2016 | Abridged Arts Framework From the arts, students discover how to use different senses, make decisions, learn from their mistakes, and work well with others — skills that they need to succeed in school and in life. Introduction The arts are an important part of the national vision for what every student should know and be able to do. Just as students draw from subjects like mathematics, science, and history to understand the world around them, they use the arts — which offer a unique combination of intellectual, emotional, imaginative, and physical experiences. From the arts, students discover how to use different senses, make decisions, learn from their mistakes, and work well with others — skills they need to succeed in school and in life. In these ways and more, the arts are essential to every child’s complete development. Having a large-scale national assessment in the arts makes an important statement about the need for all children in our country to obtain the special benefits of learning that only the arts provide. In recognition of the importance of the arts in education, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as The Nation’s Report Card, began assessing music and the visual arts in the 1970s. The National Assessment Governing Board, which has overseen and set policy for NAEP since 1988, then commissioned the development of a framework for the 1997 NAEP Arts Education Assessment, and the framework has remained in place since then. The NAEP arts education assessment framework resulted from the work of many organizations and individuals involved in the arts and arts education, including K-12 teachers, postsecondary arts educators, practicing artists, researchers, and assessment specialists. For members of the education community and the general public, the 2016 NAEP Arts Education Assessment Framework shows the scope and methodology of this arts assessment. NAEP and the Arts Assessment Framework NAEP is the largest continuing and nationally The development of the 1997 NAEP representative measure of U.S. elementary Arts Education Assessment Framework and secondary student achievement. coincided with the development of the For nearly 50 years, NAEP has assessed National Standards for Education in the Arts, representative samples of students in providing an unprecedented opportunity to various subjects. The results have become align standards and assessment in a model an unparalleled source of information on for arts education. In 2014, the National what U.S. students know and can do. Coalition for Core Arts Standards revised these national arts education standards, so The NAEP arts education assessment there is an opportunity for future NAEP arts framework was designed to measure assessments to incorporate the updated student achievement in dance, music, standards as part of NAEP’s overall transition theatre, and the visual arts at grades 4, to a digital assessment format. 8, and 12. This framework was used to develop the 1997, 2008, and 2016 NAEP Arts Assessments. Scope of 1997, 2008, and 2016 NAEP Arts Assessments In 1997, the NAEP arts assessment was For 2008 and 2016, NAEP tested a nationally conducted nationally at grade 8 in three representative sample of eighth-grade arts disciplines, also called content areas: students in music and the visual arts. music, the visual arts, and theatre. For music Due to funding constraints and the small and the visual arts, representative samples percentage of schools with theatre and of public and nonpublic school students dance programs, however, the other two were assessed. The theatre assessment arts content areas were not assessed. was conducted with a targeted sample So while the 2016 framework includes of students who had completed 30 hours guidelines for assessing all four arts areas, of theatre classes at schools that offered the 2016 NAEP Arts Education Assessment comprehensive theatre programs. Limited assessed eighth graders in only two areas — offerings of dance programs at schools music and the visual arts. across the country prevented that content area’s inclusion in the 1997 assessment. 2 National Assessment Governing Board Scope of 1997, 2008, and 2016 NAEP Arts Assessments Assessment Grades Assessed Content Areas Assessed Year Grade 4 Grade 8 Grade 12 Dance Music Theatre Visual Arts 1997   *     2008    2016 * The 1997 theatre assessment was conducted using a targeted sample of students in schools with comprehensive theatre programs. Arts Processes Tasks on the NAEP arts assessment have been developed to assess students’ abilities to create, perform, and respond to art. Because the assessment depends on precise definitions of what students should know and be able to do, the arts framework defines the processes in general, addressed below, and in the context of each of the arts disciplines, addressed in the following sections. Creating refers to Performing means acting Responding includes generating original art, out an existing work — a many forms and is usually allowing for expression of process that calls on the a combination of affective, personal ideas, feelings, and student’s interpretive cognitive, and physical responses in the form of a or re-creative skills and behavior, involving a level of visual image, a character, represents the engagement perceptual or observational a written or improvised and motivation involved in skill; a description, analysis, dramatic work, or the creating a work of art. or interpretation; and composition or improvisation sometimes a judgment or of a piece of music or dance. evaluation. Abridged Arts Framework 3 Arts Content Areas Arts education and evaluation vary by discipline, or content area. The 2016 NAEP Arts Education Assessment Framework addresses the evaluation of four content areas: music, the visual arts, theatre, and dance. Connection Between Arts Processes and Assessment Content The 2016 NAEP Arts Education Assessment Framework provides a general vision for assessing the four arts disciplines and the flexibility to accommodate differences among them. The matrix below shows how NAEP assesses the arts processes for each discipline. Each cell represents a