What is the role/ importance of assessment in art education? What methods of assessments have you used?

Because a lot of projects given in the art classroom have loose guidelines it is important to have a form of assessment to show that the students are learning. For example, I am currently doing a project with my first grade students called “Mona Lisa Smile”. The students are to draw themselves, with Mona Lisa, in a place that would make her smile again. The objective of this project was to teach students about Leonardo da Vinci, the importance of background information, and how to color in the whole page. But, because every student has their own skill set, and a different drawing, it is difficult to say whether or not they are succeeding in the project. So, for my assessment, in the beginning of each class I question the students about Leonardo da Vinci and the requirements of the project. At the beginning of the project, maybe two students knew the name Leonardo da Vinci, but now about 90% remember his name, and his occupations. With students so young it is hard to have a written assessment, so I believe that oral assessment is better. As for the drawing assessment (meaning if they have a background telling me where they are and have colored in their whole page) it is as simple as yes or no if they have fulfilled these requirements. But, it is important to remind the students of these requirements, so they do not forget. For older students, I believe it is possible to give them quizzes on vocabulary words that they were taught, and important things you want them to remember. If the term does not have a solid definition, you could always have them draw it.