in social studies assessments:

An Untapped Resource for Social Justice Education

By: Susan Zwirn & Andrea Libresco

art

A relatively new trend in assessment in American history education offers interesting opportunities to inject the arts into mainstream education in ways that could provide a catalyst for engagement with social justice issues.

A relatively new trend in assessment in American history education offers interesting opportunities to inject the arts into mainstream education in ways that could provide a catalyst for engagement with social justice issues. Document-based questions [DBQs] on statewide social studies assessments afford art and social studies teachers interested in social justice issues such opportunities. Long a staple of Advanced Placement exams, DBQs are turning up on statewide elementary, middle, and high school social studies assessments and have become an integral part of social studies curricula and tests in New York. These types of questions represent an authentic assessment, in that students read and analyze passages and visual images and then synthesize the information into a coherent essay. A pioneer in creating DBQs, New York state suggests that documents should include graphs, charts, maps, cartoons, photographs, artwork, eyewitness accounts, and historical passages and requires that its social studies assessment contain at least 2-3 visual documents per DBQ (NYS Social Studies). The input of art teachers in the creation and analysis of these exams (which are not constructed by a corporation but by New York teachers) is desirable if the assessments are to realize their potential for fostering social justice curriculum and instruction.

Why should art teachers committed to social justice issues care about social studies assessment? The arts are now, and historically, marginalized in American public education. In order to graduate from high school in Germany, students need 7-9 credits of art; in Japan, they need 5; in American schools, 0-2 suffice (Fowler, 1996). The central role of psychology in educational theory and its strong emphasis on language help account for this de-emphasis of art in American education (Crain, 1992; Cremin, 1976; Kliebard, 1995). Additionally, freedom of expression, available to American artists, may engender a view that educating for social justice is an endeavor that belongs to the history teacher. Teaming with colleagues to select art images for state assessments provides an avenue to place the arts on an equal platform with text in childrens hearts and minds as they engage in interpreting American culture and history.

Art as a Catalyst for Critical Thinking

Art teachers engagement with the selection of images for social studies assessment is also important because the arts promote alternate perspectives on historical events. By stimulating emotional connections to the past, art works motivate young people to relate past issues to those in their own lives and potentially make connections to events in the present. Issues of power, the legacies of slavery and Japanese internment, questions of legal justice, and justifications for war are some of the complex issues in American history that have inspired artists to create provocative works. Adding images to the teaching of history is an acknowledgment of the increasingly visual world of our students. In our visually oriented culture, where students knowledge of the contemporary world, and even of history, is as likely to emanate from television and film as it is from reading, it is critical that educators assist students

analysis of images. Art has the power to reframe public debate about the past and help transform popular memories and histories (Desai, Hamlin, & Mattson, 2010, p. 11). Art that exemplifies the complex contradictions of history can be found in a series of 80 paintings created by Ben Sakoguchi (2009) called Postcards from Camp (1999-2001). Studying family photos to substantiate his childhood recollections of his time in a Japanese internment camp in Rohwer, Arkansas, Sakoguchi authenticated his recollections by examining military, civilian, and internee photographs. Like an historian, this artist studied media of the time, as well as writings by internees, military, and governmental leaders, to reveal social, cultural, and political perspectives. The painting Rohwer, Arkansas (Figure 1) (19992001), shows children playing marbles outside their barracks. The text on the painting belies the cheerful scene: IF IT IS A QUESTION OF THE SAFETY OF THE COUNTRY (AND) THE CONSTITUTION WHY THE CONSTITUTION IS JUST A SCRAP OF PAPER TO ME. JOHN J. McCLOY, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF WAR, 1942. Our current war on terror was similarly promulgated in ways to justify a loose interpretation of constitutional rights. This painting offers tantalizing opportunities to stimulate empathic understanding of people in history and today. It would be extremely difficult to establish a direct causal link between critical thinking skills resulting from the contextual analysis of art images and an increased propensity for young people to work toward social justice. However, we can posit that the analysis of artworks provides opportunities to consider

issues of social justice. DBQs are designed to prepare students to consider multiple perspectives, reconcile differing positions, and evaluate the strength of particular arguments. Developing critical thinking skills in children is a necessary first step to nurture an informed citizenry. Calls for social justice can emerge only from an informed population.

