M344 – Assessment Project

Part 1:
Create an overall assessment plan for one year of a high school Concert Band or Intermediate Orchestra. Your goal is to achieve a
plan that balances the following considerations (at a minimum):
- Aim to achieve a quantity and frequency of assessment that ensures that students always have a sense of their level of
achievement and no single assessment disproportionately determines their grade
- Consider the variety of assessment purposes that may be appropriate: formative, summative, placement, diagnostic
- Assessments should be varied in their modality (written testing, written assignments, performing on instruments,
performing in other contexts, projects, media, etc.)
- Assessments should measure achievement in various forms of musicality; consider the range of musical understandings
represented in the Indiana State Standards and/or National Music Standards for high school instrumental music
- Determine the relative weighting of the components you wish to include in your students’ course grade
- Given that the course is an ensemble, determine an appropriate balance between group and individual assessments
- Consider the need for rehearsal time to prepare four concerts of repertoire at a high performance level

Produce a summary of each assessment, including its content, length, purpose, modality, and relative weight in the course grade of an
ensemble member. (25 points)
(I have included examples of Part 1 in a separate document on Canvas.)
 40% - Daily Attendance, Participation and Preparedness
o Four daily points:
 Bringing their instrument, music and a pencil to class.
 The students are playing their instruments in class, marking music when appropriate and answering questions
when called upon. Phones are put away.
 Students are respectful of classmates, the teacher and any guests in the band room.
 Student is in the room by the time the bell rings and in their seat a minute after the bell rings. This does not
apply to approved absences or if a student arrives with a late pass.
 Points may be taken off at the teacher’s discretion for other actions not listed here.
 15% - Playing Demonstrations
o Three a Semester: One due a week before each performance and one due on the last day of the semester. Each
demonstration will be worth five percentage points of the final grade.
 o May be recorded at home or in the band room during lunch periods and submitted online or in person after school.
o These will consist of two excerpts and two scales, to be announced a week before the assignment is due. Students will
be assessed on note accuracy, intonation, tone quality, rhythmic accuracy, tempo, and musicality.
 20% - Practice Journals
o Every other week, students will turn in a journal that covers what they have been practicing, at least one practice
strategy they used, and their goal for each practice session. Students should be practicing repertoire and technique
covered in class but may also include material covered in private lessons including exercises, solos and etudes.
 10% - Big-Picture Reflections
o The day after a concert, students will listen to a recording of the performance in class. For each piece, they will write
down three things that went well and three things that could have been improved. They will also write down a strategy
for improvement on at least one of the three components that needed improvement. Additionally, at the end of each
semester, students will write a page on how they have progressed over the course of the semester, their goals for the
future relating to music and any other thoughts about ways to improve the program as a whole.
 5% - Listening Journal
o Students will turn in a page long reflection after listening to one or more works adding up to twenty minutes by a
performing artist on their instrument or a professional ensemble such as an Orchestra or Military Band. This should
include the name of the artist, pieces listened to, comments on tone quality, articulation, phrasing and any other
aspects that the student wishes to comment on.
 20% - Independent Learning Project
o Students may pick one of the following or propose their own idea for this project:
 Public performance of a solo piece for their instrument. Repertoire should be at an appropriate level, there will
be an optional recital hosted by the band program for any students that choose to do this project.
 Preparing a chamber work with other members of the ensemble and performing it in a public setting.
Repertoire should be at an appropriate level and there will be an optional recital hosted by the band program
for any students that choose to do this project.
 For the above two options, if the performance is not given at the ensemble recital, a video recording
will be required.
 Research Paper on a topic of their choice, pending teacher approval (3 pages max)
 Composing a work for a solo instrument with accompaniment, chamber group or full ensemble. 3-5 minute
performance time recommended, but this is negotiable.
 A concert review of a live performance given by a professional or collegiate ensemble.
 o For any non-writing based assignment, there will be an additional two paragraph reflection on what students learned
through this process.
o Students will have to choose an option or propose an alternative by the fourth week of the semester.
o Students must do at least four different options over the course of eight semesters, and may not do the same option
more than twice in a row.
 Placement auditions will consist of the district honor band audition repertoire and will take place once a year during the first
week of school. There will not be any “challenges” for seat placements, though students will have the chance to play a variety
of parts on different repertoire throughout the year. This will not factor into the final grade.
 Because this is a performing ensemble, the student’s final grade will be lowered by a letter grade if they miss a performance.
Extreme circumstances will be taken into account (personal illness, death or serious illness of a family member, etc.) but
every effort should be made to attend and fully participate in the group performance.

