Assessment Portfolio

1) Playing Test/Rubric
a) Definition: Formal assessment of student playing ability and musicality on
a certain selection of music. Playing tests are used to assess and check
musical and technical growth to further teaching instruction and ensemble
development.
b) Implementation:Rubrics will commonly be used to grade playing tests in a
fair, measurable, and accurate way with criteria and guidelines to assist in
student learning and growth. Reliability and validity in playing tests may
come from the rubric being fair and equitable to all students, by ensuring
that it is not biased and gives fair and honest feedback to the student.
Playing tests can also be coded or blind so that the teacher has no biases
toward any student's test.
2) Check List
a) Definition: Checklists are used to quickly assess the can you do this or
can you not do this of musical skills
b) Implementation:Often, checklists can be used in such assessments that
involve things that students can or cannot do. Checklists keep students
honest in their development as their technique becomes more fluent.
Things such as rhythmic checks, scale checks, etc are crucial to student
growth and development as they progress through high school into
college. Checklists allow teachers to analyze technical development of the
students to find pieces of music that will help aid in fluency and musical
accuracy.
3) Paper Pencil Test
a) Definition: Paper Pencil tests are formal assessments that show student
knowledge over a given concept.
b) Implementation:Paper pencil tests are often looked at in a bad light, but
when they are used correctly they can be a significant tool to assess
student learning. Paper pencil tests over key signatures, time signatures,
intervals, and many other musical aspects help teachers know what
students know and what they need to continue to develop. They can also
aid in assessing student knowledge of composers, specific pieces we are
playing, rhythmic and harmonic dictation, and error detection. When the
grades are analyzed, the teacher will have a clear understanding of what
students know and what they dont. From there, the teacher knows what
needs to be covered more.
4) Creative Project
a) Creative projects are a formal assessment that can come in many different
varieties. Through posters, 3D objects, Powerpoints, etc students can
show their learning of concepts, composers, musical genres, or musical
forms and aspects.
b) Implementation:Creative projects show what the students have learned
through a study of a musical aspect. Their biggest take aways will show in
their project, and as an educator we can then assess if they truly
understand or not. Creative projects can give students an outlet to show
their learning in a way that matches their style and personality.Teachers
will be able to revamp or reteach concepts based on how students have
interpreted their learning into their projects.
5) Peer Assessment
a) Definition: Peer assessment is a good informal assessment tool that
allows one student to give constructive feedback to another student.
b) Peer assessment works as a way to give a different form of feedback, but
only if the students can properly articulate constructive criticism in a
meaningful, musical way. To set up peer feedback, we have to first teach
how to give feedback and how to speak in a musical way that helps the
person receiving the feedback. Peer assessment doesnt stop with the
student, because the teacher has to be able to assess the student giving
the peer feedback. When assessing student learning, the ability to teach a
peer a concept is a great way to know if a student understands a concept
or not. When we can assess a student's ability to articulate and describe a
concept and give feedback, we can assess how much a student knows
about a specific topic.
6) Self Assessment
a) Definition: Self assessment can be used as an informal assessment tool to
help students give themselves their own feedback. It teaches students
how to be critical listeners and critical thinkers of their own performance.
b) Self assessment helps students, just like in peer assessment, learn how to
clearly articulate constructive criticism. It helps students listen to their own
playing and musicality and assess how to make it better or how to problem
solve trouble areas of their technique. When allowing students to use self
assessment, we as teachers can assess what they think of their playing
and how they are fixing mistakes and problems. From there we can offer
further guidance and suggestions to help them develop better critical
thinking and problem solving skills during practice and rehearsal times.
7) Portfolio
 a) Definition: A portfolio is a collection of all the projects, rubrics, and any
other assessment that a student has completed.
b) Portfolios are concrete evidence of a students growth and achievement
over the year. Everything a student has completed in a school year can be
included in a portfolio. In something like an E-Portfolio, all music
technology projects, corresponding rubrics, playing test rubrics, journals,
checklists, and self and peer assessment sheets can be included.
Portfolios are a great way to show parents and administrators student
progress, growth, and achievement.
8) Journaling
a) Definition: Journaling is assessment tool that can be used for student
reflection.
b) Journaling is a great way to see what your students are thinking and
feeling. With some students, being able to write allows them to think more
freely and creatively without the fear of expressing themselves out loud.
With journaling, the teacher can see how the students are thinking and
what they are learning with different experiences. Journaling can provide
the teacher with a better insight to the students thought process, and can
provide feedback for what needs to be taught more extensively.

EXAMPLES
1) Playing Test Rubric- Rubric from Teachers Pay Teachers. I chose this rubric
because it shows the most fair and equitable grading, and it's much better than
anything I could have made. This playing test rubric gives evidence of why the
number was chosen. It also gives the students clear expectations and feedback.

2) Checklist
______ Student can play all major scales at =90
______ Student can play following rhythmic patterns:

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______ Student can play 2 octave Bb chromatic scale at =90

3) Paper Pencil Test- test is an example of a music theory test from musictheory.net

4) Creative projects
 For this assessment, there are so many different projects a student could do. The
grading process for this assessment could be many different things. I would grade
mostly off of rubrics for a creative project, but the parameters would be dependent on
what kind of creative project it was.

5) Peer Assessment Prompts

A. Is my partner playing with good tone? How can I help them play with a
more rounded tone?
B. Is my partner playing all the right notes and rhythms?
C. Is my partner playing musically? How would I shape this phrase in my own
playing?
D. Is my partner playing with good posture?

6) Self Assessment Prompts

A. How is my tone? Is it characteristic of my instrument?
B. Am I playing technically accurate with good beat?
C. How is my phrasing? Does my musicality make sense for this piece?
D. What problems am I having with this piece? How can I solve those
problems?

7) Portfolio
The portfolio will be dependant on what projects are done that year. All
rubrics and projects will be collected into the portfolio. The portfolio will be graded on a
completion basis.

8) Journals will be assessed for completion and thoughtfulness. Journals will be

used as an assessment tool to help me assess what needs to be retaught or continued.
Journals will be a way that students can express their concerns, thoughts, and emotions
without the stress of doing so publically.