Campbell, P. (2008). Musician & Teacher, an Orientation to Music Education. New York, NY: Norton.
Campbell's Chapter 13: Assessment was an informative discussion of some of the different ways that music teachers can assess their students. The commentary emphasized assessing, and later grading, based on progress through different standards for each student rather than expecting every student to meat the same standard, an impossibility at best. It discussed diagnostic, formative, and summative assessments, how the assessments can be evaluated in the form of grades and feedback, steps for effective group assessment in rehearsal, different assessment models, and using grades and assessment to demonstrate the value of music education.
I have several ideas for integrating assessment concepts in Campbell's Chapter 13 into my own teaching, all relating to the idea of portfolio assessment. I think it could be beneficial to have an online portfolio folder (similar to the MU286 one) where students accumulate their body of work from each year. Included in this would be a journal where students write short entries each rehearsal and practice session, so that they can assess their progress and struggles in particular areas. This would also allow me to keep track of their percieved progress and give specific help where needed. I would also have students include recorded tests, along with the graded rubrics from each to demonstrate progress. I was also intrigued by the idea of having specific "musicianship levels" that students can move up through when they feel ready, and I'd like to build a system of my own like this into my teaching and the portfolio model.
Questions for Ms. Campbell:
What pitfalls have you witnessed or could forsee with portfolio-style assessment, and how might these be mitigated?
What might a teacher do to assess individuals' performance levels without creating a mountain of grading that takes away from lesson planning and score study and without eating up too much class time?