Performance assessment and rubrics in art education: A study of student perceptions

Performance assessment is widely applied in university arts courses. However, rubrics are only rarely used in this context. The introduction of new assessment methodologies in the field of arts education has met with some resistance. There is a concern that the specificity of these disciplines requires a kind of connoisseurship model which recently developed assessment methods are unable to provide. This article describes the implementation of a rubrics-based performance assessment in a course taught on the Fine Arts, Design and Conservation/Restoration undergraduate degrees. We performed an empirical study of 94 students’ opinions of the use of rubrics. The calculation of basic statistics and correlation coefficients showed that the rubrics helped students to understand the learning environment and to plan and develop their work, and promoted high cognitive learning. However, their usefulness in self-and peer assessment was rated less positively.