The Model Cornerstone Assessments (MCAs) are a series of musical tasks designed to provide students and teachers with a clear assessment of musical skill development that are aligned with national standards. More importantly for us, the MCAs will give each student a clear understanding of where they are on the path toward accomplishment in music instruction. According to the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) "the standards emphasize conceptual understanding in areas that reflect the actual processes in which musicians engage. The standards cultivate a student's ability to carry out the three Artistic Processes of:
This year we will be engaging in the MCA for high school performing arts groups and will focus on solo and small ensemble development. At the end of the year, the student will be rated as either Proficient, Accomplished, or Advanced. All students in symphony orchestra should be able to meet the standards for Proficient with graduating senors meeting Accomplished. Advanced rating shows that the student is able to perform at a level of a pre-college music major. At the beginning of the year students will decide what level they will work toward, with the exception of Freshman who will all work toward Proficient unless they have permission from the director based on previous experiences, with the final assessments occurring during the 3rd semester.
More information on the NAfME artistic Standards here.
https://nafme.org/my-classroom/standards/
More information on MCAs can be found here.
https://nafme.org/my-classroom/standards/MCAs/
References:
NAfME. (2014). 2014 Music Standards. NAfME. https://nafme.org/my-classroom/standards/core-music-standards/