NCAS.A.9National Core Arts StandardsArtsRespondingGrades 6-12
NCAS.A.9: Applying Criteria to Evaluate Artistic Work
In plain English: NCAS.A.9 is National Core Arts Standards anchor standard 9, in the Responding process, which asks students to apply criteria to evaluate artistic work in any art form. In grades 6-12 that means choosing standards that fit a work's purpose and form, judging how well the work meets them with evidence from the work, and explaining the verdict, rather than stating a preference alone.
NCAS.A.9 asks students to apply criteria to evaluate artistic work. It is the third anchor in the Responding process, which the National Core Arts Standards define as "Understanding and evaluating how the arts convey meaning." Evaluating is more than saying whether you like something. A criterion is a standard a work can be measured against, such as how well it fits its purpose, how skillfully it is made, or how clearly it carries its meaning. Applying criteria means naming the standard, gathering evidence from the work (anchor 7), considering its intent and meaning (anchor 8), and reaching a judgment with reasons that someone else can check.
This lesson works in any art form. Students read an 1814 theatre review in which the critic William Hazlitt measures an actor's performance against a clear standard, then evaluate three invented works in visual art, music and theatre, compare a preference-only review with a criteria-based one, and set criteria before evaluating short live work made in class. The page has no images: every work is described in words.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
Tell a statement of preference apart from an evaluation based on criteria
Choose or write criteria that suit a work's purpose, art form, audience and setting, before evaluating it
Apply criteria to a work, supporting each judgment with specific evidence and naming both strengths and weaknesses
Explain how different criteria, or different weights on the same criteria, can lead to different verdicts
Prior Knowledge Required
Students should already be comfortable with:
Perceiving and analyzing artistic work with checkable observations NCAS.A.7
Interpreting a work's intent and meaning with evidence NCAS.A.8
Judging whether evidence is relevant and sufficient to support a claim CCRA.R.8
Multiplying and adding small whole numbers, for weighted scores
"Two students review the same school play. One writes, 'It was great.' The other writes, 'The actors could be heard in the back row, but the scene changes took so long that the audience lost track of the story.' Which review would help the actors more, and why?"
Take answers, then underline the parts of the second review that name what is being judged (being heard, the length of scene changes, following the story) and the parts that give evidence (the back row, the audience losing track). Tell students that those named standards are criteria, and that the first review has none, so no one can check it or act on it.
Direct Instruction15 minutes
Terms for the lesson.
Preference: what a person likes or dislikes. "I love this song" is a preference. It is honest and worth knowing, but it does not tell anyone whether the work succeeds.
Criterion (plural criteria): a standard for judging, such as fit with purpose, skill of execution, clarity of meaning, unity, or originality.
Evaluate: judge how well a work meets the criteria, with evidence from the work and reasons that link the two.
Weight: how much one criterion counts compared with the others. A class might count "fits the purpose" twice because it matters most for that work.
Where criteria come from: the work's purpose and the maker's intent, the craft of the art form, the audience and setting, and the evaluator's own values, stated openly so others can weigh them. Good criteria are set before judging, and they fit the work: a lullaby is not judged by how exciting it is.
A critic at work. William Hazlitt (1778-1830) was an English essayist and theatre critic. In 1814 he reviewed the actor Edmund Kean, then new to the London stage, as Richard III, the scheming king in Shakespeare's play. In this review he compares Kean with two earlier actors who played the part, Cooke and Kemble. Lady Anne, Hastings and Buckingham are characters in the play; "the first tempter" is the serpent in the Garden of Eden story; "shew" is an old spelling of "show." Paragraphs are numbered.
1Mr. Kean’s manner of acting this part has one peculiar advantage; it is entirely his own, without any traces of imitation of any other actor. He stands upon his own ground, and he stands firm upon it. Almost every scene had the stamp and freshness of nature. The excellences and defects of his performance were in general the same as those which he discovered in Shylock; though, as the character of Richard is the most difficult, so we think he displayed most power in it. It is possible to form a higher conception of this character (we do not mean from seeing other actors, but from reading Shakespear) than that given by this very admirable tragedian; but we cannot imagine any character represented with greater distinctness and precision, more perfectly articulated in every part. Perhaps, indeed, there is too much of this; for we sometimes thought he failed, even from an exuberance of talent, and dissipated the impression of the character by the variety of his resources. To be perfect, it should have a little more solidity, depth, sustained, and impassioned feeling, with somewhat less brilliancy, with fewer glancing lights, pointed transitions, and pantomimic evolutions.
