An Empirical Investigation of Criteria-Referenced Formative Assessment in the Arts

• In Event: Examining the Implementation and Impact of Formative Assessment Practices

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of criterion-referenced formative assessment on achievement in the arts. Forty-eight schools, including 5,640 elementary, middle, and high school students, were randomly assigned to treatment and control conditions. The treatment involved 24 music, art, theater, and dance teachers in professional development focused on formative assessment practices, particularly peer and self-assessment. Standardized, performance-based pre- and post-measures were used to evaluate learning. Propensity score analysis was used to examine group differences in performance on the post-assessment. Although the average treatment effect was not statistically significant, interactions between multiple covariates and group suggest that the criterion-referenced formative assessment reduced the range of treatment students’ scores and significantly increased a subgroup of average students’ scores.

Authors

• Heidi L. Andrade, University at Albany - SUNY

• Fei Chen, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill

• Angela M. Lui, University at Albany/SUNY

• Hirah Mir, University at Albany - SUNY

• Christopher Valle, University at Albany - SUNY