Summative vs Formative Assessment in the Elementary Art Room

Summative Assessment The focus is on the outcome  to evaluate student learning at the end of an instructional unit by comparing it against some standard or benchmark

Formative Assessment guides teachers in making decisions about future instruction The focus is on the development

Why Should we be assessing in the art classroom Validity Providing assessment in the Art classroom helps our children to view our programs as valid Extra measures of accountability create a more encouraging environment for our students to strive even more

Examples of formative assessment I have been very big on the thumbs up, thumbs down, closed fist for unsure this year Observation (Always a favorite) Students self assessment rubrics Open conversations

Examples of summative assessment Pre assessment Post assessment Skills test Quick standards based tests after every project (mine seem to take forever so its not as many as it seems)

Showing growth through assessment Summative assessment is only true way to show growth Skills assessments can be very difficult and time consuming Pre and Post assessments can be done in advance of every major unit or quarter