2The Richard of Shakespear is towering and lofty, as well as aspiring; equally impetuous and commanding; haughty, violent, and subtle; bold and treacherous; confident in his strength, as well as in his cunning; raised high by his birth, and higher by his genius and his crimes; a royal usurper, a princely hypocrite, a tyrant, and a murderer of the House of Plantagenet. [...]
3If Mr. Kean does not completely succeed in concentrating all the lines of the character, as drawn by Shakespear, he gives an animation, vigour, and relief to the part, which we have never seen surpassed. He is more refined than Cooke; more bold, varied, and original than Kemble, in the same character. In some parts, however, we thought him deficient in dignity; and particularly in the scenes of state business, there was not a sufficient air of artificial authority. The fine assumption of condescending superiority, after he is made king—‘Stand all apart—Cousin of Buckingham,’ &c. was not given with the effect which it might have received. There was also at times, a sort of tip-toe elevation, an enthusiastic rapture in his expectations of obtaining the crown, instead of a gloating expression of sullen delight, as if he already clutched the bauble, and held it within his grasp. [...]
4In one who dares so much, there is little indeed to blame. The only two things which appeared to us decidedly objectionable, were the sudden letting down of his voice when he says of Hastings, ‘chop off his head,’ and the action of putting his hands behind him, in listening to Buckingham’s account of his reception by the citizens. His courtship scene with Lady Anne was an admirable exhibition of smooth and smiling villainy. The progress of wily adulation, of encroaching humility, was finely marked throughout by the action, voice, and eye. He seemed, like the first tempter, to approach his prey, certain of the event, and as if success had smoothed the way before him. We remember Mr. Cooke’s manner of representing this scene was more violent, hurried, and full of anxious uncertainty. This, though more natural in general, was, we think, less in character. Richard should woo not as a lover, but as an actor—to shew his mental superiority, and power to make others the playthings of his will. [...]
William Hazlitt, Hazlitt reviews Edmund Kean as Richard III (The Morning Chronicle, February 15, 1814; marked cuts) (1814; this edition 1903). Public domain (published 1903). Source text.
Read paragraphs 1 and 2 aloud. Ask: "Before Hazlitt judges any scene, what does he tell us about the standard he is using, and where?" Let pairs search for a minute and hold their answers for the quiz. Point out that Hazlitt praises and faults the same performance, and that almost every judgment is tied to a particular moment on stage.
Three works to evaluate. The cards below describe invented works, each made for a stated purpose. Read them aloud, one per volunteer. The card number is the paragraph number.
1Card 1. Visual art. Two posters for a school winter concert. The music teacher set their purpose: tell students the day, time and place, and make them want to come. The posters hang in a hallway where people pass about 3 meters away. Poster X is covered in hand-drawn snowflakes in fine silver ink, each one different and carefully detailed; the day, time and place are written along the bottom in letters about 1 cm tall. Poster Y has a plain dark blue background, one large white drawing of a trumpet, and the words "Winter Concert, Thursday, 7 p.m., Gym" in white letters about 6 cm tall. In a class test (invented data), 10 students each walked past both posters at about 3 meters. Afterward, 9 of the 10 could repeat the day and place from Poster Y, and 2 of the 10 from Poster X. Asked which poster showed more drawing skill, 8 of the 10 chose Poster X.
2Card 2. Music. A school choir of 32 singers performs Hush, River, a lullaby, at a spring concert. In the first verse the choir sings softly and every word is clear. In the second verse the tempo speeds up a little. In the chorus the sopranos sing louder than the other parts, and the altos' words are hard to hear. At the end, all 32 singers hold the last note softly and stop together.
3Card 3. Theatre. The Lost Key, a two-minute comedy scene for two actors, performed for a sixth-grade audience. A student has locked a bicycle and lost the key; a friend helps search. The class agreed on three criteria in advance, each scored from 1 to 4: story clarity (counted double, because the audience is young), comic timing, and use of the stage. Afterward, most of the audience could retell the plot, so the class gave story clarity a 4. Two jokes were rushed and the audience missed them, so comic timing got a 2. Both actors stayed near the center for most of the scene and did not use the two sides of the stage, so use of the stage got a 3.
