Praxis II Art Making Exam

The Art Making exam is administered to individuals who have earned bachelor’s degrees in art/art education and who are in the process of becoming art teachers. This exam covers techniques and elements used in the making of art two in two separate sections:

• Working Knowledge of Basic Art Concepts and Techniques of Art Making
• Documentation of Personal Art Making

The Working Knowledge of Basic Art Concepts and Techniques of Art Making portion of the test consists of two exercises that allow the examinees to demonstrate their ability or knowledge of art-making in two kinds of media. The types of media and subjects covered in this section of the exam include drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, crafts, technology/media, and principles and elements of design. Each type of art can be demonstrated using any appropriate tools, materials, and techniques. The examinee may be asked to either describe the process of an art form or to physically apply their knowledge. Each exercise should take 5 minutes to complete, and both are scored on a scale of 0-3. A score of 3 is the highest score and is given to those who use a considerable amount of art terms to thoroughly answer and describe their exercises and who show accurate and clear understanding of the processes involved in the exercises. Scores gradually decrease as examinees demonstrate less knowledge and use of appropriate terms for art making. Scores of 0 are given for exercises that are left blank.

For the Documentation of Personal Art Making section of the exam, the examinees are required to bring four color copies of four different personal works of art in different media. Examinees will describe in two essays the process and techniques used in making two of the art pieces. The essays must explain the reason for choosing the techniques, the meaning or themes of the pieces, the processes from start to finish, and the materials and tools used in creating the art. Each essay should take 25 minutes to complete.

Scoring is on a scale of 0-5. The highest score is 5 and is awarded for essays that demonstrate in depth knowledge and perception of art making techniques and in the application of techniques to convey themes and meaning. Scores decrease as the demonstration of comprehension and the ability to describe art making techniques decrease. Essays that are off-topic or left blank are given scores of 0.