figure 2 [left] Mrs. Nettie Hunt explaining the significance of the U.S. Supreme Courts May 17, 1954 desegregation ruling to her daughter Nikie, age 3.

figure 1 Rohwer, Arkansas, Ben Sakoguchi, 1999-2001.

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High Stakes Testing as an Opportunity

Recent experiences in American educational policy provide ample evidence that high stakes testing gets attention. The No Child Left Behind legislation has only exacerbated this fact (Chapman, 2004). How can art teachers, concerned with social justice, make this reality work for us? First, we have to ask ourselves whether all testing is negative. Leaders in the field of social studies education applaud the inclusion of DBQs, first introduced in 1973 (on Advanced Placement exams), because of their potential in stimulating authentic assessment for informed citizenry (Grant, Gradwell, & Cimbricz, 2004; Rothschild, 2000). For example, a recent New York State United States History and Government examination administered to 11th-graders (January 2009) contained a DBQ that asked students to [D]iscuss how decisions of the Warren Court affected American society. Two of the nine documents included in the case were visual images. The first, a photo (Figure 2), depicted Mrs. Nettie Hunt explaining the significance of the U.S. Supreme Courts May 17, 1954 desegregation ruling to her daughter Nikie, age 3. Two other powerful photographs depicting an

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aspect of the Civil Rights Movement appeared on the June 2008 exam: (a) A mob surrounds Elizabeth Eckford outside Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas on September 4, 1957. (Figure 3); (b) On September 25, 1957 federal troops escort the Little Rock Nine to their classes at Central High School (Figure 4). Requiring analysis and synthesis of textual and visual documents on the tests, as opposed to the familiar reproduction of information required by multiple choice items, can give classroom teachers the impetus to use more thoughtful materials in their own teaching. Thus, as Rothschild points out, DBQ[s] and especially the emphasis on primary sources have profoundly changed instruction at all levels of American history (2000).

If art teachers and their social studies colleagues work together, students in U. S. History classes can benefit from analyzing images in lessons and assessments.

Visualizing a Wider Range of Documents

Since the New York State Regents Examination became a high stakes test whose passage is a requirement for graduation from high school, the state has archived all past examinations on the New York State Department of Education website. We were able to access all 24 exams given from June 2001 through January 2009, the period when the DBQ became one of the two required essay questions on the exam. Our analysis of these United States examinations reveal that there were 192 documents on the 24 tests, each containing an average of 8 documents. Out of those 192 documents, 51 (26%) were visual documents. Forty-two of the 51 visual documents could be categorized as arts documents. Thus, of the 192 total documents, 42 or 22% could be labeled as arts documents. Viewing the 42 arts documents, there were 17 photographs, 17 political cartoons, 7 advertisements of some kind (posters, flyers, broadsides), and 1 illustration (State Assessment History: Social Studies Regents Examinations).

