Validity, Reliability, and Equity Issues in an Observational Talent Assessment Process in the Performing Arts

Abstract

The lack of valid, research-based methods to identify potential artistic talent hampers the inclusion of the arts in programs for the gifted and talented. The Talent Assessment Process in Dance, Music, and Theater (D/M/T TAP) was designed to identify potential performing arts talent in diverse populations, including bilingual and special education students and students who have had no prior formal arts instruction. Research results over 13 years in elementary schools in New York and Ohio provide evidence that creative and artistic potential can be assessed validly and equitably and that such assessments can offer a reliable prediction of success in rigorous arts instruction.

Utilizing the Consensual Assessment Technique to Compare Creativity in Drama Spaces

“…We sought to present drama warm-ups so that raters could score them for creativity, but we had to ensure that our videos were an authentic representation of drama. Although showcases or auditions are the standard for assessing performance ability (Oreck, Owen, & Baum, 2003), we argue that warm-ups are valid for the following reasons: first, the activity involves some degree of "enactment"; students express themselves in pretend scenarios, usually through voice or movement (Podlozny, 2000). Second, there is structure to this "enactment"; students are given a "script" or "game" with a beginning, middle and end (Podlozny, 2000;Sawyer, 2000).…”

“…Because we are interested in examining creativity at the level of interactions rather than products, our study examines a warm-up exercise rather than a showcase. By examining a warm-up, we can minimize external pressures that audiences may present and better focus on the learning of individuals acting with their environments (Barab & Plucker, 2002;Oreck, Owen, & Baum, 2003). Additionally, because raters can distinguish between process vs. product creativity (Hennessey, 1994), the warm-up may provide a more valid representation of creativity in the learning process than a showcase would.…”

“…Furthermore, because students in drama classes are trained to react and adapt to unexpected changes in their environment, performances are easily influenced by changes in time and space-especially in unscripted settings (Sawyer, 2000;Scruggs & Gellman, 2007). Therefore, a valid representation of process should include the possibility of spontaneous changes (Nachmanovitch, 1990;Oreck, Owen, & Baum, 2003). Thus, if the contexts of different performances remain consistent over time while the performances themselves change in quality, then we can claim that the reactions or interactions that occur within one context are more conducive toward creativity than those that occurred in another context where no qualitative improvement occurred (Beghetto & Kaufman, 2014;Sawyer, 2003).…”

A Powerful Conversation: Teachers and Artists Collaborate in Performance-Based Assessment

“…Th e categories are listed in Figure 1. Th e behavioral descriptors, along with the background and methodology of D/M/T TAP, is described in more detail elsewhere (Oreck, Owen, & Baum, 2004). Th e artists arrived at criteria supported by Renzulli's Th ree-Ring Conception of Giftedness (Renzulli, 1978), which defi nes giftedness as the confl uence of Above Average (not necessarily prodigious) Ability, Creativity, and Task Commitment.…”

“…Th e result is the Talent Assessment Process in Dance, Music, and Th eater (D/M/T TAP) (Oreck, Owen, & Baum, 2004), a fi ve-session process conducted by TAs in collaboration with classroom teachers. D/M/T TAP was originally developed and tested in ten New York City public elementary schools and has since been adapted and applied in schools in Ohio and other parts of the country.…”