As a visual arts educator in teacher education, the author is aware of the complexity of assessing art at the primary level. Most authorities recommend a formative style of assessment for art, but how can this work in practice in the primary classroom? This paper focuses on the perspectives and experiences of the child. It defines the…

The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework has grown from its origins in special education to being widely used to support all students, making the fully rewritten second edition of this indispensable guide more relevant than ever. Filled with practical, vivid examples and tips, the book demonstrates the power of UDL when applied to…

This book provides an international platform for educators from different STEM disciplines to present, discuss, connect, and develop collaborations in two inter-related ways: (1) sharing and discussing changes and innovations in individual discipline-based education in STEM/STEAM, and (2) sharing and discussing the development of interdisciplinary…

When first studying children's artistic development, many preservice teachers feel amazed as they learn students' artistic capabilities and see how students can thrive under the guidance of effective art educators. Teaching a standards-based art curriculum skillfully and with care requires art educators to be familiar with developmentally…

Self-assessment is crucial to visual art learning. Firstly, because the art experience is personalized, any external assessment is insufficient and deficient; secondly, because an individual's creativity is inexhaustible, any acquired criteria of assessment are too static for an open-ended process that is multidirectional and with infinite…

There is a shift occurring in the field of art education to empower students and teachers to design personalized, classroom-based assessments to support rich, complex, and unpredictable processes of learning in K-12 art (Beattie, 1997, 2006; Hafeli, 2001; Gates, 2017). In this paper, the author presents three recommendations for gathering…

This White Paper offers a framework for art educators to evaluate the alignment of their assessment methods and goals/objectives for student learning. This effort is an attempt to develop "understandable guidelines" for classroom assessment, specifically attending to the issue of validity. Assessments are valid insofar as they produce…

For some time now, the arts education community has designed for broader outcomes for youth. These programs intentionally foster not only youth achievements within the arts or academics, but also youth and community thriving--through outcomes such as youth civic engagement, occupational identities, and wellness. In this report, the authors seek to…

As states are continuing to refine teacher evaluation models, there are opportunities for student learning in the arts to be documented and connected with teacher evaluation. The Tennessee Portfolio of Student Growth in the Arts ("the Portfolio") has provided a new perspective on documenting the relationship between student growth and…

This paper provides a brief literature review related to art teacher candidate dispositions and offers an assessment model that engages candidates in collecting and analyzing evidence of their professional dispositions. Engaging teacher candidates in "assessment as learning" simultaneously serves as one model for assessing studio habits…

Art teachers may find student assessment stressful when they fear that the rigid criteria might stifle creativity (Gruber & Hobbs, 2002), while others will see assessment as a valuable tool that sparks possibilities for future projects (Schönau, 2012). In September 2016, the author decided to focus for an entire year on developing new…

The 1994 National Standards for Arts Education were succeeded by a new generation of standards published in 2014 by the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards (NCCAS). This iteration of voluntary standards provided a new foundation for designing curriculum for visual arts education. The design of the standards utilized the curriculum model…

When school is engaging, relevant, and meaningful, students returning from correctional facilities and those at-risk of dropping out are more likely to achieve educational success. This brief is intended to assist district leaders and school administrators--both at the district and school level- who are seeking to implement strategies designed to…

This article charts the influence of American accreditation policies on postsecondary arts education practices. Some commentators suggest that accreditation is a standards- and evidence-based process. I argue that trust is at the center of concerns about assessment in higher education, especially in the arts. The purpose of this article is to…

Educators in the visual arts and other disciplines have long been advocates for portfolio development and assessment strategies that showcase advanced high school students' highest levels of achievement as well as their longitudinal growth in authentic ways. At the time of this research study, Advanced Placement (AP) art teachers in three…