SVHS (original descriptions; invented works and class data), Three works to evaluate (invented works, with the purpose each was made for). Original passage written for this page.
Preference or evaluation? (visual art)
Two statements about Card 1: (a) "Poster X is my favorite; the snowflakes are so pretty." (b) "Poster X shows great drawing skill, but it fails its main purpose: from 3 meters, only 2 of 10 students could read the day and place."
Result: (a) is a preference: honest, but no one can check it. (b) is an evaluation: it names two criteria (drawing skill and fit with purpose), gives evidence for each from the class test, and decides which matters more for a concert poster. A viewer can like Poster X best and still judge that Poster Y does the job better.
Choosing criteria that fit the work (music)
Card 2 is a lullaby. Which criteria fit it: "exciting and fast," "soft and steady," "words easy to understand," "loud enough to fill a gym"?
Result: "Soft and steady" and "words easy to understand" fit, because a lullaby is meant to calm a listener and its words matter. "Exciting and fast" works against the purpose, and "loud enough to fill a gym" judges the hall rather than the song. Criteria are chosen for the work's purpose, not carried over from a different kind of piece.
Applying a criterion with evidence (music)
Using "words easy to understand," how does the choir on Card 2 do?
Result: Partly met. Evidence for: in the first verse every word is clear. Evidence against: in the chorus the sopranos sing louder than the other parts, and the altos' words are hard to hear. A fair judgment names both and does not let the clear opening hide the problem later.
Comparing verdicts under different criteria (visual art)
Card 1 again. If the only criterion were drawing skill, which poster wins? If the criterion is the teacher's stated purpose?
Result: By drawing skill alone, Poster X (8 of 10 students chose it). By the stated purpose, Poster Y. The verdict depends on the criteria, which is why an evaluation should say which criteria it uses and why they suit the work.
Use Diagram 1 to name the four parts of every example: the criterion, the evidence, the judgment and the reason. A statement missing the criterion or the evidence is still only a preference.
Guided Practice15 minutes
Compare two reviews. The reviews below were written for this lesson by invented students about Card 2, Hush, River. Paragraphs are numbered by review.
1Review 1. Hush, River was amazing!!! This choir is the best one around and I could listen to them all day. My favorite part was the end. Ten out of ten.
2Review 2. A lullaby should be soft, steady and easy to understand, because it is meant to calm a listener. Measured against that, the choir mostly succeeded. The first verse was soft, and every word was clear. The second verse sped up, which worked against the calm a lullaby needs. In the chorus the sopranos covered the altos, so some words were lost. The ending was the strongest moment: all 32 singers held the last note softly and stopped together. Overall, this was a good performance that would be excellent with a steadier tempo and better balance between the parts.
SVHS (original model texts; invented students), Two reviews of Hush, River (Card 2), written by invented students. Original passage written for this page.
Take each review apart (students fill in the empty cells)
Part of an evaluation
Review 1
Review 2
Criteria named
Students fill in
Students fill in
Evidence from the performance
Students fill in
Students fill in
Strengths and weaknesses
Students fill in
Students fill in
Overall judgment and its reason
Students fill in
Students fill in
Take apart. Pairs fill in the table, quoting short phrases. Grades 6-8 complete both columns; grades 9-12 also check every piece of evidence in Review 2 against Card 2 and note any claim the card does not support.
Rewrite. Pairs rewrite Review 1 as an evaluation, keeping the writer's enthusiasm but adding at least two criteria and evidence from Card 2.
Compare with Hazlitt. Ask: "What does Review 2 do that Hazlitt also does?" Take answers, and ask each pair to point to one paragraph of the Hazlitt review.
Independent Practice15 minutes
Evaluate The Lost Key. Card 3 gives the class's criteria and scores. Each student checks the scores against the evidence on the card and writes an evaluation.
Grades 6-8: for each criterion, write one sentence saying whether you agree with the class's score and why, using a detail from the card. Then write one sentence giving an overall judgment.
Grades 9-12: compute the weighted total out of 16, then write an evaluation paragraph of 5-7 sentences that names the strongest and weakest parts, gives one concrete change that would raise the lowest score, and explains whether counting story clarity double is a fair choice for this audience.
