Are you interested in assessment? The National Coalition for Core Arts Standards' Model Cornerstone Assessment Pilot Project is still in need of benchmarkers. NCCAS is in the second year of two-year NEA funded grant to try out the National Core Arts Standards embedded MCAs in the classroom. Last year, we had teachers apply the grade 2, 5, and 8 MCA tasks and submit examples of student work they considered at or above standard, based on the given rubric; those examples were then reviewed by a team of five expert benchmarkers (for each arts discipline), first virtually (and working independently). They then came together in person for three days to achieve consensus on some of the examples. Twenty or so of those examples are now posted on the standards website (http://www.nationalartsstandards.org/) under “view student artworks.
This past year, we repeated the project, with fifteen teachers from throughout the country putting the high school MCAs on their feet (at the levels of proficient, accomplished and advanced). We are about to start the initial review process of the student products that our pilot teachers have submitted. This phase of the review will take place between mid-June and early August. August 7-9, we will bring together the benchmarkers in all five arts areas to do a final in-person review of a select number of those student examples, with the goal of establishing consensus agreement on the student work that is at or above standards.
If you're interested in participating, please consider doing so in the next few days at
NCCAS High School MCA Benchmarker Application
If you have questions about the project, please reach out to me at jpalmarini@schooltheatre.org
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James Palmarini
Director of Educational Policy; Editor-at-Large - Teaching Theatre
Cincinnati OH
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