Assessment Commentary

Throughout the series of lessons, I utilized both informal and formal assessment
strategies. Because this ensemble is a performance-based class, I am constantly using informal
assessments to identify and improve students’ overall sound, tone, and confidence in what they
are singing. While I thoroughly planned each of these lessons, through informal assessment, I
was able to determine when the students needed me to model patterns for them a second or third
time even if that had not been in my original lesson plan. These lessons focused on new material
for many of the singers in the ensemble. Because of this, I included two informal assessments
where students were able to show me their comfort levels with the new concepts learned in each
lesson. With this ensemble, having the singers be confident and trust in their knowledge of
concepts explored in class is essential to their success. The students will not be willing to use
their voices and share their song if they are not comfortable and confident. While these lessons
pushed students to enhance and improve their musical knowledge, it was crucial for each singer
to remain confident through all three lessons. Adjusting my lessons through informal
assessments and having the students show me their feelings surrounding each new topic learned
also assists with building confidence. By the end of the third lesson, the students’ overall sound
and tone had improved greatly compared to that which they used when singing the first sight-
reading pattern in the first lesson. This growth shows me as the teacher that the students’
knowledge and confidence did improve over the series of lessons and that the adjustments made
were necessary for their growth.
Of the 45 students in Women’s Chorale, 36 of the singers were present on the day of the
formal assessment presented at the end of the third lesson. Of those 36 students, 20 of them
answered all four quiz questions correctly. Eight students answered three questions correctly, and
seven students answered two correctly. There was one student who answered one question
correctly; all of the students assessed were able to answer at least one question correctly. At the
beginning of this lesson sequence, I would have expected all of the students assessed to answer
one or less question correctly. The quiz questions corresponded with many of the learning
objectives that I had set for the students in these lessons. The quizzes asked students to identify
the order of flats and the order of sharps, to identify a key when given a key signature with
sharps in it, and to identify a key when given a key signature with flats in it. Because 20 students
answered all four questions correctly, I know that those students met each of those
aforementioned learning objectives. The eight students who answered three questions correctly
met three of the learning objectives, and there were eight students who met two or less of the
learning objectives.
By analyzing which quiz questions were missed most often, I can better shape future
lessons so that all students have a better understanding of each of the learning objectives. The
most missed question was the identification of a key signature with sharps in it. Knowing this, I
would spend more time on the lesson surrounding sharp keys to help the students form a better
understanding of this topic.
The students were informed before taking the quiz that they would be scored for
participation and that I would be using their quiz responses to assess my lessons and if the
students were able to learn what I had wanted them to learn in this lesson series. The scores on
the quizzes reflect the number of questions they were able to answer correctly but those are not
their final grades. This was also the first formal assessment in the form of a quiz or test that the
students took this semester. For me, it was more important that the students took the time to
answer the questions and show what they learned without fear of failing a quiz then to have quiz
scores in the gradebook when there were other formal assessments given throughout the marking
period. For each student that scored below a ‘+4,’ I labeled each of the notes on the staff and
explained how to find the answer based on the processes we learned throughout the lesson series.
Before the first lesson, I shared with students that the purpose of learning key signatures
and the order of flats and sharps is to improve their sight-reading skills and overall musicianship.
Students were aware of the purpose of these lessons from the first seconds of the first lesson. I
also explained to students that I use the same skills I am asking them to use when determining
which solfege to read a sight-reading exercise on. I believe it’s important for students to know
that what they are being asked to do has a purpose and is something that their teacher sees value
in doing as well.