Closure5-10 minutes
Exit ticket: Write one criterion you would use to evaluate a lullaby and one you would use to evaluate a march, and explain in one sentence why they differ.
Teacher note: The play Kean acted in 1814 was Colley Cibber's 1700 adaptation of Shakespeare's Richard III, as the notes in the 1903 edition explain, so students who know Shakespeare's play may notice lines that differ. Richard is a murderer and a tyrant in the play, and the review describes him in those terms; the lesson uses it only to show how a critic applies a stated standard.
For homework: students use the scenario below. The school, the designs and the committee are invented. Paragraphs are numbered.
1Paragraph 1. The school library has one long empty wall that faces the entrance door, about 8 meters away. A committee of students and staff will choose one of two student designs for a mural. Its criteria, each scored from 1 to 4, are: (a) welcomes readers of all ages to the library, counted three times; (b) can be read and understood from the door, counted twice; (c) careful craft in the design sketch, counted once; (d) an original idea, counted once. The highest possible total is 28.
2Paragraph 2. Design M shows a giant open book in the middle of the wall. Paths lead out of its pages into a forest, a city street and the sea, with small figures of readers of many ages walking along them. The title "Every Page a Door" runs across the top in letters 50 cm tall. The sketch is carefully shaded, though a few of the small figures are rough.
3Paragraph 3. Design N shows a row of twelve portraits of authors in painted frames, each portrait 40 cm tall, with each author's name underneath in letters 5 cm tall. The lines in the sketch are very neat and even. The committee notes that libraries often have murals like this one.
SVHS (original scenario; invented school, designs and committee), Homework: two mural designs and the library committee's criteria (invented). Original passage written for this page.
Differentiation Strategies
For Struggling Students
Give the four-part frame "Criterion: ___. Evidence: ___. Judgment: ___. Because: ___." and have students fill it in once for each criterion
Start with one criterion only, "fits its purpose," before adding a second
Turn preference words into questions: "pretty" becomes "What makes it look that way, and does that help the work do its job?"
For Advanced Students
After Activity 2, write a short review in the manner of Hazlitt: state one standard first, then praise and fault the work at specific moments
Write two evaluations of Card 1 with opposite verdicts, each fair, and explain which criteria and weights produce each one
Design a criteria sheet with weights for a work in an art form not on this page, and justify each weight
Assessment Guidance
What to Look For
Strong work names its criteria before judging, chooses criteria that fit the work's purpose and form, supports every judgment with specific evidence from the work, names both strengths and weaknesses, and explains how the criteria lead to the overall verdict. Watch for preference presented as judgment, criteria borrowed from a different kind of work, evidence that does not match the description, and verdicts that ignore a criterion the student set.
02
Classroom Activities
3 Activities
1
Criteria First: Write the Standard Before You See the Work
20 minGroups of 3-4
Groups write criteria for a kind of work and a purpose before they see any example, then use the criteria on a work another group makes in a few minutes. The point is that criteria come first and must fit the purpose.
Setup
Write five task slips: a lullaby (hummed or sung), a sign for a classroom door, an eight-count dance phrase that welcomes an audience, a frozen stage picture (tableau) of a surprise, and a four-frame storyboard for a short video about a lost backpack
Each group draws one slip to write criteria for, and a different slip to make
Supplies: plain paper, markers, a timer
Grades 6-8 Version
Write three criteria for your slip, each as a question (for example, "Can the words be understood?")
For each, write what "strong" would look or sound like
Make the other slip's work in 6 minutes, then swap: each group evaluates the work made for its slip, using only its own criteria, and gives one strength and one change
Grades 9-12 Version
Write four criteria, including one about audience or setting, and give each a weight that adds to 10
After making and swapping, score the work and compute the weighted total
Write one sentence on whether the weights changed the verdict compared with counting every criterion equally
Share and Compare
Two groups that wrote criteria for different slips read their lists aloud. The class names one criterion that fits both purposes and one that fits only one of them.
2
Choose Your Art Form: One Work, Two Sets of Criteria
20 minPairs, then whole class
Pairs present one short work twice to the class. The class evaluates it the first time with one set of criteria and the second time with another, and sees how the verdict can change. Work is made and shown in the classroom only; nothing is recorded or posted.
Options by Art Form
Visual arts: a quick paper sign announcing a club meeting.
