What Does the NAEP Arts Assessment Measure?
The NAEP 1997 arts assessment measures students' knowledge and skills in creating, performing, and
responding to works of music, theatre, and visual arts. According to the NAEP Arts Education
Assessment Framework, developed by the National Assessment Governing
Board (NAGB), dance, music, theatre, and the visual arts are important parts of a full education. When students engage
in the arts, they use intellect, emotions, and physical skills to create meaning. At its best, the teaching and
assessment of the arts will emphasize creating and performing works as well as studying existing works of art.
A separate assessment was developed for each of the following arts subjects:
- music
- theatre
- visual arts
- dance (This assessment was not administered because an appropriate sample of students could not be identified.)
Different kinds of exercises were used to measure different kinds of knowledge and skills.
- Exercises requiring students to write responses and answer multiple-choice questions were used to explore students' abilities to analyze, describe, and interpret works of arts.
- Complex performance tasks were used to assess students' abilities to create and perform works of art.
| Arts Subjects |
Kinds of Exercises |
| |
Creating AND/OR Performing: assessed with performance tasks |
Responding: assessed with written exercises and multiple-choice questions |
| Music |
Create and perform a rock-and-roll improvisation on a MIDI keyboard. |
Listen to pieces of music and then analyze, interpret, critique, and place the pieces in historical context. |
| Theatre |
Work in a group to create and perform an improvisation about a camping trip. |
Listen to a radio play and then do a series of written exercises about staging the play for young children. |
| Visual Arts |
Using markers and a cardboard box, create a package designed to hold a whisper or a scream. |
Study artworks and then do exercises exploring aesthetic properties and expressive aspects of the works. |
| Dance |
Work with a partner to create and perform a dance based on the idea of metamorphosis. |
Watch ethnic folk dances on videotape and then analyze and place the dances in historical context. |
Get an overall view of the exercises developed for the dance, music, theatre, and visual arts assessments.
Note: Some of these exercises contain audio or QuickTime video. See the Help section for assistance.
The arts framework specifies the amount of assessment time to be devoted to each of the three components for grades 4, 8, and 12.
For more detailed information about the objectives of the arts assessment, explore the NAEP Arts Framework (467K PDF file, requires Adobe Acrobat Reader).
Last updated 19 April 2004 (CC)
|