subscale in which results may be reported. In theatre, creating and performing are viewed as a combined act, and the response to the work from the audience, director, actors, and designers is seen as an integral part of the creative process. Also, in the visual arts, reproducing an artist’s work is not central, so performing is not a focus of that assessment. The Framework Matrix Dance Music Theatre Visual Arts    Creating 2  1 d n a   8, Performing , 4 s e d a r G     Responding Knowledge and skills based on specific content in the arts disciplines 4 National Assessment Governing Board Music Music, which uses a unique set of symbols, is a form of artistic expression that involves creating (composing and improvising), performing (playing, singing, and conducting), and responding (listening, moving, analyzing, and critiquing). Performance of music demands the integrated development of cognitive, affective, and psychomotor skills. Sample Arts Processes for Music Creating § Use standard and/or nonstandard notation to express original ideas. § Demonstrate skill and expressiveness in the choice and use of musical elements. Performing § Apply skill by performing with technical accuracy. § Read musical notation accurately. § Apply historical, cultural, and aesthetic understanding by creating stylistically appropriate alterations, variations, and improvisations. Responding § Analyze the elements and structure of music. § Compare and contrast various musical styles. § Make critical judgments about technical and expressive qualities of musical performances and compositions. § Use movement or words to interpret and describe personal responses to music. AAbbrriiddggeedd AArrttss FFrraammeewwoorrkk 55 Sample Task This short constructed-response question assessed students’ abilities to use standard musical notation and to complete a piece in a musically satisfying way. Sample Question For this task, you are to write an ending for the rhythmic pattern you see below. You will hear it played two times. After you hear the rhythmic pattern, write an ending to the pattern in the empty measures printed in your test booklet. The music that you write should make the rhythm sound finished. You may use notes or rests in your answer, but do not copy any of the measures that are already used in the music. Make sure that the ending that you write has the correct number of beats. Sample Student Response Explanation A three-level guide was used to score each measure of the response individually for accurate musical notation. This meant that students could earn partial credit. Responses were scored as Adequate, Limited, or Inadequate; the sample student response above represents an Adequate score, as it uses correct notation that adds up to four beats for each measure. Students’ ability to create a musically satisfying ending was scored separately. Responses for this component were scored as either Acceptable or Unacceptable. Acceptable responses concluded on a strong beat. 66 NNaattiioonnaall AAsssseessssmmeenntt GGoovveerrnniinngg BBooaarrdd Visual Arts The visual arts are rightly described in the plural; at their broadest, they include forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, folk art, and the decorative arts. They also embrace a variety of media (film, photography, computer imaging, and video) and functional design areas such as architecture, industrial design, and graphic design. The visual arts are increasingly about the realization of ideas in formats that are simultaneously visual, spatial, and temporal. In addition, the visual arts enable students to reflect on what they inherit from past and present cultures. Sample Arts Processes for the Visual Arts Creating § Create subjects, themes, problems, and ideas that reflect knowledge and understanding of context and values (personal, social, historical, and cultural) and aesthetics. § Create preliminary or formative ideas (sketches, models, etc.) before final execution. § Create a product that reflects ongoing thoughts, actions, and new directions. Responding § Respond to content, form, context, and aesthetics. § Describe relationships between form and context; between form and meaning or function; and among critical/analytical models through understanding the works of critics, historians, aestheticians, artists, and designers. AAbbrriiddggeedd AArrttss FFrraammeewwoorrkk 77 Sample Task Students were presented with “Pittsburgh Memories,” a collage by artist Romare Bearden that depicts residents in an apartment building in Pittsburgh. In response to this work, students were asked to create their own collage. Sample Question Study the Bearden work, and think about how the collage shows the artist’s memory of what life in Pittsburgh was like. Notice how Bearden combines and organizes objects and places in unusual and unexpected ways to express what it is like to remember. Look for the ways in which interesting contrasts between inside and outside areas and the use of details and colors communicate a memory. Now think of a memory of a place where you once lived, where you live now, a friend’s house, or another place important to you in your community. What kinds of pictures do you see in your mind when you remember what it was like to be there? Being as creative as you can, create a memory collage of the place you choose. In your collage, communicate what you remember about what it was like both inside of this place and outside in the neighborhood. To make your collage: §§ Take out all of the materials from your packet. You may use your scissors and/or tear materials you choose for your collage. §§ Assemble on your sheet of white drawing paper pieces of any of the materials provided to show both the inside of the place you choose and what it was like outside. §§ Once you have pasted down these areas, you can add details with markers and oil pastels. After you have completed your memory collage, look carefully at it. Describe in detail the ways that you show a memory of the place you chose and explain what your collage is about. Use evidence from your work to support your answer. 88 NNaattiioonnaall AAsssseessssmmeenntt GGoovveerrnniinngg BBooaarrdd