Statewide arts testing?

Several New Hampshire school districts are piloting assessment tests in the arts.

The tests are part of the move towards competency-based education, in which students demonstrate their mastery of a subject through projects that are integrated with classwork. 

New Hampshire aims to replace some standardized tests with competency-based assessments.

Right now the statewide standardized tests only test students in English and mathematics.  Some arts advocates argue that adding tests in the visual arts and music will empower schools to evaluate and improve their arts education. 

As the state Department of Education wrote in 2009, “Other content areas are able to look at student level testing data to make decisions about programs. Providing arts teachers with an equal opportunity to look at their programs from a data perspective seems only fair.”  That document was addressing a simple survey of arts education, including questions about courses offered, enrollment, etc. 

Testing in the arts may also motivate schools to give as much attention to the arts as they do to math and reading.

Opponents of arts testing argue that any assessment of the visual arts and music performance is too subjective to be useful.

The piloted assessment tests in New Hampshire required a panel of teachers to grade self-portraits and recorder performances on a scale of 1 to 4, considering several factors.

“You’re just coming up with a number to fill a box, and that angers me,” one of the teachers said. “I don’t feel comfortable saying, ‘This kid is a 2.’” 

Others question the wisdom of grading creative projects.  After all, famous artists such as Vincent Van Gogh were scoffed at by their contemporaries.

Do you have an opinion on arts testing in New Hampshire?  Let us know in the comments.