This list of images is remarkable for what it does not include: images generally considered to be fine art. Most of the images are what Rothschild refers to as informational images (Rothschild, 2000, p. 555), the types of images that art history tends to ignore. Working in isolation from art educators, social studies educators are the sole selectors of all DBQ images, which helps to account for the dearth of fine arts on these tests. Studies of secondary teachers in New York have found that, since the advent of DBQs on the state social studies tests, teachers are more attentive to the use of primary source documents, including images (Grant, Derme-Insinna, Gradwell, Lauricella, Pullano, & Tzeto, 2001, 2002; Schwartz, Blue, Klemann, Kramerson, & Perielli, 2002). Standardized tests have become important drivers of curriculum and instruction. Classroom teachers are turning to art and museum educators to assist them in preparing students to interpret DBQs (Richner, N., personal communication, May 1, 2010). There is no reason why social studies teachers should not turn to their art teacher colleagues down the hall as well. Because social studies assessments in New York State are created, piloted, and edited by groups of teachers, it is entirely possible that art teachers could be part of those groups. Just because this has not occurred to date (Larson, J., personal communication, April 12, 2010) does not mean it cannot be considered. Even if no art teachers were included among the test-creators, art teachers can still have an effect on test construction and classroom instruction, albeit from a slight remove. If art teachers and their social studies colleagues work together, students in U.S. History classes can benefit from analyzing images in lessons and assessments.

figure 4 [below] On September 25, 1957 federal troops escort the Little Rock Nine to their classes at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.

figure 3 A mob surrounds Elizabeth Eckford outside Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas on September 4, 1957.

Tests Potential to Drive Social Justice Instruction

Studies of elementary assessment in New York State in English Language Arts and Mathematics have found that the tests, which require more writing and problem solving, have driven instruction and professional development programs that also focus more on writing and problem solving (Cizek, 2001; Cohen & Hill, 2000; Firestone & Mayorwetz, 2000; Dutro, Fisk, Koch, Roop & Wixson, 2002; Mathison & Freeman, 2003). Thus, proponents of critical thinking have concluded that the easiest way to reform instruction and improve educational quality is to construct better tests that emphasize critical thinking (Yeh, 2001; Firestone & Mayorwetz, 2000). Closely linking professional development to analysis of statewide assessments and the creation of DBQs may become a means for teachers to insert more documents, both textual and visual, that encourage critical thinking into their classroom instruction. If well-constructed assessments and their concomitant professional development programs can foster critical thinking instruction, there is every reason to believe that assessments can also foster social justice instruction through the opportunities to read visual culture provided by DBQs. A critical examination of social studies assessments in New York State and the possibilities for the intersections of social studies, art, and social justice provide art educators with a significant

opportunity to emphasize the critical role of art to reflect and shed new meaning on history and culture. We invite art teachers to become involved with selection of images that will require students to analyze issues of power and social justice for DBQs on state assessments and in classroom lessons. Teachers of global history may be more accustomed to showing works of art than their counterparts who teach American History. The state core curriculum has many more references to works of art through the Renaissance, though few in the most recent centuries, as written works come to dominate the suggested documents list in the 20th century (NYS social studies Core Curriculum). In New York States United States History core curriculum, there are many fewer references to art documents; the emphasis of K-12 education is for students to understand the structure and function of governments and to learn how to take on their roles as citizens (NYS social studies Core Curriculum). Indeed, the only overt references to art are found in the Gilded Age with Thomas Nast cartoons, the Progressive Era with Jacob Riis photographs, and in the culture of the Depression/New Deal time period (NYS social studies Core Curriculum). The scarcity of artistic documents may be attributed to the fact that New York States U.S. History course emphasizes the Constitution and its effects throughout history, with little emphasis on what is revealed through cultural production.

figure 5 Slavery, Slavery, Kara Walker, 1997.

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linking images and social justice issues

