Dive Brief:
- The nation’s schools have focused on reading and math instruction to the exclusion of other subjects in the years since annual standardized tests in those subjects have dominated accountability measures, and now teachers in the arts are wondering if standardized tests might help shift attention back to their subjects.
- The Hechinger Report writes New Hampshire and Michigan are among the states testing standardized, but still performance-based, assessments for music and art, though the development process has been a challenge as teachers struggle to create a rubric that can be used consistently.
- While more time-consuming, teachers could consider student work or performances in groups, coming to a consensus on a final score, but no matter the final system, assessing students in the arts likely will remain voluntary.
Dive Insight:
The education reform movement in the United States loves data. Standardized tests, particularly of the multiple-choice variety, offer quick data to compare students across schools, ethnic groups, income levels and ability designations. But they have their drawbacks. Some students don’t test well. Others don’t have the cultural capital to understand references in reading passages or lengthy math problems that are really just part of the setup to prove another skill.
That’s part of why states like New Hampshire are testing out performance-based assessments that give students alternative methods to prove what they know. The Every Student Succeeds Act will actually allow seven states to participate in a pilot, testing new assessment plans on a small scale in advance of taking them statewide. It will also allow states to move away from school accountability systems that focus exclusively on tests, though some argue the U.S. Department of Education’s proposed rules will restrict the freedom states were expected to have.