Assessing Musical Behavior By: Meredith Jackson

Why Assess Students? Determine students’ achievements Gather feedback Identify areas of additional instruction How something is taught vs. how something is assessed Teachers should not be motivated to “teach to” tests

What is Assessment? Include both measurement and evaluation Formal and informal Teachers assess students daily Evaluation includes both measuring and judging outcomes of instruction Most music education is not easily measured How do you evaluate music instruction?

Some Measurement Theory How do you get an accurate measurement of musical behavior? So many sources of error, it’s hard to determine accurate measurement Reliability Concept of reliability focuses on consistency and stability of a test or scale Three types of reliability Validity There are several ways to test for validity Three categories The Relationship of Reliability and Validity If a test shows inconsistent results, if it’s not reliable, it’s not considered valid tests Aptitude Tests predict future achievement Music Aptitude Tests Music Aptitude Profile (MAP) – Developed by Edwin Gordon and published in 1965 Primary Measures of Music Audiation (PMMA) – Developed by Edwin Gordon and published in 1979

Traditional Approaches to Assessing Classroom Music Achievement Objective Testing Subjective Testing Multiple choice, matching, true or false, short answer Why is this preferable? Easier test to take What does it test? Large amounts of information in a shorter amount of time. Facts Disadvantages Takes time to make Focus on objectives at lower levels of cognitive processing Essays, Short Essays Why is this preferable? Easier test to make What does it test? Critical thinking, organization, clear thoughts Opinion Disadvantages: Takes a longer amount of time to grade Various ways to assign grades Not everybody is a writer

Traditional Approaches to Assessing Classroom Music Achievement Measuring Effecting Outcomes of Instruction Verbal measures, Behavioral measures Observations of several different behaviors Likert Scale Behavioral Assessments Physical Signs Expressive Movement Physical Location Language Behavior Time Duration Measuring Music Performance Psychomotor area has least developed assessment techniques Strategies Comparisons Rating scales

Alternative Approaches to Assessment Educational reform of the 1980s Similar to the Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SAT) Combine assessments with learning Portfolios: Three components: Production, perception, and reflection Process Portfolios vs. Production Portfolios

Program and Teacher Evaluation Assessments schools and school systems Traditional evaluations Program evaluations are often done “Connoisseurship and Criticism” Evaluation Model MENC (aka NAFME) have 7 evaluation instruments for grades K-12 The National Assessment of Music National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Grouped into five sections: Music Performance, Notation and Terminology, Instrumental and Vocal Media, Music History and Literature, Attitudes Towards Music The First Music Assessment The Second Music Assessment Teacher’s attributes “Screen” teachers’ Background checks Entry tests Teachers are evaluated after they secured the job Not every teacher teaches in the same way

Summary Effective teaching directly correlates to the results of not only a teacher’s evaluation, but the results of the students’ progress in a classroom or on a test. Evaluations and assessments are done to ensure objectives and goals are being reached as stated in a curriculum. It is important to have evaluations and tests to cover every aspect of music education and to provide accurate and valid results, however there is no one test that is applicable to every situation a music educator and student will face. Music teachers can use many forms of tests including multiple choice, true-false, short answer, or essay when testing a students’ knowledge, and ranking, checklists, and rating scales when evaluating a student’s music performance progress.

Questions?