How are Schools Testing in Art, Music, and Gym?
Today at Slate I look at models for testing in art, music, theater, and physical education. Though it may seem absurd to administer standardized tests in these subjects, attempts to do so are proliferating in response to President Obama's Race to the Top program, which asked states and districts to collect student achievement data for every teacher, in every grade level and every subject.
South Carolina has been a trailblazer here. Their fourth-grade music and arts tests do include "performance tasks;" in music, students perform an 8-beat rhythym, and in art they create a drawing that is graded on whether it depicts depth of field, detail, and texture. But there is also a multiple choice component:
South Carolina has been a trailblazer here. Their fourth-grade music and arts tests do include "performance tasks;" in music, students perform an 8-beat rhythym, and in art they create a drawing that is graded on whether it depicts depth of field, detail, and texture. But there is also a multiple choice component:
South Carolina’s fourth-grade music exam, administered via computer, asks: “When singing a melody