Round Table Discussion- Student Assessment in the Arts

1. Round Table Discussion- Student Assessment in the Arts William Kohut, Principal- Denver School of the Arts Dr. Mark Hudson- Director of Arts- Denver Public Schools Jim Palmarini- Director of Educational Policy, Editor, Teaching Theatre Journal, Educational Theatre Association

7. Is theatre teacher evaluation linked at least in part to test scores or other assessments of student?

8. Consider the Three Purposes of MCATs • Illustrative Examples-MCATs provide illustrative examples for teachers to consider for their own use. Teacher may choose to use them, modify them to meet their own needs, or not use them. • Recurring Measurement of Student Progress- MCATs capture/reflect the heart of the learning desired at the grade level/band offering formative and summative strategies. • Collection of Student Work - NCCAS has a goal of providing benchmarked student examples for use by the field. Some fields in the design template are included to specifically accommodate that goal

9. Initial Steps: Determine the Grade Band or Level • MCATs are being written at grade bands grades PreK through 8th grade, specifically at grades 2, 5, and 8. • High school MCATs will be written at achievement levels of Proficient, Accomplished, Advanced. (provide HS descriptions to participants)

10. Initial Steps: Choose Artistic Process(es) • Review standards to determine a focus for the task. MCATs are large curriculum-embedded, authentic assessments of student progress toward achieving Lifelong Goals, Enduring Understandings and Anchor Standards and Performance Standards through engagement in Artistic Processes. • Determine the scope of the task. MCATs are designed around multiple Process Components, an entire Artistic Process, or even multiple Artistic Processes.

11. Initial Steps: Consider Key Traits • Key Traits are specific observable qualities/actions required to demonstrate attainment of standards and identified outcomes. • They serve as criteria by which student performance can be judged and are derived from those same identified standards and outcomes. • Consider grade bands/levels when developing Key Traits (grades 2, 5, 8, and high school levels Proficient, Accomplished, Advanced)

12. Initial Steps: Generate Task Ideas Draft a short, 2-3 sentence abstract or description of what students will do to demonstrate desired results, based on Enduring Understandings, Essential Questions, Anchor and Performance Standards. Establish authentic contexts (e.g., GRASPS) • Goal within the task • Role of the student • Audience to target • Situation - scenario • Product/Performance/Purpose • Standards and Criteria for Success

13. Initial Steps: Generate Task Ideas Consider such things as: • Other task examples (arts and non-arts) • Depth of Knowledge (Norman Webb) • 21st Century Skills

14. The MCAT Template (Page 1)

15. The MCAT Template (Page 2)

16. The Template: First Field Area • Insert information for the arts discipline and the Artistic Process(es) that will be addressed with this performance task. (e.g., Visual Arts: Creating) • Copy the selected task description below in the Description of the Assessment area. • Insert the appropriate grade band level (e.g., Grade 8)

17. The Template: Assessment Focus • Copy and paste appropriate standards information in the areas provided. This area is expandable so all appropriate standards information should be included. • Insert pre-determined Key Traits in the appropriate area. Including this information directly in the template will ensure alignment and help to avoid unnecessary flipping between sources. Check for task validity and alignment at this point.

18. The Template: Assessment ImplementationRelevant Knowledge, Skills, and Vocabulary • Determine relevant concepts necessary to complete the task. This can include vocabulary, skills, and knowledge. • This area can include formative assessment opportunities in the form of smaller observable tasks/skills that student will need to be able complete in order to engage in the larger MCA Task. e.g., Students will generate multiple ideas for an artistic work centered on a given topic or problem to solve.

19. The Template: Assessment ImplementationStrategies for Embedding in Instruction Use Process Components to describe a basic instructional sequence that will lead to the attainment of knowledge and skills which enable students to achieve the desired results on the MCA. Example for Creating Briefly describe how students will: • Practice generating ideas for artworks. • Plan and decide how to use those ideas. • Refine through practice, experimentation, etc. • Consider options and make preparations to present the work to an audience.

20. The Template: Assessment ImplementationDifferentiation Strategies • This section does not need to be completed. We are in partnership with the Kennedy Center involving inclusion and a Universal by Design approach to implementation of the standards. They are working on specific strategies that we will link to from the MCA template.

21. The Template: Assessment ImplementationScoring Devices • Create one or more example scoring devices using the established Key Traits. These can be in the form of rubrics, checklists, rating scales, critiques, etc. • Student-centered devices might include self-critique forms, student created rubrics, peer critique processes, etc., established in relation to criteria (i.e., Key Traits) • For wide scale implementation intended to collect student examples for benchmarking, a single scoring guide must be consistently applied.

22. The Template: Assessment ImplementationDetailed Assessment Procedures This section will be completed when it is determined that the MCA will be used on a wide scale basis to collect student samples. In order to get consistent results a specific outline or script is necessary for those who administer the assessment. This may also include specifics on how to collect, code, preserve student work, etc.

23. The Template: Assessment ImplementationResources • If there are resources necessary to complete the MCA they should be included here. Those may include various kinds of technology, specific media, worksheets, etc. • It is important that these resources be determined as a part of the assessment design.

24. The Template: Assessment ImplementationBenchmarked Student Work This is a placeholder. Once student work is collected it may be categorized at various levels of attainment such as; Above Standard, At Standard, Near Standard, Below Standard to illustrate expectations for teachers, who in turn may use the work for comparison with their own students’ work.