Information Provided by the NYS Department of Education:
What is the Individual Arts Assessment Pathway (IAAP)?
The Individual Arts Assessment Pathway (IAAP) is 4+1 graduation pathway option in which students complete a locally determined three-unit sequence in the arts and demonstrate, through a collection of creative works, growth over time that meets the High School II Accomplished Performance Indicators in the New York State Learning Standards for the Arts.
The IAAP offers arts students a graduation pathway that prepares them for future professional and educational experiences and opportunities in the arts.
What does this mean?
Students must pass assessments in Social Studies, Math, Science and English and one other area. The IAAP allows students to use Art as that 5th assessment. See attached image.
Students will need to get 3 full credits in Art (they already get 1 by taking Studio Art 2D and 3D as their graduation requirement in the Arts). We have found by collecting data over the last few years, that a large number of students are already getting these 3 full credits (and more), making this a very viable option.
The Art department has 3 full year courses that carry 1 credit (Contemporary Films Analysis, Introduction to Video Theory and Production an Introduction to Watercolor) and a wide variety of semester courses that each carry .5 credits.
Films and Video Production are Fast Forward courses so they also carry 3 college credits each as well.
Students will need to make this decision as either freshmen or sophomores to make sure they can schedule the required number of Art courses, and the collection and assessment of work is designed to take place over a three year period (although it could be completed in 4 years as well).
Students who think they would like to take the Arts pathway should talk to Guidance and their Art teachers (Russell, Rosko and Doolittle) to get started on this pathway – the earlier the better, we recommend as 8th, 9th but 10th grade can still have the option –although this late start would require the student to pack a lot of Art electives into a short period of time.
Parents and students should also be aware that there are certain core Art courses that are taught every year, and the remainder of our 18 electives are taught on an every other year rotating schedule, so planning head is important.
Of those 18 electives, six courses are Fast Forward courses – which means a savvy student could take the Arts pathway and walk away with (potentially) 18 college credits!
It’s a moderate amount of work but we are VERY excited to be able to offer this opportunity to our community!