Music: a clapped or tapped rhythm of about 20 seconds meant to get a crowd to clap along.
Dance: an eight-count warm-up phrase that a class could learn in one try.
Theatre: a three-line exchange that ends in a surprise.
Media arts: a three-frame paper storyboard that shows a cause and its effect.
Two Rounds
Round 1 criteria: craft and originality. Round 2 criteria: fit with the stated purpose, and how clearly a first-time audience gets it. After each showing, students hold up one, two, three or four fingers for each criterion, and a recorder notes the class's typical (middle) score.
Grades 6-8 Version
Each student writes one sentence for each round that names the criterion and one piece of evidence. The class then discusses which round's criteria suit the stated purpose better.
Grades 9-12 Version
Each student writes a short paragraph explaining why the two rounds gave different results for at least one work, and argues which set of criteria a fair judge should use for that purpose.
3
Review Rewrite Clinic
15 minPairs
Pairs turn preference-only reviews into evaluations, then check one another's rewrites against a short checklist.
The Reviews to Rewrite
"Poster X is way better. Snowflakes are cool." (Card 1)
"The Lost Key was kind of boring." (Card 3)
"I didn't like the choir's song. Lullabies are for little kids." (Card 2)
Grades 6-8 Version
Rewrite two of the reviews so each names one criterion, gives one piece of evidence from the card and states a judgment. The writer's opinion may stay, as long as the reasons are about the work.
Grades 9-12 Version
Rewrite all three, each with two criteria, evidence for both, one strength and one weakness. For the third review, explain why "lullabies are for little kids" is a criterion that does not fit this work, and replace it with one that does.
Other Art Forms
Pairs may instead rewrite a preference-only review of a dance or media arts work shown in Activity 2, such as "That dance was too simple" or "The storyboard made no sense," using the same checklist.
Checklist
Partner checks: Is a criterion named? Does it fit the work's purpose? Is there evidence from the card? Is there a judgment with a reason? A rewrite needs four yes answers.
03
Diagrams & Visual Aids
1 diagrams
Diagram 1: The Four Parts of an Evaluation
Every evaluation in this lesson has a criterion, evidence from the work, a judgment and a reason that links them. A preference has none of the first two, so it cannot be checked. Criteria can come from the work's purpose and the maker's intent, the craft of the art form, the audience and setting, or the evaluator's stated values; good criteria are set before judging and fit the kind of work.
04
Homework Assignment
~30 min
NCAS.A.9 Homework: Evaluate Two Mural Designs
Directions: Use the library mural scenario at the end of the lesson plan (in Closure). Paragraph 1 gives the wall and the committee's criteria and weights; paragraphs 2 and 3 describe the two designs. Everything in it is invented. Show your arithmetic where asked and answer in complete sentences. Problem 6 has a grades 6-8 version and a grades 9-12 version; answer the one for your grade.
Part 1: Understand the Criteria (Problems 1-2)
Explain how the committee's weights produce a highest possible total of 28. Which criterion matters most to the committee, and why might it matter most for a library?
Criterion (b) asks whether the mural can be read from the door, about 8 meters away. Using details from paragraphs 2 and 3, compare how well the lettering on each design is likely to meet that criterion.
Part 2: Apply the Criteria (Problems 3-4)
Score Design M from 1 to 4 on each of the four criteria. For each score, give one piece of evidence from paragraph 2. Then compute its weighted total out of 28.
One committee member scored Design N as follows: (a) 2, (b) 1, (c) 4, (d) 1. Compute the weighted total. Then choose the score you disagree with most and explain why, using evidence from paragraph 3.
Part 3: Reach and Defend a Verdict (Problems 5-6)
Suppose the committee counted every criterion once instead of using the weights. Using the committee member's scores for Design N and your own scores for Design M, would the verdict change? Show both unweighted totals.
Grades 6-8: Write a 4-5 sentence recommendation to the committee that names your choice, uses at least two criteria with evidence, and mentions one weakness of your choice. Grades 9-12: Write a 6-8 sentence evaluation that recommends one design, answers the strongest argument for the other one, and says whether you would change any weight and why.
