Revised APPR Assessments Part 2: 1st Grade

In my last post, I told you about my revised assessment for Kindergarten, which is serving this year as my LLO portion of my APPR.  In this post, I'll share how I changed the rubric for my 1st grade assessment and why.

Last year, 1st grade served as part of my SLO and while the assessment itself was a great thing, the rubric I had created was just too simple and hard to get a good, accurate measurement of growth out of.  You can see the post I did at the end of last year here.   This assessment involved asking the students to draw 6 things in 6 squares.  They were to be assessed on the subject itself, use of a horizon line, use of colors, and craftsmanship, but because of the way the rubric read, it was very difficult for the other art teacher who assessed my tests to give an accurate grade.  For one drawing, a student might have received a 4 for one aspect of their drawing but a 1 for another, which made it difficult to give a solid score for each drawing.

It was also hard to assess the "draw anything you want" square because let's face it, a lot of the 1st graders just drew "scribbled abstract art".  In the end, I didn't meet my 80% mark of students who met or passed my goal...I only had about 65% of students meet or exceed the goal.  So, here is how I changed this assessment for this year.

The first thing I did was change the six items students need to draw.  Now, they have to draw a fuzzy dog, a rainbow, a tree, a landscape, a self-portrait, and a still life.  I like the change in the last three options because now they have to prove that they learned content as to what those three subject types are.  I also changed my rubric.  It's a little bit more complex now, but I think it will be a lot easier to grade these drawings and get a more accurate show of growth.  

1^st Grade: 6-Square Drawing Test

Fuzzy Dog	Texture & Color    Student used appropriate colors for the subject and details drawn.  Student made object look like it has the appropriate texture.	4        3       2       1       0
	Dog Body Dog body is drawn accurately and looks like an actual dog.	4        3       2       1       0
	Background Student included appropriate details in the background for the subject, including a horizon line.  Sky is colored all the way to the horizon line.	4        3       2       1       0
Tree	Texture & Color Student used appropriate colors for the subject and details drawn.  Student made object look like it has the appropriate texture.	4        3       2       1       0
	Tree Structure Tree contains all appropriate parts (trunk, branches, leaves and possibly roots).  “Cloud tree”=3, “ice cream tree”=2, “lollipop tree”=1.  No tree=0.	4        3       2       1       0
	Background Student included appropriate details for the subject in the background, including a horizon line. Sky is colored all the way to the horizon line.	4        3       2       1       0
Rainbow	Color Order Correct colors ROYGBIV & order = 4 Correct colors ROYGBV & order = 3 (no indigo) Correct colors but not in order (or missing 2 colors) = 2 Did not use correct colors but has 3 colors present = 1 Used 1-2 colors (or no rainbow) = 0	4        3       2       1       0
	Background Student included appropriate details for the subject in the background. Sky is colored all the way to the horizon line (if one is included).	4        3       2       1       0
	Craftsmanship Student used neat coloring.  Colored the entire square.  Sky is colored all the way to the horizon line; ground is colored from the horizon line down to the edge of the square.	4        3       2       1       0
Landscape	Type of Art Student correctly drew a landscape.  Included images from outside where the nature is more important than man-made objects.  (Mountains, sky, sun, grass, weather, animals, etc.)	4        3       2       1       0
	Details Used appropriate colors for the subject and details shown.	4        3       2       1       0
	Craftsmanship Student used neat coloring and colored everything.	4        3       2       1       0
Still Life	Type of Art Student correctly drew a still life.  Drawing is of inanimate objects such as a vase of flowers, plants,  fruit, cups, dishes, etc.	4        3       2       1       0
	Details Used appropriate colors for the subject and details shown.  Included a horizon line.	4        3       2       1       0
	Craftsmanship Student used neat coloring and colored everything.	4        3       2       1       0
Self-Portrait	Type of Art Student correctly drew a self-portrait.  Student drew a picture of him or herself.	4        3       2       1       0
	Details Used appropriate colors for the subject and details shown.  Included all appropriate facial features (eyes, nose, mouth, ears, hair, eye brows, freckles, glasses, etc.).  If a body is included, student has shown all appropriate limbs (neck, arms, legs, feet, hands, torso, etc.).	4        3       2       1       0
	Craftsmanship Student used neat coloring and colored everything.	4        3       2       1       0

4=Advanced                  3=Satisfactory             2=Improving         1=Needs Improvement            0=Incomplete

________________ / 72 points = __________________ %