Rohwer, Arkansas, Ben Sakoguchi, 1999-2001 (Figure 1) See pages 3-4 for a discussion of this painting. Sakoguchi, born in California, has created several series of paintings that include the subjects of Japanese internment, slavery, baseball and race, and other aspects of American culture. A prolific artist who has chronicled controversial historical and cultural issues, Sakoguchis series of 80 paintings, Postcards from Camp, portrays life before, during and after Japanese internment. Sacco and Vanzetti, Ben Shahn, 1931-32 Following World War I, nationalistic zeal was reflected in an emerging artistic style that produced many potent images, stimulated calls for social and economic justice, and came to be known as Social Realism. A Jewish refugee from Lithuania, Shahn examined his ethnic roots while the Depression developed, which reinforced a concern for the plight of workers. Shahn is particularly known for his series on the Sacco and Vanzetti case that grappled with the trial and execution of Italian immigrants. In addition to chronicling the central issue of his time, Shahns art suggests compelling comparisons to issues confronting todays immigrants and other working class Americans. Midnight Ride of Paul Revere, Grant Wood, 1931 Reared in a small shack in Iowa, Wood is considered a Regionalist painter who claimed that his best ideas came while on a farm. The painting conveys a fable-like quality; the dwellings look like doll houses with a rocking horse. The artist presents the vantage point of the viewer in a way that makes the viewer feel omniscient, as we look down on the monochromatic, dramatic scene. Patriotic fervor can turn history into a fable that ignores inconvenient truths.

The Migration of the Negro, Jacob Lawrences Migration series, 1940 In 1941, at a time of pervasive and legalized segregation, Lawrence was the first African American to be represented by a major New York City gallery. Lawrence confronted contemporary themes affecting the lives of African Americans, such as migration, work, and family, with powerful, simplified shapes and color in a way that included strong social commentary. Slavery, Slavery, Kara Walker, 1997 (Figure 5) Motivated by her love of history painting, Walker strives to move from the pomposity and inaccuracy endemic in historical paintings to a brutal and meticulous kind of art that explodes racial stereotypes in disturbing images. (Desai, et. al., 2010). Inspired by the antebellum South and 18th- century silhouettes, this installation commands an entire room with images of blacks and whites of all ages, some engaged in disturbing poses. Drawing from slave narratives as well as her imagination, her research of Southern life, and even the novel Gone with the Wind, Walkers artwork compels the viewer to engage with history in a visceral, wrenching way (Desai, et. al., 2010). The Death of General Wolfe, Benjamin West, 1771 The compelling story of this tenth child of an innkeeper includes that he was taught to mix paints by Native Americans in the region. The depiction of the Native American warrior is an idealization of the concept of the noble savage. In opposition to the images in twentieth century cowboy films, Wolfe portrayed the main Native American embodying deep thought. This painting was extremely controversial at the time, as it ignored the convention of dressing figures in classical attire. Wolfe has re-written the actual event as no Native Americans were present; they were fighting for the French against the British.

Analyzing images, including fine arts, can support the growth of basic historical literacy abilities by stimulating students to analyze artistic ideas, take positions and defend them, examine the world of visual images they live in, and ask new questions and produce historical information in novel ways (Desai, et al., 2010). Here are some possible examples by American artists that reveal volumes about their subjects. The first image reveals the bias and role of story in historical painting, the purpose of which has been largely usurped by photography today. Other artworks that offer rich possibilities are noted on the previous page.