Rubric
Criterion
Strong (3)
Developing (2)
Beginning (1)
Using the criteria
Applies every criterion and uses the weights correctly
Applies most criteria or makes a small weighting error
Ignores the criteria or the weights
Evidence
Every score and judgment rests on a specific detail from the scenario
Some scores lack evidence
Scores and judgments have no evidence
Arithmetic
Weighted and unweighted totals are correct and shown
One arithmetic error
Totals missing or mostly wrong
Verdict
States a clear recommendation, names a weakness, and answers the other side
States a recommendation with limited reasons
Gives a preference with no reasons
05
Quiz: 20 Questions
Interactive, with answers
Instructions
Questions 1-8, 15 and 19 use the Hazlitt review, and Questions 10, 14 and 16-18 use the three cards (Direct Instruction). Questions 12 and 13 use the two reviews of Hush, River (Guided Practice). Choose the best answer for each multiple-choice question; write 3-5 sentences for each short-answer question.
Multiple choice: pick an option to check it. Short answer: write your answer, then reveal the model answer.
0 of 20 answered · 0 correct
Question 1 of 20 · Multiple Choice
In paragraph 1, what is the first strength Hazlitt names in Kean's Richard?
Answer: D
Paragraph 1 opens: the performance "is entirely his own, without any traces of imitation of any other actor." Choice A is the opposite of what Hazlitt praises. Choices B and C name qualities the review never mentions.
Question 2 of 20 · Multiple Choice
What standard does Hazlitt use to measure Kean's performance?
Answer: B
Paragraph 1 says a higher conception is possible "from reading Shakespear," and paragraph 2 describes "The Richard of Shakespear" in detail; paragraph 3 then asks whether Kean concentrates "all the lines of the character, as drawn by Shakespear." Choice C confuses a comparison Hazlitt makes with the standard he measures by. Choice A is not in this excerpt.
Question 3 of 20 · Multiple Choice
In paragraph 3, in which part of the play does Hazlitt find Kean "deficient in dignity"?
Answer: A
Paragraph 3: "In some parts, however, we thought him deficient in dignity; and particularly in the scenes of state business." Choice B is wrong because paragraph 4 calls the courtship scene "an admirable exhibition."
Question 4 of 20 · Multiple Choice
According to paragraph 4, how did Kean mark "the progress of wily adulation" in the courtship of Lady Anne?
Answer: C
Paragraph 4 says the progress "was finely marked throughout by the action, voice, and eye." Choices A, B and D name stage choices the excerpt never mentions.
Question 5 of 20 · Multiple Choice
"To be perfect, it should have a little more solidity, depth, sustained, and impassioned feeling, with somewhat less brilliancy." What is Hazlitt doing in this sentence (paragraph 1)?
Answer: C
The sentence judges the performance against a standard ("perfect") and names the change that would meet it: more depth and feeling, less brilliance. Choice A misses the judgment. Nothing in the paragraph refers to other critics (choice D).
Question 6 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which sentence from the review judges the performance as a whole rather than one scene or moment?
Answer: A
Choice A sums up nearly every scene at once. Choices B and D both judge the courtship scene, and choice C judges one moment after Richard becomes king. A strong review moves between the two levels: overall verdicts backed by particular moments.
Question 7 of 20 · Multiple Choice
What two things does Hazlitt call "decidedly objectionable"?
Answer: D
Paragraph 4 names "the sudden letting down of his voice when he says of Hastings, 'chop off his head,'" and "the action of putting his hands behind him" while listening to Buckingham. Choice C is wrong because the excerpt names no fault in the courtship scene.
Question 8 of 20 · Multiple Choice
In paragraph 3, how does Hazlitt rank Kean against the two other actors he names in the part?
Answer: B
Paragraph 3 says: "He is more refined than Cooke; more bold, varied, and original than Kemble, in the same character." Choice A reverses the comparison with Cooke. Choice C ignores the comparatives "more refined" and "more bold." Choice D contradicts paragraph 1, where the performance has "no traces of imitation of any other actor." Comparing a performance with earlier ones is one way a critic applies a standard.
Question 9 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which statement is an evaluation based on a criterion, not only a preference?
Answer: A
Choice A names a criterion (clear words), gives the evidence that they were clear, and gives a reason (the story came through). Choices B, C and D report what the speaker likes without a standard or evidence anyone could check.
Question 10 of 20 · Multiple Choice
On Card 3, which piece of evidence supports the class's score of 2 for comic timing?
