Setting up your online account

This is an overview (for specific instructions on uploading or image order, etc. click on the links above):

Below are some images from the AP Portfolio grading or “reading.” This takes place in May.

Before you can access the AP Studio Art Digital Submission Web application, you will need to two pieces of access information: 

Mt. Eden’s school code: 051153

My Teacher Key: srs8896

 

January and February

 

               •Log in to the Digital Submission Web application as soon as I provide access information. Check with me if you haven’t received this information by mid-February. (View this demo for more information about accessing the application.)

You should expect to receive this access information from me by late January or early February. As soon as possible after you receive this information, go to the sign-in page at http://apstudio.ets.org (shown) and click Set up your access now. Click Student on the following screen to indicate your role.

 

                •Make sure that you have selected the correct type of portfolio (i.e., 2-D Design, 3-D Design, or Drawing). Selecting the correct portfolio type is very important, as it impacts how the portfolio is scored.  

                After creating an AP account, IMMEDIATELY email you login information and password to me @ ckking@husd.k12.ca.us OR put it in the comments of this page (I will not share this with anyone but you when you forget it…) 

                 •Begin uploading images as soon as possible after accessing the application, so that both you and I can monitor the development of your portfolio. You can always delete, add, or rearrange images later.

March and April

                 •Continue to work on your portfolio.  

                 •Confirm the deadline for you to submit your final digital portfolio to me.  

                •The AP Coordinator should provide you with information from your AP Student Pack (your AP number and a list of college codes) by sometime in April. You will need this information before you can forward your digital portfolio to me.  

                •Submit your finalized digital portfolio to me by MY deadline which is usually at least 2 weeks BEFORE the college board deadline.   

                •After you forward your portfolios to me, sign back into the Web application occasionally to view your portfolio’s status and to ensure that your Coordinator forwards your portfolios to the AP Program by the deadline in early May. Only Coordinators can take this final step, and only portfolios that have a “Sent to AP” status at the time of this deadline will be received by the AP Program and scored.  

May

                 •I will forward your completed digital portfolio to the AP Coordinator before the deadline in early May.

                 •Your AP Coordinator will forward your digital portfolio to the AP Program.

                 • We will begin the assembly of the Quality section (the physical portfolio component)
 to be put in the mail by the same deadline as the digital portfolio

                

 

 

 

 

 

 

How the Studio Art Portfolio is Graded

by Lauren Sleat Maryland Institute College of Art  Baltimore, Maryland

The job of the AP^® Exam Reader for the portfolios in Studio Art—that is, the task of scoring the student artwork—is a difficult one. As Readers, we want to make sure we give all students every possible chance to get the grade they deserve; we want to give them the benefit of the doubt. 

Readers are trained to look for students who are trying to enhance their intellectual engagement, understanding of visual language, and application of vocabulary. Student work should demonstrate originality, evidence of thought and personal vision. We also look for students who are more aware of the principles and elements of design in their work; these students tend to produce work that is not only conceptually but also technically superior. 

We are not saying that student work needs to “walk on water,” but we are looking for the following traits: emergence of technical competence, manipulation of original ideas, work that has purpose and direction, decisions executed with authority and confidence, evidence of experimentation and risk taking, a range of stylistic as well as technical concerns evident in the work, purposeful composition, and a sense of real effort. If the student is using photographic resources, we as Readers should be able to discern the student’s individual “voice,” that is, we should get a strong sense that the student is transforming the images to speak to the viewer from his or her artistic mindset. Exact replicas of published photographs are not useful in enabling the Readers to see into the student’s creative realm. This is only a small sample of the types of things Readers are looking for; however, the above criteria are very good guidelines. 

Three to seven Readers look at each portfolio to help ensure that the student’s achievements and the positive qualities of the artwork are recognized. For the Breadth and Concentration sections, two Readers look at each portfolio; for the Quality section there are three Readers for each portfolio. Each of the three sections has equal weight in averaging the final score. 

That said, there are inevitably times when not all Readers agree. In this situation, the Readers must take the portfolios to the Table Leaders for their judgment. Table Leaders are responsible for training Readers on how to use the rubric to evaluate the portfolios. When the scores between Readers vary by more than 3 points for a given section of a portfolio, they are considered discrepant. For instance, if one Reader gives the student a 1 and another Reader gives the student a 5, this is a discrepancy. Two Table Leaders will then review the work and decide a final score. 

After each portfolio is scored by the Readers, a table of assistants compile the scores. A record is kept of which Reader scored which portfolio to track how each Reader is evaluating and ensure that their scores are consistent. When there is a discrepancy between scores, the assistants take the portfolio in question over to the two or three Table Leaders for their opinion. This is the point at which the rubric is carefully considered; the discrepancy may be a result of Readers misinterpreting or not following the rubric. The Table Leaders score the portfolio again arriving at a score that is not discrepant through consensus. The Studio Art Chief Reader (who is in charge of the entire Studio Art Reading) does not like there to be more than a 1-point difference between the Table Leaders’ scores. There are times when the Chief Reader is called in to make a final decision on a portfolio if the Table Leaders cannot reach agreement. As you can see, the process of scoring portfolios and solving discrepancies is taken extremely seriously. 

The rubric is based on a 1-to-6 scale, 1 being the lowest and 6 being the highest possible score. The 1-to-6 score is the raw score for the Reading, and after the Reading the statisticians work the raw score into the 1-to-5 grades sent to students and schools. 

As teachers of AP Studio Art, our job is to help students excel. As AP Exam Readers, our job is to reinforce the push toward excellence by judging student work by the highest possible standard, with careful, fair, and consistent consideration. 

To Do list for last week of April

 Please remember that YOU ARE BEING GRADED ON EACH OF THESE STEPS and that grade is determined by WHEN these steps are complete. When ALL the things on this list are done, you don’t have to come to 7^th for the rest of the week. *In years past, all submitting seniors came in during STAR testing in the morning, but this year I’m testing 2^nd period class, so YOU HAVE TO COME TO 7^TH… Deal with it.

DON’T FORGET TO PAY OFF YOUR AP BALANCE DUE BY THE LUNCH DEADLINE!

1^st  Confirm that ALL 12 breadths are uploaded to your folder

 

2^nd  Confirm that ALL 12 Concentrations are uploaded to your folder

 

3^rd  RESHOOT any that are missing or out of focus

 

4^th  Crop all detail images for Concentration (do this with Ms. King)

 

5^th   Color corrections for all 24 images (do this with Ms. King or Mr. Gurley)

 

6^th Written Commentary Edited AND uploaded

 Turn in hard copy w/ English Teacher’s signature by 4/  for an “A”

 

7^th Upload Concentration and Breadth images to AP Website

 

8^th Upload Written Commentary to AP Website

 

9^th  Put Concentration in ORDER (see Concentration order page)

 

10^th  Put Breadth in ORDER (see Breadth order page)

 

11^th Type in Media and Dimensions for all Concentration and Breadth

 

12^th, Think you’re done with all the above? Hit “FORWARD TO TEACHER”

 

If I DON’T send it back to you for corrections, you don’t have to come to 7^th for the rest of the week. Otherwise, see you 7^th!