Developing an Innovative Approach to High School Academic Assessment New York Arts Pathway Assessment System Edward Roeber, Assessment Director, Michigan Assessment Consortium Timothy Brophy, Professor and Director of Institutional Assessment, University of Florida Frank Philip, National Arts Education Assessment Consultant

Background NY Regents Blue Ribbon Commission on the Arts formed in 2014 Purpose: to explore options for substituting an arts assessment for one Regents exam National arts experts advised the Commission and the NYSED and offered recommendations for: Immediately available options, and an assessment design for the future.

Overview of the PATHWAY SYSTEM Guiding Principles Assessment Design Considerations Recommended Arts Pathway Assessment Processes Phase 2 Pathway Assessments Implementation Plan for the Final Pathway Assessment Development and Implementation Through-Course and End-of-Course Assessments Individual Arts Assessment Plan Phase 1 Options SED Criteria for Review of Existing Resources Phase 1 Assessment Options Recommended Technical Support

Guiding Principles Principle 1. Focus on Student Learning and Engagement. Principle 2. Maximize the use of existing assessment resources. Principle 3. Economy of administration. Principle 4. Adaptability to varied opportunity-to-learn contexts. Principle 5. Honor the professional contributions of arts educators to the assessment. Principle 6. Develop and use an assessment system.

Assessment Design Considerations It is essential that the New York Board of Regents and NYSED define the standards to be measured. The assessment materials used must be broadly aligned to these standards (and associated curricula) and meet the level of rigor that meets state criteria for eligibility for a Regents examination. Measures be of the highest quality and meet established standards for reliability, validity, and fairness (AERA/APA/NCME, 2014). Pathway arts assessment should consist of a balanced and comprehensive set of measures. Student course participation and performance, as well as success on the Arts Pathway Assessment System, should be recorded and tracked in the state student information system.

Recommended Arts Pathway Assessment Processes

Summative Arts Pathway Assessments Course-Embedded and/or End-of-Course Assessment We believe that course-level measures are essential to assure that: Students are offered quality arts education experiences Student learning in those courses is accounted for in the final evaluation of student arts achievement for the Pathway. Individual Assessment Plan – Arts (IAP-A) The IAP-A is a shared-model assessment A culminating project developed collaboratively by the student and his/her instructors. Can take on any form that is appropriate to the discipline, consistent with professional careers in the arts (or other disciplines), and aligned with the student’s area of interest

Implementation of the Arts Pathway Assessment System Early Announcement - to 8th graders, as a program that begins for them when they are 9th graders in the following academic year. The final plan should be the primary focus of the announcement Short-term and transition options should be announced as available for interested students who will graduate prior to final plan implementation.

IAP-A Implementation Timeline

Implementation Recommendations SEA cannot wait - work on long-term and transitional options and the attendant resources needs to start immediately. Educators must be engaged to create these resources Development pilot and field-testing process is essential for success Pilot and Field testing must occur in select school districts in the school years leading up to final implementation.

Development and Implementation Course-Embedded and End-of Course Assessments Determine the arts education content standards Determine the courses for which course-embedded and end-of-course measures will be made available Collect existing course-embedded and end-of-course measures Develop criteria for review of existing assessment materials Field test any newly developed or selected course-embedded or end-of-course assessment materials

Development and Implementation Individual Assessment Plan–Arts Draft the Individual Assessment Plan–Arts student and instructor frameworks Frameworks should describe all components of the culminating project Pilot test the IAP–A with a representative sample of high school students Pilot test the consensus moderation process in a few county (e.g., NY BOCES) and large city districts “Close the loop” - Data should be reviewed annually and used for improvement

Development and Implementation Individual Assessment Plan–Arts

Recommended Schedule for Iap–A Development

Recommended Schedule for IAAP Development

Recommended Schedule for IAAP Development

Recommended Schedule for IAAP Development

Arts Pathway Assessment System - Phase 1 Continue use of selected short-term options based on their initial viability Seek an exception or exemption for use of the New York City Comprehensive Arts Examinations State-created model end-of-course examinations. Model Cornerstone Assessments from the National Core Arts Standards project Develop and field test processes for scoring

Phase 1Assessments C-Gel assessment materials and assessment process Arts AP examinations International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IB) Dual (concurrent) enrollment School program waivers

Phase 1Assessments Student developed portfolios. Cambridge exams (AICE). Summer arts programs offered by the NY School for the Arts Community-based arts experiences, summer, after school, and special arts programs and experiences offered by colleges/community colleges and other organizations.

Summary of Transition Assessments and Pathway Eligibility

Summary of Assessment Type and Pathway Eligibility

Recommended Technical Support Transition Assessments Create a process for review of local district, state, and other assessments that can be used for high school through-course and end-of-course assessment. Help collect information on available EOC exams, such as available resources for high school through-course and end-of-course assessment should be collected, reviewed, catalogued.

Recommended Technical Support Transition Assessments Establish the process for reviewing existing assessments. Carry out the review of existing assessments; use the state’s arts education professional organizations and others. Develop the assessment blueprints for the model state-developed high school through-course and end-of-course assessments. Develop the student and educator protocols for the Individual Arts Assessment Plan; use the state’s arts education professional organizations and others.

Recommended Technical Support Transition Assessments Create a plan for moderating collections of student work through consensus from the high school through-course and end-of- course assessments and the Individual Arts Assessment Plan. Assist the SED to pilot test and field test the consensus moderation model in sites across the state.

Recommended Technical Support Final Assessments Revise and refine the Individual Arts Assessment Plan framework, using the state’s arts education professional organizations and others. Help create the online software to provide the state- collected and state-developed model high school through-course and end-of-course assessments to local districts. Help create the online software to collect student work on the model high school through-course and end-of- course assessments and results from the Individual Arts Assessment Plans from local districts for local, regional, and state review. Assistance with implement of the consensus moderation model throughout the state.

For More Information Timothy S. Brophy – tbrophy@aa.ufl.edu Ed Roeber – roeber@msu.edu Frank Philip – frankphilip2@mac.com