Assessment in Art

Why do we assess learning in art?

We asses learning in art for several reasons: to meet provincial requirements for assessment, to give students, parents and teachers a frame of reference for the student's growth as a learner and to give the teacher a snapshot of how successful they are at communicating the learning content.

How can learning to self-assess in art transfer to other subject areas? Life endeavors?

Self assessment is a very effective way of understanding a student's learning. Depending on the developmental level (more so with older learners), students can be very self reflective and critical of their progress. This kind of assessment takes into account all of the past experiences of the learner and how they progressed from that point to the end result of the lesson. If this evaluation is done to have student's also reflect on how their learning affected other parts of their life, it can provide a very positive life skill activity for them. If students learn to notice changes in themselves, the world around them and others through their learning, they will be more successful in life. Taking part in self evaluations in other subjects would give students the sense of ownership they experience through art in English, Social Studies, Science, Math and other subject areas. This sense of ownership extends to create more successes in their learning.