Choido, P. (2001). Assessing a Cast of Thousands. Music Educator's Journal, 87, 17-23.
In her article for the Music Educator's Journal, Patricia Choido lists and explains, from personal experience, the importance, benefits, and strategies of assessment in a large music program. Ms. Choido, during the article, qualifies her writing by referencing her seven hundred elementary school students, allowing her to comment credibly on the difficulty and strategies of assessing so many students. The reasons she gives to assess students regularly as a part of lesson planning include the following: for advocacy and demonstration for music as a part of the core curriculum, to give students something concrete and measurable to strive for, and to develop support for the music program by demonstrating that students make observable and measurable progress. She then elaborates on her own ten tips for managing assessment in the music classroom.
The most meaningful parts of this article to me were those concerning the construction of a sequential curriculum of your own, one that adheres to the standards and allows you to have maximum instruction time and assess as a beneficial part of lessons and lesson planning and not an obstacle to it. I've certainly seen this done in an elementary school setting, but not as much in the secondary. It was valuable to see strategies for assessing that were positive in the course of learning, and not as I've long viewed assessments in school - disruptive of the flow of school, particularly with standardized tests. I think that, as a part of a curriculum that I slowly construct, I will be able to integrate some of Ms. Choido's strategies and principles for assessment (built into existing lesson plans, using minimalist procedures, saving exemplars of student sork, and keeping written records from year to year). This will particularly come in handy as I get a few years into a teaching job.
Questions for Ms. Choido:
How would you integrate embedded assessment (such as is performed during singing games in elementary school) into a secondary school environment?
What benefits have you seen come out of regular assessment in music class for parent and administrative support?