Unit Pre- and Post-Assessment Instrument To assess our kindergarten class, we used the Poudre School District visual art rubric (attached at the end of the paragraph). The assessments are identical, as the students were evaluated both at the beginning and the end of the semester using the same rubric.
In the PSD rubric, there are three categories that students are assessed in: planning and ideation, creation and exploration, and reflection and connection. Below is an alignment of the PSD rubric, the Colorado State Standards, and the Grade Level Expectations.
As demonstrated above, the PSD visual arts rubric meets all of the state standards and GLEs. The standards and GLEs for kindergarten are largely about storytelling, personal relevance, and use of materials, and the assessment also mentions personal relevance, use of materials, and accurately communicating expression. Thus, the PSD rubric we used to evaluate our students were very similar to the state standards and GLEs.
Assessment Tools
All of the lessons taught this semester related to storytelling, personal expression, or motion. In order to pre-assess students, we would begin class with an interactive lecture to see what students already knew while presenting new information. During work time, my co-teacher and I circulated the classroom and documented the students explaining their artistic decisions and heard stories about the artwork. At the end of class, we would gather as a group and reflect on the lesson. We used a discovery board to document new discoveries, both with materials and with subjects. Depending on the lesson, we would display the artwork. For example, at the end of our found-object transportation lesson, the students took their artwork outside and demonstrated how they move. This allowed us to assess if students understood transportation and motion.
For each lesson, we would assess students using a very simple rubric. Below is an example of a rubric used for our artist trading card lesson.
Artist Trading Card Rubric: 1. Utilized stylistic qualities in at least one sketch or the final trading card seen in examples. 2. Created four detailed sketches of different ideas and themes for trading card. 3. Created at least one trading card that represents them using two and three dimensional materials. 4. Created a trading card that represented themselves either figuratively or through personal interests. 5. Verbally describe their ATC and explain to the class how the cards represent themselves.
Super Duper: Work is finished, unique, and has a lot of detail. Good Work: Work is finished, unique, and has detail. Okay: Work is finished with little detail. Almost There!: Work is not finished.
Programmatic Assessment
At the end of the semester, we put together an exhibit with all of the student work. We organized the projects both by student and by project. For the two-dimensional art, we created a poster for each student. The posters included paintings, prints, in-process photographs of the student, and a quote of their favorite medium and project. For the three-dimensional artwork, we organized the display by project. On tables, we placed the food sculptures and artist trading cards on one table, and the transportation and home found object sculptures on another table. Lining the benches of the tables were examples of planning in each students’ sketchbook.
We also wrote a newsletter about the exhibition to inform parents of the student learning. We included the Colorado state standards, information on our unit and lessons, and photographs that demonstrate student learning. Below is our newsletter.