Authentically assess your arts students

MAEIA assessments were created to assess K-12 fine arts performance through the use of performance tasks and events. Our catalog includes 360 assessments in dance, music, theatre, and visual arts. Use an assessment as is, or modify it to fit your classroom needs.

Made by arts educators for arts educators

1,000+ arts educators contributed to the development of the MAEIA resources through the Michigan Assessment Consortium with funding from the Michigan Department of Education. MAEIA assessments are for voluntary use by arts educators at no cost to schools.

MAEIA assessments are curriculum-embedded

Choose MAEIA performance assessments that fit your planned curriculum and use them strategically throughout a semester, course, or year. The assessments can easily be adapted to meet your student and classroom needs, including accommodations for special education students.

Your students demonstrate what they can do, to their full potential

Performance assessment asks students to apply their knowledge and skills to create a product, presentation, or demonstration focused on key aspects of standards. MAEIA assessments are aligned to standards that ask students to create, perform/present, and respond. In this way, assessment becomes part of the creative and learning process, rather than a separate experience.

You measure student growth in a meaningful way

Use MAEIA assessments in your own classroom, or as common assessments in a team. For individual teachers, data and exemplars of student work can be powerful components in demonstrating educator effectiveness. When used in a team, assessment results can foster meaningful conversations about student needs and common planning for curriculum, instruction, and program improvement.

Key Resources

My Assessment Plan

Read tips on selecting MAEIA assessments and plan when and how you will use the assessments.

MAEIA Assessment Administration Manual

This manual provides general guidelines, information, and advice on administering the MAEIA assessments.

FAQs

Have questions? Check out our most frequently asked questions and answers!

Are these standardized tests for the arts?: Yes. The MAEIA assessments are standardized–they are measures of student performance with a predefined set of assessment administration procedures and a defined set of student products to be evaluated using a pre-defined set of teacher scoring rubrics–but they are different from the standardized tests you may be familiar with. Rather than interrupt instruction, the MAEIA performance assessments are intended to be used as instruction is occurring, to document growth in student learning. The MAEIA assessment design is that arts educators will select a few of these rich, project-based, curriculum-embedded performance assessments to use in their classrooms. Rather than the state (or anyone else) selecting assessments for you, it is up to each teacher to select the MAEIA assessments that fit his/her already-planned instruction, and to use the assessments when and how they will be most useful to the individual teacher.
Who created these performance assessments?: Professional educators from all over the state of Michigan and from all levels of education have collaborated in developing the assessment items. In using these items, you are backed by professionals in your field who share your values and concerns in student, teacher, and program achievement.
I have read through the assessment items and wonder, “Who teaches this way?”: In any discipline, there are many approaches to content selection and delivery. There are also commonalities. We hope you find assessment items that suit your existing curriculum but also inspire you to expand your repertoire in delivering content.
Do I have to follow the script and the duration of time listed in the booklet?: No. The language and the length of times listed in the teacher booklets are guides to assist in your planning and proctoring of the assessments.
How are the items used for common assessment?: When you and your colleagues within a single discipline or within a department select the same assessment items, and agree to use the items in the same way and for the same purpose, they become common assessments.
Can the prompts be changed to reflect the genres represented in my class?: Yes, most of the assessments can be easily adapted to use a different selection of music, movement, or media. In doing so, you may also provide us with feedback on how you changed the item so we may identify improvements and update the assessments as we see fit.
How can the MAEIA performance assessments assist in the enhancement of a student portfolio?: By selecting a variety of assessments, you may find the variety of work to be included with a student portfolio is enriched. You may also find applying a single assessment to multiple projects offers a through-line in choosing the order of portfolio items.