See how AP Studio Art portfolios are scored at the Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.
AP Studio Art Portfolios are evaluated using the AP Studio Art scoring guidelines. Portfolios are evaluated by AP Studio Art teachers and teachers of first-year college studio art courses (known as Readers) who receive extensive training to develop a common understanding of the scoring guidelines and to apply the scoring guidelines with a high degree of consistency. Quality (Section I) is scored by three Readers; Concentration (Section II) and Breadth (Section III) are each scored by two Readers. If there is a wide divergence in the scores assigned by two Readers to the same section of a portfolio, the section is forwarded to two Reading leaders for review and resolution of the scores. Each portfolio section contributes one third of the overall portfolio score. (from the CollegeBoard website: https://apstudent.collegeboard.org/apcourse/ap-studio-art-drawing/exam-practice)
The Quality sections of the portfolios are shipped in boxes from the schools to the convention center in Salt Lake City where they will be scored.
The boxes are unpacked and the portfolios from each school are distributed to separate piles so that no portfolios from the same school are scored side by side.
Portfolios are distributed to tables around the convention center for scoring.
Readers receive training to develop a common understanding of the scoring guidelines and how to apply them consistently as they evaluate the portfolios.
Each student's 5 Quality pieces are spread out on one of the tables. Each Quality portfolio is scored by three separate readers working independently.
After each portfolio is scored by the Readers a table of assistant compiles the scores. If there is a discrepancy in the scores given by the Readers to a portfolio it is given to two Table Leaders to evaluate. If they still cannot come to an agreement the Chief Reader is called in to make a final decision.
The Concentration and Breadth portfolio sections, which have been submitted digitally, are each evaluated by two Readers, each working independently using the scoring rubric and a computer monitor.
In total, each student's portfolio is evaluated by at least 7 Readers--3 for the Quality section and 2 each for the Breadth and Concentration sections. Each section is given equal weight in determining the student's final score.
Photo credits: AP Studio Art workshop materials, Wylie Ferguson, Nov. 2013