Teacher-Made Art Exams and the
End of Course Exam in Art for 5th
Grade
Deanna Filiault
Dr. Thomas M. Brewer
2015 FAEA Presentation
Introduction
 During the 2014-2015 school year, the district I work
for required all visual art elementary teachers to give
their 5th grade students an End of Course Exam (EOC).
 This exam was created by the school district I work
for.
 The multiple choice exam was based on the NGSSS.
Current Condition/ Status
 Art assessments have been a national, debatable topic for years.
 It is important to give students the opportunity to authentically
respond by providing multiple measurements.
 Misconception about art assessments within the field (art
shouldn’t be tested, art assessments take away from creativity).
Purpose
 To determine whether or not a quality teacher-made exam
that contains contemporary art, an art making component,
multiple choice, and short answers would result in higher
scores and better prepare 5th grade students for the End of
Course Exam in art.
 One 5th grade class would get a basic, multiple choice,
pencil and paper teacher made exam and another 5th grade
class would get an exam with multiple measurements.
Purpose
 Additionally, results from the EOC exam in art that my 5th
grade students took during the first year it was required
(2014-2015) will be examined.
 Implications from data will be discussed.
 I will reflect on how the results from the pilot year has
determined what I will do differently the next school year
and what I have learned by creating my own teacher made
assessments using a phenomenological approach.
Questions
 1.) Do teacher-made art exams better prepare students for the
EOC at the end of the year?
 2.) Is there a difference in scores on the EOC between students
who received four quality made art teacher exams and students
who received four teacher made multiple choice exams?
 3.) What could be offered to art teachers that aid them in
creating and implementing their own art tests?
 4.) How do my 5th grade students’ results from the first year
taking the EOC in art compare to the district scores?
 5.) Is there a significant difference in scores on the EOC in art for
the 2014-2015 school year between my 5th grade students and all
other 5th grade students in the district?
Methodology
 One 5th grade class would get four, teacher made multiple
choice art exams during the school year.
 The second 5th grade class would also take 4 exams
throughout the year. However, the second fifth grade class
would receive an art exam with multiple measurements
that included contemporary art, an art making component,
multiple choice, and short answer.
 Both classes would be taught the same material.
Results
 Out of the 30 questions, my students answered 23
questions correctly at a higher percentage when
compared to the district .
 The mean of my students’ scores that scored answers
correctly was 71.4.
 Alternatively, the mean for the district for students
who scored answers correctly was 63.3.
 This is a 8.1% difference, which is a quite a large gap.
Results
 Challenges
Although I was able to get some statistical data, there
were restrictions. I did not have access to the sample
population size (number of 5th graders in the county
that took the EOC in art). Had I been able to access that
information, a t-test could have been performed to
provide more statistical data that could help me better
state whether or not there was a significant difference.
Benchmark
Item Difficulty
Percentage of My
Students that
Answered the
Question
Correctly
Percentage of
Students in the
District that
Answered the
Question Correctly
Difference
Average
90%
70%
20%
Average
80%
49%
31%
Challenging
87%
39%
48%
Challenging
49%
34%
15%
Average
56%
53%
3%
Challenging
36%
27%
9%
Easy
82%
82%
Same
Easy
95%
93%
2%
Easy
80%
72%
8%
Challenging
50%
32%
18%
Average
55%
54%
1%
Average
61%
48%
13%
VA.5.O.1.1 Use the
structural elements of art
& organizational
principles of design to
develop content in
artwork.
Implications for Teaching and
Constructing Assessment
 I believe this study could help other art educators see the
value in making quality teacher made exams.
 When creating an art exam, it is important to:
 Create an exam that allows students to display their skill level
by using multiple measurements.
 Shoot for quality rather than an expedited endeavor.
 Art assessments can help art teachers learn:
 What their students understand and do not understand
Implications for Teaching and
Constructing Assessment
 Teacher-made art assessments can be a learning device for students.
 My results imply that:
 My teacher-made tests could have attributed to higher scores on the EOC.
 My teacher-made tests seemed to significantly improve my students scores
on the EOC.
 The original, multiple choice teacher-made tests I created helped students
to perform better on the EOC, but my revised test is better.
My revised test is better because it gives students multiple ways to express
their comprehension on the standards that were taught throughout the year
(multiple choice, short answer, matching, creating a work of art).
What I Have Learned
 Teacher-made assessments are crucial.
