Educational Leadership, Vol. 65 No. 5, pg. 85-87.
Stiggins, R. J. (2006, November/December). Assessment for learning: A key to motivation and achievement. Edge, 2, 3-19.
make it work? In C.A. Dwyer (Ed.), The future of assessment: Shaping teaching and learning
In education today, art studies are not often viewed as a priority for students and they very frequently get cut from school’s curriculum due to a lack of proper funding. Howeve...
tests were primarily employed as measures of student achievement that could be reported to parents, and as a means of noting state and district trends (Moon 2) . Teachers paid little attention to these tests, which in turn had little impact on curriculum. However, in the continuing quest for better schools and high achieving students, testing has become a central focus of policy and practice. Standardized tests are tests that attempt to present unbiased material under the same, predetermined conditions and with consistent scoring and interpretation so that students have equal opportunities to give correct answers and receive an accurate assessment. The idea is that these similarities allow the highest degree of certainty in comparing result...
Cothren, M. & Marilyn Stokstad. (2011). Art History, Volume 2, 4th Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Learning Solutions.
Lewis, R., & Lewis, S. (2008). The Power of Art. Connecticut, United States: Cengage Learning.
Popham, W. James. “Standardized Achievement Tests: Misnamed and Misleading.” Education Week. September 2001. Web. 28 June 2015.
Waggoner, T. (1999). The center for educator development in fine arts. Retrieved October 12, 2004 from http://finearts.esc20.net/default.html.
As I reflect on my past assessment process, I realized how much my assessments have changed over the years. In my early years, I used tests for informational recall as my assessments. I felt these were appropriate guidelines in which I needed to follow in order to substantiate a student’s grade. Every assignment or tests was given a point value and then based on the amount of points, a grade was given. Every student’s assessment was exactly the same, and the assessments did not contain any subjectivity. I felt confident in giving the grade based on a valid point system. However reflecting back, I see that I did not include any performance-based assessments or individual learning styles in my early assessment. I also did not take into consideration the individual needs of my students. My assessment approach was awful. I am embarrassed that I use to assess students in this manner.
Banner, D. K., Graber, J. M. (1985). Critical issues in performances appraisal. Journal of Management Development. Issue 4. Pp. 27-35.