Reflection, Week 5

            Assessment is a necessary part of education, as it allows us to monitor a student’s understanding and progress. In music, we assess our students constantly, but mostly through formative assessment during rehearsals, fixing wrong notes and adjusting balance, among several others. For me, assessing students using summative assessment is much more difficult, for progress on an instrument is not always black and white. One student with natural music talent may pass with an A without ever practicing, while another student without natural musical talent might practice an hour every night and still only receive a B. Does this make the second student worse than the first? In my opinion, no! Is there a way that we can assess students based on their progress as an individual musician while still monitoring how they perform as an ensemble member? I am convinced that it is possible, though I am still researching options to try to find the best way to make this possible.

            As an educator, it is our job to set up appropriate ways to assess our students. Bauer says that our first two steps in assessment should be setting learning goals for the students and figuring out how we will prove that the students have met the goals (2014, p. 132). Formative assessment is often used during rehearsals to help students achieve learning goals quickly, as it allows for continuous feedback. For instance, if a learning goal for the day is All students can play using the correct key signature, teachers can check in with students to be sure that they are checking the key signature. In my class, I often ask students questions throughout a rehearsal, and students respond with thumbs up, down, or to the side. This helps me to track their level of understanding or opinions about how we performed as a group. It is quick and easy, but effective. Feedback in music is crucial, for it allows students to track their own progress, instead of just practicing something over and over without understanding the reasoning behind the madness. If we are not providing students with feedback when rehearsing, we are not doing our job.

             Several different forms of summative assessment are available for the music classroom, but Bauer focuses on three: checklists, rating scales, and rubrics (2014, p.137-139). When reflecting on these three options, I thought about which of these is already being used in my classroom. I do not prefer checklists, because I do not think they provide the students with enough information. When giving feedback through assessment, I believe students appreciate assessment tools that go one or two steps beyond the checklist. For my beginning band students, I use a rating scale to judge their solo performances in the spring. I believe that solo festivals in the early years of band should be a positive and encouraging experience. This tool works great in this situation, because it allows the judge to provide feedback to the student in addition to the “score” they receive, much like the IHSMA ballots do for high school students. (The IHSMA ballots, though, are much more specific and can be intimidating for young students.) Students appreciate the feedback, as it encourages them to keep up the good work, gives them specific areas to improve, and explains why they received a specific rating. Here is an example of the rating scale used for my beginning band solo festivals:

Table 1

Solo Festival Rating Scale

	Poor	Fair	Good	Excellent	Feedback
Tone Quality
Intonation
Rhythm
Technique
Musicianship
Stage Presence
Overall Rating: (approx.. average)

            While reflecting, I was reminded of the efficiency that comes from a rubric. This tool could be altered to fit the needs of any band class, and it also makes grading a positive experience, because it removes any bias that may result from student to student. Each of the three assessment tools could be used in my classroom, but I think the rubric would be the most helpful. Here is a short example that could be used when grading scales:

Table 2

Scale Rubric

Concert Bb Scale	5	4	3	2	1	0
Accuracy	Performs with 0 mistakes in pitch	Performs with 1 mistake in pitch	Performs with 2 mistakes in pitch	Performs with 3 mistakes in pitch	Performs with 4 or more mistakes in pitch	Does not perform scale

 

Of course, the rubric could be useful in several other situations, too, including group projects.

            When considering which form of assessment we should use with our students, it is important to refer to the TPACK model. As educators, we need to understand and feel comfortable with the tools used, but more importantly, the chosen tool needs to meet the needs of the students. It is important that we do not choose the most complicated assessment tools for our beginning band students, as it may result in loss of interest in the subject due to confusion or feeling overwhelmed. Likewise, our older students need to be challenged by the use of detailed assessment tools, like rubrics. Overall, I believe that there is always something to learn regarding assessment.

Bauer, W.I. (2014). Music Learning Today: Digital Pedagogy for Creating, Performing,

            and Responding to Music. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Janssen, S.L. (2016). Table 1: Solo Festival Rating Scale.

Janssen, S.L. (2016). Table 2: Scale Rubric.