Digital drawing test submissions

This pilot study examines the reliability and clarity of a rubric-based framework for assessing digital freehand drawing in higher education. Two rubric types—a Generic Visual Rubric (GVR) and an Exemplar-Based Visual Rubric (EVR)—were applied to 22 student drawings by expert (n = 4) and non-expert (n = 6) raters. Abductively derived criteria grounded in art education and studio practice guided the rubric design. Inter-rater agreement was measured using percent agreement (IRA), Spearman’s rank correlation, and Cronbach’s alpha. While agreement remained modest on some metrics (e.g., line sensitivity), the EVR condition showed greater consistency across rater groups. Both Spearman’s ρ and Cronbach’s α indicated improved internal alignment, particularly with EVR. Survey responses further confirmed the rubric’s usability and diagnostic value. Results highlight the potential of illustrated, task-specific rubrics to support formative assessment and rater calibration—especially for non-experts—and emphasize the importance of pilot testing in developing reliable evaluation tools for visual disciplines.After a live, step-by-step demonstration projected by the instructor, each student had 45 minutes to complete a drawing that emphasised line refinement and the convincing depiction of simple 3-D forms.