 It is very easy to teach students how to make an almost
imperfect work of art. However, educating students on
how to make works of art that have meaning they are able
to articulate is arduous, yet rewarding.
 My revised test is much more sophisticated than my
original test.
What I Have Learned
 Making art exams is no easy task and can actually be
very strenuous. Creating quality art exams requires a
lot of time and research. Assessing students with
exams that include assorted approaches to measure
students’ capabilities is necessary to provide a wellrounded art education.
Quarter 1 Art Exam for 5th Grade
(Original Q1 Exam)
1.) What are the 4 steps for doing an art critique called? Circle the correct answer.
A.) Think, Tell, Listen, Judge
B.) Describe, Analyze, Interpret, Judge
C.) Describe, Analyze, Interpret, Discuss
D.) Talk, Discuss, Listen Analyze
2.) How can you show respect to other’s works of art?
A.) Giving a compliment
B.) Saying something positive
C.) Telling them their work is creative
D.) All of the answers above are correct
3.) Match the Elements of Art with the correct definition and picture:
___ Line
___ Space
___ Color
___ Texture
4.) Match the Elements of Art with the correct picture:
___ Form
___ Shape
___ Value
5.) Match the Principles of Art to their correct definitions:
___ Contrast
___ Balance
.A)
C.)
When an element repeats
___ Emphasis
___Pattern
B.)
Using oppostite
elements
D.)
Focal point
6.) How would you clean up the following materials? You may use an
answer more than once.
___ Chalk
A.) Wet paper towel
___ Clay
B.) A Dry paper towel
___ Water Spill
Quarter 1 Art Exam for 5th Grade
(Revised Q1 Exam)
1.) Critique the work of art below using Feldman’s Method.
Teresa Hubbard & Alexander Birchler, Falling Down, 1996
Describe____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Analyze____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Judge______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Interpret____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2.) How can you show respect to others works of art?
A.) Giving a compliment
B.) Saying something positive
C.) Telling them their work is creative
D.) All of the answers above are correct
3.) Based on the meaning you discovered in Teresa Hubbard and Alexander Birchler’s Falling Down, create a work of
art that represents what you believe Falling Down is about. Your art MUST illustrate the following Elements of Art:
Shape, space, color, and texture. You may use the 8”x10” paper, pencil, eraser, and color pencil provided for you.
After you complete your work of art, you must write 1 paragraph describing what your art work is about and how it
relates to the meaning you discovered in the work Falling Down.
4.)Match the following three Elements of Art with the art work that fits them best:
____FORM
____LINE
_____VALUE
A.)
Carrie Mae Weems, Untitled (from Kitchen Table), 1990
B.)
C.)
Buzz Spector, Toward A Theory of Universal Causality, 1984-90
Betsy Damon, The Living Water Garden, 1998
5.) Using your pencil, draw an example of the following Principles of Art in the boxes provided:
Contrast
Pattern
Emphasis
Balance
6.) How would you clean up the following materials? You may use an answer more than once.
___ Chalk
___ Clay
___ Water Spill
A.) Wet paper towel
B.) A Dry paper towel
Future Studies
 Creating a 5th grade art curriculum that contains
contemporary images and is based on all of the NGSSS
students are required to know for the EOC in art, which all
art teachers can access and implement in their classrooms.
 Creating four, teacher-made, multiple measurement art
assessments for 5th grade (one for each quarter) which all
elementary art teachers have access to and can use in
order to asses their students’ knowledge on the standards
they are teaching and better prepare them for the EOC in
art.
References
Bensur, B. (2002). Frustrated voices of art assessment. Art Education, 55(6), 18- 23.
Brewer, T. (2011). Lesson learned from a Bundled Visual Arts Assessment. Visual Arts Research, 37)1), 79-95.
Brewer, T. (2008). Developing a bundled visuals arts assessment model. Visual Arts Research, 34(1), 63-74.
Diket, R., Xu, L., & Brewer, T. (2014). Toward an Aspirational Learning Model gleaned from large-scale assessment.
Studies in Art Education, 56(1), 397-411.
