A 'C+': do they even give those in arts classes?!
Picture it: High school visual arts class, sophomore year. A 'C+' on my coil-technique clay plot. A 'C+’: do they even give those in art classes?! After all, I made the requisite piece. The piece looked different than everyone else's, so I used some level of creativity. Shouldn't that be an automatic 'A'?
Sadly, this is not an uncommon view of assessment in the arts. When educators are forced to assess student-created art solely as an end-product rather than as a wholly informative and creative process, it painfully oversimplifies the role of art in our society. It is a furtherance of the horribly misguided notion that the purpose of art, especially media art, is to act as either “meaningless” form of self-expression or a one-way cultural mirror. There may be several reasons to explain why we got here, but the question is: how do we get out?
There are three primary catalysts that continually fuel an over-simplified assessment in the arts:
- Standardized-testing environments
- The nature of creative expression
- Lack of understanding about the purpose of art classes
None of these things are inherently bad, but they do make the implementation of assessment in the arts more challenging.
Standardized-testing environments and lack of understanding about the purpose of art classes, in many ways, are interrelated. The logic is simple: if a subject isn't tested, then it probably isn't that important. Classes in more traditional subject areas should be given more effort and attention because they have assessable outcomes, right? Media arts classes are where students go to just have fun. In these classes, similar to all arts classes, the focus should be solely on the process, not the product. We can assess the products and outcomes of classes, but we can't necessarily assess the process. Or can we?
Classes with more process-based learning are not excuses to not assess student work; possibly a common misconception in the greater educational community. When media arts educators and arts educators alike assess student work based on a variety of criteria, included but NOT limited to creative expression and intent, people get confused; not because they are incompetent, but because they do not understand that these art forms have standards that should (read: must) be met too.
This lack of understanding is also commonly related to the perceived understanding of the nature of creative expression. In so many words, a creative expression is an individual's expression of thought or emotion and cannot be objectively judged or assessed. I made the video (or the coil pot), I should get an 'A'. Truth be told, I didn't receive an 'A' because I didn't fully demonstrate that I understood the concepts presented in the lesson. This is a hard concept to swallow, I admit. However, if you subscribe to the notion that all learning should contain some element of standards-based and conceptual practice, you must also recognize that the mastery of these concepts must be assessed in order to accurately gauge learning comprehension.
These aforementioned issues are especially true of media arts education, which is quite often misperceived as a way to engage children in otherwise monotonous material without the need to present new and challenging content or ideas. While it may seem to be another case of the chicken and egg conundrum, integrating rigorous assessment in the media arts may actually serve to address and fix these misconceptions.
The following methods and suggestions for assessment in the media arts are not intended to be all-inclusive, and should be altered depending on the classroom, community and organizational situation.
Self-assessment
This term seems to be commonplace in education vernacular these days, and is especially relevant in assessing the media arts. This form of assessment is one of the simplest ways to gauge and quantify a student's creative process. Although the nature of self-assessment is often qualitative in nature (i.e. writing response questions or essays), these types of assessment can be placed into more quantitative metrics, as has been discussed in detail by Chris Worsnop in his Assessing Media Work book and as explained in his article, Using Rubrics to Assess Media Work in the Classroom.
Self-assessment may take a variety of different forms, but should include prompts that require that the student demonstrate some level of logic and reason in explaining their creative process as it relates to more tangible techniques and processes discussed in class. For example, a student response to the prompt, “Explain your choice of shots in this sequence” may be “I chose to use a low camera angle to film this character because the low angle makes him appear more powerful and I liked the contrast of the low-angle to other shots.” In examining this type of self-assessment, explanation of process and its level of support as it relates to techniques discussed in class should be given more credence than a simple “because I liked it” response. While it may be difficult to comprehend, qualitative and quantitative self-assessment is one of the “fairest” ways to address a student's cognitive processes. Accordingly, self-assessment should be weighted more heavily than any other form of assessment in the media arts.
Group assessment
This can take many different forms, and may either be very useful or very detrimental to the learning process, depending on the learning atmosphere and group dynamic. The goal(s) of group assessment may also be multi-faceted. Effective group assessment may help establish critical and aesthetic analysis and reflection in critiquing art, it may instill skills and competencies in the areas of teamwork and group dynamics, and it may further concepts related to audience interpretation and awareness in the creative inquiry process.
Depending on the situation and classroom dynamic, group assessment may take the form of Q & A sessions with the artist/student in front of the classroom, private individual or small group peer evaluations of work, or small discussion groups. While group assessment may not be ideal for all situations, especially for groups of students who are less familiar with one another, such as in a one-week workshop, it may be ideal in situations where students are able to build trust and camaraderie over an extended period of time. Group assessment should not be weighted as heavily as other forms of assessment, but may prove to be very useful in teaching and assessing aesthetic response to a variety of works.
Goal-based assessment
Goal-based assessment does not mean focusing on product over process. It is the idea of communicating assessment standards and expectations prior to, or in correspondence with, an assignment rather than issuing an assignment without any grading criteria. This is essentially a presumption in any kind of assessment, but the way(s) in which it is communicated to a variety of audiences, most prominently parents and students, largely determines its effectiveness in education. It should be assumed that assessment cannot be effective without first establishing lesson plan and curriculum goals, otherwise, what is being assessed? However, how often are these goals communicated to parents and students in ways that clearly establish performance expectations?
It would be beneficial for parents and other stakeholder groups to be made aware of lesson plan and curriculum goals in order to foster a better understanding of not only what is expected of students, but also to plant a seed of understanding about the artistic process as a whole, rather than as a finished product. Students, however, will benefit the most from communicated goals and assessment standards in media arts education. Though this may lead some students to attempt only the bare minimum required for a passing grade, it may lead other students to the understanding of how individual concepts in the media arts are interrelated. Imagine students paying attention to the “boring” theoretical and technical concepts of media arts rather than simply waiting until they can play with the computer or video camera.
These concepts may garner more student attention if they knew ahead of time that they would also need to demonstrate a mastery of said concepts in their final product. Except in cases of students pursuing independent studies or theses, assessment standards and lesson plan goals should always be communicated to students prior to, or with, assignment of the project.
One of the biggest challenges in assessment in the media arts is in overcoming the notion that all media arts education is only subjective. While I agree that children need to be given ample time to freely explore their creative voice and that students must be taught to interpret media in a variety of different ways, all without being subject to scrutiny, they must also be able to discern effective media arts and communications from ineffective media arts and communications. By making assessment commonplace in all media arts classrooms, we increase the likelihood that students will gain the knowledge needed to effectively interpret and critically analyze media art, and also provide further support and educational credibility to the media arts to those who may doubt their effectiveness.
Integrating assessment standards and practices in all media arts classrooms does not need to take away from, or inhibit, the creative process and subjective interpretation of media. It can, however, signal the importance of critical and aesthetic response in media interpretation and production, which is a crucial and under-appreciated asset in today's educational climate. Does this mean less A's and more C+'s for all media arts students? Not necessarily. It simply means that that 'A' will be more deserved AND culturally and educationally relevant.
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Amy Puffenberger is a second year Master of Arts Management student at Carnegie Mellon University. She also received her undergraduate degree in film and video production from Grand Valley State University. Her primary interests are in non-profit film and media arts and literacy education.