References
Cizek, G. J. (2001). More unintended consequences of high stakes testing. Educational Measurement 20(4), 19-27. Chapman, L. (2004). No child left behind in art. Arts Education Policy Review, 106, 2, 3-20. Cohen, D. K., & Hill, H. C. (2000). Instruction policy and classroom performance: the mathematics reform in California. Teachers College Record, (102) 2, 294-343. Crain, W. (1992). Theories of development. NJ: Prentice Hall. Cremin, L. (1976). Traditions of American education. New York: Basic Books. Desai, D., Hamlin, J., Mattson, J. (2010). History as art, art as history. New York: Routledge. Dutro, E., Fisk, M. C., Koch, R., Roop, L .J., & Wixson, K. (2002). When state policies meet local district contexts: standards-based professional development as a means to individual agency and collective ownership. Teachers College Record, (104), 4. Firestone, W. A., & Mayorwetz, D. (2000). Rethinking high-stakes: lessons from the United States and England and Wales. Teachers College Record, (102) 4, 724-749. Fowler, C. (1996). Strong arts, strong schools. New York: Oxford University Press. Grant, S.G., Derme-Insinna, A., Gradwell, J., Lauricella, A.M., Pullano, L., & Tzeto, K. (2001). Teachers, tests, and tensions: Teachers respond to the New York State global history exam, International Social Studies Forum, 1(2), 107-125. Grant, S. G., Derme-Insinna, A., Gradwell, J., Lauricella, A. M., Pullano, L., & Tzeto, K. (2002). Juggling two sets of books: A teacher responds to the New York State Global History Exam, Journal of Curriculum and Supervision, 17(3), 232-255. Grant, S. G., Gradwell, J.M., Cimbricz. S. K. (2004). A question of authenticity: The document-based question as an assessment of the students knowledge of history. Journal of Curriculum and Supervision, (19)4, 309-337. Kliebard, H. M. (1995). The struggle for the American curriculum 1893-1958. New York: Routledge. Mathison, S., & Freeman, M. (2003, September 24). Constraining elementary teachers work: dilemmas and paradoxes created by state mandated testing. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 11(34). Retrieved September 24, 2003, from http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v11n34/. New York State Social Studies. Learning Standards and Core Curriculum: Global History and Geography, United States History and Government, Grade 12 Social Studies. Retrieved January 26, 2010, from http://www.emsc.nysed. gov/ciai/socst/pub/sscore2.pdf. New York State Social Studies. What are document-based questions and why are we doing them? Retrieved March 28, 2006, from http://www.emsc. nysed.gov/ciai/ dbq/iione.html. Regents Exam in U.S. History and Government. (January 29, 2009). Albany, NY: New York State Education Department. Retrieved May 25, 2009 from http://www.nysedregents.org/testing/socstre/us-109/us-109.pdf. Rothschild, E. (2000). The impact of the document-based question on the teaching of US history, The History Teacher, (33)4, August, 495-500. Sakoguchi, B. (2009). http://www.bensakoguchi.com/series_postcards_from_ camp.php Schwartz, S., Blue, S. Klemann, M., Kramerson, A., & Perielli, J. (2002). Using document based questions (DBQ) as a research tool for the teaching and learning about young adults. Paper presented at the annual conference of the National Council for the Social Studies, Phoenix, AZ. State Assessment: Social Studies Regents Examinations - U. S. History, http:// www.nysedregents.org/testing/socstre/regentushg.html Yeh, S.S. (2001). Tests worth teaching to: constructing state-mandate tests that emphasize critical thinking. Educational Researcher, (30)19, 12-17.

The Power of Art and Studies Teachers to Foster Thoughtful Citizens

The small sample of artworks above reveal glorification of the past, the impact of slavery on its victims, and the injustice faced by Americans. Art stimulates emotional connections to the past and understanding in unique and profound ways that can never be duplicated by mere words or graphs. DBQs should include works of contemporary and traditional artists, as their creations offer alternate perspectives on historical events. Art teachers strive to teach children how to read the visual signs of past and present cultures. DBQs offer art teachers intriguing openings to extend their influence beyond their own classrooms to those of their social studies colleagues. If art teachers contribute to the creation of social studies assessments and instruction, they will have greater opportunities to challenge social studies teachers and students to analyze artworks for what they reveal about societal values and power structures. In the process, they may nurture students to become more visually literate and help create informed citizens who have the tools to analyze and critique their society.

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Susan Goetz Zwirn is the Graduate Director and Associate Professor of Art Education at Hofstra University. Her research areas include the marginalization of the arts in American education, arts integrated curriculum, and the artist teacher. In addition, she is a painter and arts program evaluator. E-mail: catsgz@hofstra.edu Andrea S. Libresco is Associate Professor and Graduate Director of Social Studies Education and Associate Director of the Center for Teaching and Scholarly Excellence at Hofstra University. She has written on a variety of topics, including citizenship, current events, and gender and conducts ongoing research on the effects of the New York State elementary and secondary social studies tests on instruction. E-mail: Andrea.S.Libresco@hofstra.edu