Keiper, S., B.A. Sandene, H.R. PErsky, and M. Kuang. (2009). The Nation’s Report Card: Arts 2008 Music and Visual Arts
NCES 2009-488) National Center for Education Statistics Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department
of Education, Washington, D.C. Available at: http://nationsreportcard.gov/arts _2008
Leong, S., & Qiu, X. (2013). Designing a "creativity and assessment scale" for arts education. Educational
Psychology, 33(5), 596-615. Retrieved from
https://login.ezproxy.net.ucf.edu/login?auth=shibb&url=http://search.ebscohost.com.
ezproxy.net.ucf.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1020891&site=ehostlive; http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.net.ucf.edu/10.1080/01443410.2013.827154
Orange County Public Schools.(Unknown). EOC Assessment Outline Art Intermediate 3 [Online PDF]. Retrieved March
1st, 2015 from https://www.ims.ocps.net
Pistone, N. (2002). Envisioning arts assessment: a process guide for assessing arts education in school districts and
states. Washington, DC: Council of Chief State School Officers.
Rudner, L.M., Boston, C. (1994). A Look at Performance Assessment. Reston, VA: National Art Education
Association.
Salend, S. J. (2011). Creating student-friendly tests. Educational Leadership, 69(3), 52-58.
Siegesmund, R., Diket, R., McCulloch, S. (2001). Revisioning NAEP: amending a performance assessment for middle
school art students. Studies in Art Education, (43)1, 45-56.
Thompson, C. (2014) Phenomenological Inquiry for a New Age. In K. Miraglia & C. Smilan (Eds.), Inquiry in Action:
Research Methodologies in Art Education (80- 87). Reston, VA: National Art Education Association.
Benchmark
Item Difficulty
Percentage of My
Students that
Answered the
Question
Correctly
Percentage of
Students in the
District that
Answered the
Question Correctly
Difference
Easy
93%
91%
2%
VA.5.S.3.3 Use tools,
media, techniques, and
processes in a safe and
responsible manner.
Benchmark
Item Difficulty
Percentage of My
Students that
Answered the
Question
Correctly
Percentage of
Students in the
District that
Answered the
Question Correctly
Difference
Challenging
16%
18%
2% decrease
Easy
96%
96%
Same
Easy
80%
72%
8%
Challenging
27%
28%
1% decrease
VA.5.C.1.2 Use prior
knowledge and
observation skills to
reflect on, analyze, and
interpret exemplary
works of art.
Benchmark
Item Difficulty
Percentage of My
Students that
Answered the
Question
Correctly
Percentage of
Students in the
District that
Answered the
Question Correctly
Difference
Easy
79%
79%
Same
VA.5.H.1.4 Explain the
importance of artwork to
show why respect is or
should be given to the
work of peer or specified
professional artists.
Review of Literature
 Pistone (2002) states that when art teachers create
and participate in the making of art assessment
frameworks and tasks, they “increase their
knowledge of effective arts curriculum, instructions,
and classroom base assessment,” (p. 11).
 Art assessments as tools for both the teacher and
students.
Review of Literature
 “As creative practitioners usually prefer to ‘let the
work speak for itself’ and to be judged by others, the
impact of assessment on creativity is potentially huge
because inappropriate assessment practices would
impair the main purposes of educational
engagement,” (Leong & Quo, 2013, p. 599).
 Letting go of the idea that assessing art is impossible
and negatively impacts the creative experience.
 Assessment as a form of advocacy.
Review of Literature
 Brewer’s (2011) Bundled Assessment Approach
 In this approach, there are multiple measurements,
including but not limited to: Multiple choice, an art
criticism writing item, and two drawings; one
planning and one final.
 “The scores for any or all instruments can be bundled
together and compared for assessment purposes,”
(Brewer, 2011, p. 80).
Conclusion
 Although the lack of detail from a sample population was problematic, I do
believe the results I identified affirmed information worth acknowledging.
 After looking at the results from the data, I believe my students overall
performed well on the EOC in art for a few reasons:
1.
2.
3.
I was very open to the idea of changing my curriculum.
I started creating my own teacher-made assessments with the assumption
that it would greater assist my students in taking the EOC.
I used a variety of techniques when teaching (contemporary art, meaningmaking, art critiques, thinking maps, presentations, artist statements).
Conclusion
 The 2014-2015 school year was a huge turning point in
my art education career.
 I changed my entire curriculum to better fit the
requirements for the EOC for art.
 Prior to beginning my graduate degree, the words art
and assessment used in the same sentence never
entered my mind.
Conclusion
 There is so much more I could do with this study.
 However, I feel pretty satisfied with my discoveries so far.
 First time gathering quantitative data.
 Changing my curriculum resulted in a better, quality
curriculum.