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Home > The Role of the AP Studio Art Development Committee
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The Role of the AP Studio Art Development Committee
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by Robert E. Lazuka
Chair -- AP Studio Art Development Committee
Director, School of Art -- Ohio University
Athens, Ohio
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Introduction
Imagine a museum with no curator or board of directors. It might contain some interesting items, but would probably lack the focus and organization needed to offer a valuable learning experience to those who visit. Similarly, the AP Studio Art Program would not be an effective teaching and learning tool without the guidance of the AP Studio Art Development Committee. This committee serves as the guiding mechanism to this ever-evolving visual arts program.
The goal of the AP Studio Art Program is to offer college-level art experiences and, potentially, college credit and advanced placement to dedicated and highly motivated high school students. The Studio Art Development Committee designs, refines, and maintains this program within a framework that, we believe, offers students the kinds of experiences they need to achieve this goal. We do not believe that any single studio art school or program employs the best and only way to teach art, but rather that there are commonalities among approaches that we can all agree offer effective tools toward creativity. We want to afford teachers the freedom to teach their students the joys and challenges of art making, in the best way they know how, while meeting the requirements of the program. The desired goals and concepts are balanced with an eye on the practical or financial limitations some programs might face. We aim high without leaving behind those programs that have serious budgetary constraints. Expensive materials and expansive spaces are not required for making good art or for showing an understanding of design principles. However, investment of thought, study, and practice are required from both the student and the teacher.
Development Committee
The AP Studio Art Development Committee is composed of experienced college and high school teachers who have proven themselves as competent scorers of the AP Studio Art Portfolios (exams). Generally, two college teachers and two high school teachers are selected along with a chair, who is also a college-level teacher. The Chief Reader from the AP Studio Art Exam contributes as an ex officio member. In order to keep fresh ideas flowing and yet maintain community, all the members serve limited terms that overlap. Two representatives from Educational Testing Service® (ETS®) -- the organization charged with the operation and logistics of the test -- help round out the committee sessions by adding their particular perspectives.
A defining aspect of the program is its relevance to introductory, college-level art classes. In 1998, the Advanced Placement Program conducted a curriculum survey in order to gain a clearer picture of the most prevalent foundations courses taught at colleges, universities, and art schools throughout the nation. The Development Committee spent the next three years developing changes in the makeup of the portfolios to reflect more accurately these successful programs. In 2002, we began offering three portfolio programs that correlate directly to the most widely employed college-level foundations courses: drawing, two-dimensional design, and three-dimensional design. This improves the quality of experience AP students receive and provides a direct link to three college-level courses, thus enhancing the possibility for advanced placement and/or credit.
Reading the Exams
Each portfolio requires students to demonstrate their understanding and abilities in three aspects of art making: quality, concentration, and breadth. By requiring student engagement in these areas, we can obtain a fairly accurate gauge of their level of artistic development as it relates to introductory college-level study. In order to ensure that students receive a fair and accurate assessment of their work, the Development Committee and the Chief Reader guide the grading process (known as the Reading) that is conducted each June to assess the work of thousands of students from all regions of the United States (and some countries beyond).
After each Reading, the Chief Reader for Studio Art submits an Exam Report and an Operational Report to ETS and to the Development Committee, outlining the successes and shortcomings of that year's scoring. By discussing these documents, we determine whether or not the program's goals are being fairly addressed and whether or not the exam is offering a true reflection of students' achievements. Obstacles we may encounter at the Reading are analyzed to ascertain their causes and their ultimate effects on the desired outcome, which is, fair assessment. We discuss every aspect of the Reading to improve the fairness and effectiveness of the exam through effective training of Readers, clarification of exam requirements, and refinement of the assessment process.
Other Roles
The language in all AP Studio Art publications is also examined to determine its clarity and effectiveness for instruction and evaluation. The AP Studio Art Poster, certain content on the AP Central Web site, and the rubrics used for scoring the portfolios are analyzed and refined by the Committee each year. Course Descriptions are rewritten for publication every two years.
For our annual (and sometimes semiannual) meeting, we often travel to a different region of the United States so that we can include in our schedule a teachers' workshop at one of the local schools. This affords us the opportunity to connect with those of you who are the backbone of the AP Studio Art program: the AP teachers. Each of the committee members prepares a presentation that should answer some of your questions about new developments and help you solve some of the problems you might face "down in the trenches." We have developed sets of slide transparencies for these presentations, which represent each aspect of the portfolio requirements and are a valuable teachers' resource.
Conclusion
The Studio Art Development Committee believes that both students and teachers benefit in numerous ways from intense involvement in the art-making process. It is our hope that by maintaining and promoting a vital and viable national program in the visual arts we can improve opportunities for students while we aid teachers in professional development.
Robert E. Lazuka has taught printmaking and drawing at Ohio University since 1984, and is director of the School of Art at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. His fine art prints are in the permanent collections of the Whitney Museum of Art in New York; the Smithsonian National Museum of American Art in Washington, D.C.; and the Baseball Hall of Fame Museum in Cooperstown, New York, among other institutions. He began his involvement with the Advanced Placement Program in 1988 as a grader for AP Studio Art portfolios. The Chief Reader in Studio Art from 1997 to 2000, he is currently serving as chair of the AP Studio Art Development Committee.
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