Answer: D
Comic timing is about when a joke lands, and Card 3 says "Two jokes were rushed and the audience missed them." Choice A is the evidence for story clarity, and choice B is the evidence for use of the stage. Choice C describes the audience, which explains a weight, not a score.
Question 11 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which criterion fits a march written to keep a parade in step?
Answer: B
A march's purpose is to keep marchers together, so a strong, steady beat is the criterion that fits. Choice A carries over a lullaby's criterion to a different kind of piece, and choice C would work against the purpose. Choice D judges a goal the march was not written for.
Question 12 of 20 · Multiple Choice
What is the main weakness of Review 1 on Hush, River?
Answer: C
Review 1 says the performance was "amazing," that the writer could listen "all day," and that the end was a favorite, but it names no standard and gives no detail of the performance. Choice A is wrong because Review 1 never gives a number of singers, and choice D describes Review 2, not Review 1.
Question 13 of 20 · Multiple Choice
In Review 2, what criterion does the writer use to judge the second verse?
Answer: A
Review 2 states at the start that a lullaby "should be soft, steady and easy to understand," and then says the second verse "sped up, which worked against the calm a lullaby needs." The other choices name criteria the review does not use.
Question 14 of 20 · Multiple Choice
On Card 3, story clarity counts double. Using the class's scores (story clarity 4, comic timing 2, use of the stage 3), what is the weighted total out of 16?
Answer: C
Weighted total = 4 x 2 + 2 + 3 = 13 out of 16. Choice A (9) adds the scores without the double weight. Choice B (11) doubles comic timing instead of story clarity (4 + 2 x 2 + 3). Choice D (18) doubles every score.
Question 15 of 20 · Short Answer
Choose one judgment Hazlitt makes about Kean in the excerpt. Name the criterion behind it and quote the evidence Hazlitt gives.
Model answer: Judgment: Kean showed too much eager excitement when Richard hopes for the crown. Criterion: Richard should seem "confident in his strength," a man who already feels power in his grasp. Evidence: Hazlitt saw "a sort of tip-toe elevation, an enthusiastic rapture in his expectations of obtaining the crown, instead of a gloating expression of sullen delight, as if he already clutched the bauble." Rubric line: one accurate judgment, its criterion, and a quotation from the excerpt as evidence.
Question 16 of 20 · Short Answer
Write three criteria for evaluating the posters on Card 1, and explain why each one suits the posters' purpose and setting.
Model answer: (1) Can a person walking past at about 3 meters read the day, time and place? The posters hang in a hallway and must give that information. (2) Does the image make a student want to come to a concert? The teacher's purpose includes making them want to attend. (3) Is the poster carefully made, with clean drawing and lettering? Craft affects how seriously people take the event. Rubric line: three criteria, each tied to the stated purpose or to the hallway setting.
Question 17 of 20 · Short Answer
Review 2 counts the faster second verse of Hush, River (Card 2) as a weakness. Suppose the choir director explains that the speed-up was planned, to suggest the river running faster. Using a criterion that fits a lullaby and evidence from Card 2, evaluate whether the speed-up should still count against the performance, and give an overall verdict.
Model answer: The director's plan is evidence of intent, but the work is still a lullaby, so the criterion stays the same: does it keep the calm a lullaby needs? The card says the tempo "speeds up a little" in the second verse, so the change is small, and the piece returns to calm at the end, when "all 32 singers hold the last note softly and stop together." Judged by that criterion, the speed-up is a small weakness, or an acceptable choice if it stays slight, rather than a failure. Overall: a calm, well-finished lullaby whose planned speed-up costs a little steadiness. Rubric line: names a criterion that fits a lullaby, treats the director's plan as intent rather than as the verdict, cites at least two details from Card 2, and gives an overall verdict with a reason.
Question 18 of 20 · Short Answer
A student says, "I didn't like The Lost Key; comedy isn't my thing." Rewrite this as a reasoned judgment about the work, using at least one criterion and evidence from Card 3. The student's own taste may stay in the sentence, as long as the reasons are about the work.
Model answer: "Comedy is not the kind of scene I usually enjoy, but judged by the class's criteria, The Lost Key told its story clearly: most of the audience could retell the plot. Its weak point was timing: two jokes were rushed and the audience missed them, so the scene lost laughs it could have had." Rubric line: keeps the preference separate, names a criterion, and supports the judgment with card evidence.
