The Praxis II - Art: Content and Knowledge
As of fall of 2017, the Praxis II exams are required for admission into teacher preparation programs in the state of Alabama.
In Alabama, to become a P-12 Visual Arts educator, one must take and pass four of these exams; the Praxis Core exams (Math, Reading, and Writing), and the Art: Content and Knowledge exam. There are actually two exams for art; Art: Content and Knowledge (5134) and Art: Content and Analysis (5135). It appears that most states that require the Praxis for art teachers require either one or the other, but rarely both. 5134 is a multiple choice exam covering processes, materials, safety, and art history, while 5135 includes open-response analysis and writing along with uploading images of the candidate's original art.
For whatever reason, Alabama went with Door Number One, opting for the Art: Content and Knowledge requirement.
I took 5134 earlier this week. Given that ETS (Educational Testing Service) made me sign in blood that would not divulge any questions from the exam, I certainly won't share specifics, but I thought I'd share in general about my personal experience.
First, I'll be honest; this exam spooked me. While the core exams covers content of which one might reasonably expect any college student to demonstrate competency, 5134 promised to test the candidate on any potential piece of knowledge regarding art and art history on all the continents on the planet for the entire history of humanity.
At first glance, it appears absolutely crazy. Human beings of every culture in existence have been creating art since prehistoric times. As an art student, I was required to take a couple semesters of art history, but I these were special special topics; specifically Ancient Art History and Women's Art History. My studio art classes at UCLA explored quite a bit in the domain of modern art, but never was I required to study a general survey of art history, and I suffered some definite gaps in my knowledge as a result.
To make matters worse, unlike the Core exams and some of the more common academic Praxis II exams, documentation about the 5134 is sketchy at best. (No pun intended.)
Suffice to say, I can share two fortunate realities that make this seemingly daunting task less insurmountable. First, is that overview books covering a survey of art history hit upon a lot of the same pieces of art and artists, and these are largely the same that come up in the exam. You may run across some folks on the internet advising reading Gardener's Art Through the Ages. It's not bad advice, but in my opinion, it's overkill. I already had this tome in my personal library from college, but this monstrously long behemoth of a book is not necessary to read for a 120 question exam. A more accessible choice would be The Annotated Mona Lisa by Carol Strickland and John Boswell. There is also a survey of art history on YouTube by Otis College of Art and Design that is worth watching.
On that note, if you're a younger person who took a yearlong college survey art history class, or who took AP Art History in high school, you're probably good to go on the art history section of this exam with minimal review. Many of this topics are presented in a way on the exam that a more general art history knowledge, combined with basic test-taking strategies, make the answers clear.
Art-making and safety topics are much more finite. Khan Academy has a nice selection of videos reviewing topics that are likely to appear on the exam when it comes to sculpture, ceramics, painting, and printmaking. The Art Teacher's Book of Lists is also a good resource for the exam, and a book that any art teacher would be wise to have in her personal library anyways.
Finally, Quizlet was a great resource for studying, though take care to fact-check some of the entries, as they are user-contributed. Though it was not uncommon for me to miss half the questions on Quizlet's "learn" mode to due vague word choice, misspellings, or strikingly obscure questions, I passed the 5134 with a commendable 187 with over an hour left on the clock to spare.
It's not a joke test, but don't let it spook you. Study, and fill in the gaps in your knowledge of the topics covered.
I kvetched about the ridiculousness of this exam as I studied for it, but arguably, it served its function. I can now tell a Manet from a Monet from a Renoir at a glance, and explain the difference between Baroque and Rococo, and I suppose that's something an art teacher should be able to do.
In Alabama, to become a P-12 Visual Arts educator, one must take and pass four of these exams; the Praxis Core exams (Math, Reading, and Writing), and the Art: Content and Knowledge exam. There are actually two exams for art; Art: Content and Knowledge (5134) and Art: Content and Analysis (5135). It appears that most states that require the Praxis for art teachers require either one or the other, but rarely both. 5134 is a multiple choice exam covering processes, materials, safety, and art history, while 5135 includes open-response analysis and writing along with uploading images of the candidate's original art.
For whatever reason, Alabama went with Door Number One, opting for the Art: Content and Knowledge requirement.
I took 5134 earlier this week. Given that ETS (Educational Testing Service) made me sign in blood that would not divulge any questions from the exam, I certainly won't share specifics, but I thought I'd share in general about my personal experience.
First, I'll be honest; this exam spooked me. While the core exams covers content of which one might reasonably expect any college student to demonstrate competency, 5134 promised to test the candidate on any potential piece of knowledge regarding art and art history on all the continents on the planet for the entire history of humanity.
At first glance, it appears absolutely crazy. Human beings of every culture in existence have been creating art since prehistoric times. As an art student, I was required to take a couple semesters of art history, but I these were special special topics; specifically Ancient Art History and Women's Art History. My studio art classes at UCLA explored quite a bit in the domain of modern art, but never was I required to study a general survey of art history, and I suffered some definite gaps in my knowledge as a result.
To make matters worse, unlike the Core exams and some of the more common academic Praxis II exams, documentation about the 5134 is sketchy at best. (No pun intended.)
Suffice to say, I can share two fortunate realities that make this seemingly daunting task less insurmountable. First, is that overview books covering a survey of art history hit upon a lot of the same pieces of art and artists, and these are largely the same that come up in the exam. You may run across some folks on the internet advising reading Gardener's Art Through the Ages. It's not bad advice, but in my opinion, it's overkill. I already had this tome in my personal library from college, but this monstrously long behemoth of a book is not necessary to read for a 120 question exam. A more accessible choice would be The Annotated Mona Lisa by Carol Strickland and John Boswell. There is also a survey of art history on YouTube by Otis College of Art and Design that is worth watching.
On that note, if you're a younger person who took a yearlong college survey art history class, or who took AP Art History in high school, you're probably good to go on the art history section of this exam with minimal review. Many of this topics are presented in a way on the exam that a more general art history knowledge, combined with basic test-taking strategies, make the answers clear.
Art-making and safety topics are much more finite. Khan Academy has a nice selection of videos reviewing topics that are likely to appear on the exam when it comes to sculpture, ceramics, painting, and printmaking. The Art Teacher's Book of Lists is also a good resource for the exam, and a book that any art teacher would be wise to have in her personal library anyways.
Finally, Quizlet was a great resource for studying, though take care to fact-check some of the entries, as they are user-contributed. Though it was not uncommon for me to miss half the questions on Quizlet's "learn" mode to due vague word choice, misspellings, or strikingly obscure questions, I passed the 5134 with a commendable 187 with over an hour left on the clock to spare.
It's not a joke test, but don't let it spook you. Study, and fill in the gaps in your knowledge of the topics covered.
I kvetched about the ridiculousness of this exam as I studied for it, but arguably, it served its function. I can now tell a Manet from a Monet from a Renoir at a glance, and explain the difference between Baroque and Rococo, and I suppose that's something an art teacher should be able to do.
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