Question 19 of 20 · Short Answer
In paragraph 4, Hazlitt compares Kean's courtship scene with Cooke's and prefers Kean's. Explain how a different critic, using a different criterion, could reach the opposite verdict about the two actors in this scene.
Model answer: If a critic's main criterion were naturalness (how much a scene looks like real life) then Cooke's "violent, hurried" and anxious courtship might win, because a real person proposing in that situation might well be uncertain. Hazlitt's criterion is fidelity to the character: Richard should woo "as an actor" who is sure of his power, so Kean's smooth version wins. The same evidence leads to opposite verdicts because the critics rank the criteria differently. Rubric line: names both criteria, uses Hazlitt's own words, and explains why the verdict flips.
Question 20 of 20 · Short Answer
How can a student fairly evaluate a work they do not personally enjoy? Describe a process in at least three steps that keeps the evaluation about the work.
Model answer: First, find out what the work is meant to do (its purpose, its form, its audience) and set criteria that suit it before judging. Second, gather evidence by perceiving and analyzing the work closely, including its strongest moments. Third, judge each criterion separately with that evidence, naming strengths as well as weaknesses. Finally, if a personal preference is mentioned, label it as a preference and keep it apart from the verdict. Rubric line: criteria suited to the work, evidence from the work, judgments tied to criteria, and preference kept separate.
0 of 20 answered · 0 correct
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Frequently Asked Questions
10 Questions
What does NCAS.A.9 mean?
It means students should be able to apply criteria to evaluate artistic work. They judge a work against stated standards, such as fit with its purpose, skill of execution or clarity of meaning, and support each judgment with evidence from the work.
What are criteria in art?
Criteria are the standards a work is judged by. Common ones include how well a work fits its purpose and audience, how skillfully it is made, how clearly it carries its meaning, how well its parts hold together, and how original it is. The right criteria depend on the kind of work and what it is for.
Is it wrong for students to say whether they like a work?
No. Liking or disliking a work is a fair reaction, but it is a preference, not an evaluation. NCAS.A.9 asks students to go further: to say how well the work meets a criterion and why, so that someone else can check the reasons. A student can prefer one work and still judge that another succeeds better at its purpose.
Who decides the criteria?
It depends on the setting. A teacher, a class, a competition, a client or the artist may set them. Criteria often come from the work's purpose and the maker's intent, the craft of the art form, the audience and setting, and the evaluator's stated values. What matters is that they are named before judging and fit the work.
How does NCAS.A.9 connect to NCAS.A.7 and NCAS.A.8?
Anchor 7 supplies the evidence by perceiving and analyzing the work, and anchor 8 adds what the work was meant to do and what it conveys. Anchor 9 uses both: an evaluation without evidence is only an opinion, and an evaluation that ignores a work's purpose can judge it by the wrong standard.
Why use a review from 1814?
Because it shows the skill clearly and is in the public domain. Hazlitt states the standard he is using, praises and faults the same performance, and ties his judgments to particular moments on stage. Those moves work for any art form and any period.
How do weighted criteria work?
Each criterion gets a number that says how much it counts. A score on that criterion is multiplied by its weight, and the results are added. Weighting lets a class decide that, for example, fit with purpose matters more than originality for a particular work, and it can change which work comes out ahead.
Does NCAS.A.9 apply to performances as well as finished objects?
Yes. The National Core Arts Standards share anchor 9 across dance, media arts, music, theatre and visual arts, so a concert, a dance, a scene or a video can be evaluated as carefully as a painting. This page includes a theatre review, a choir performance and a comedy scene for that reason.
How is a grades 6-8 evaluation different from a grades 9-12 one?
Middle school students use given or simple criteria, support each judgment with a piece of evidence and give an overall verdict. High school students also write and weight their own criteria, answer the strongest argument for the other side, and explain how a different set of criteria would change the verdict.
How do I keep peer evaluation kind and useful?
Agree on the criteria before anyone shares work, ask for one strength and one specific change for every criterion, and require evidence for each comment. Comments then stay about the work, not the person, and the maker knows what to do next.
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Related Standards
5 standards
SVHS editors suggest these links for NCAS.A.9: the anchors before it in the Responding process, the first anchor of the next process, and ELA anchors with a similar skill.