Part 2: Write a description (approximately 1000 words) of the philosophy behind your assessment plan. (What did you prioritize
and why?) Support your ideas by making detailed references to F & C Chapter 8. Additionally, note two or more possible critiques
or limitations of your assessment plan. (23 points)

My assessment plan focuses on what I believe to be four main pillars of a quality education in music: citizenship,
achievement, reflection and exploration. The daily grade and the concert attendance aspect of the grade point to citizenship, as do the
collaborative aspects of the Independent Learning Project (ILP) and group goals for the Big Picture Reflections. This is an ensemble,
and being a responsible, contributing member of the group should be reflected in the grade (Feldman and Contzius, 135). The
achievement pillar is reflected in the individual playing demonstrations, placement auditions and individual parts of the ILP. A
certain level of achievement has to be met to be placed in an upper level ensemble and students should be able to play the parts that
are assigned to them. This falls under the Procedural Learning type of Learning (Feldman 106). The third pillar, Reflection, is an
important process for students to go through in order to grow as musicians and citizens of the band community. This is shown
through the process-oriented practice logs, Big Picture Reflections, listening journal and the reflection on the ILP. This encourages
students to take part in metacognitive processes that help improve student performance (Feldman 129). The final pillar, Exploration,
is primarily pursued in the ILP, but also in the listening journals. This encourages students to expand their artistic comfort zones and
establishes creativity as a core value of the program.
Daily Attendance and Participation are weighted as 40% of the grade for a couple of reasons. Band is a group activity and
participation is a necessary component to the success of the group (Feldman 135,136). Students should not be able to pass the class if
they are not actively engaged in the rehearsal process, regardless of their achievement level. There is a distinction between excused
and unexcused absences, just like with performances. I do not support assigning additional work for students who missed class
because of a legitimate reason as they already have other assignments they missed for their other classes and the daily grade is based
solely on what was done in class that day (Feldman 136). Any formal assignments that were missed due to absence would be due the
day that the student returns to class. Having forty percent of the grade allocated to attendance and participation allows the teacher to
be more honest in assessing student achievement and growth as it gives some padding to students grades that other disciplines have
built in through in class activities, having a minimum possible score for assignments and the like. In his article on Tiered Evaluation,
David Scott writes that this type of grading teaches students that citizenship is more important that performance-based achievement
or growth. He is absolutely right in pointing out what this teaches, but he misses the point that this is exactly what we should be
teaching our students.
While showing up is half (or 40%, in this case) of the battle, students still need to meet a certain performance standard that is
in line with the rest of the group. Playing Demonstrations are weighted at fifteen percent of the final grade because they are
important, but only a fraction of what it means to be a complete musician. Additionally, playing tests encourage students to practice,
take some personal accountability and show growth over time (Feldman 116). A variety of presentation options are offered in order
to reduce performance anxiety and to be sure not to disadvantage students without the means to record themselves or stay after
school.
Unfortunately, while assessing individual performance does encourage student growth, it is often short-term and focused on
the grade rather than sustained growth over time. This is why the Practice Journals are included at twenty percent of the final grade.
This places value on thoughtfulness and long-term growth instead of the short term, bench line performance assessments. Instead of
making students write down how much they practice, as described on page 120 of the Feldman textbook, the format of this kind of
journal encourages students think about what they are practicing, why they are practicing and how they are going to meet their own
goal. It also allows the instructor to comment on practice techniques on an individual level. These are due every other week so as to
spread out the grading work load and to make sure that this assignment does not become devalued due to oversaturation.
Big Picture Reflections help students evaluate the ensemble’s performance and growth, establish goals for the ensemble and
for themselves. It is also a way to assess their critical listening ear and encourage them to listen to themselves during rehearsal,
during performances and after performances. This type of assignment engages students in metacognition over long periods of time
(Feldman 136) and helps them think about their personal musical goals and their goals for the ensemble. This helps build a team-
mentality that can be really important for establishing the culture you want for your program (Feldman 111).
The Listening Journal is another example of encouraging metacognition, forces students to listen to professional performers
on their instruments outside of class and requires students to articulate their thoughts about music clearly through words, which helps
them translate thoughts to how they play their instrument or teach others how to play (Feldman 124-125).
The Independent Learning Project is an attempt to implement a value system that emphasizes exploration, creativity and
independent musicianship. By structuring this over four years instead of each semester, students have the opportunity to engage in
multiple modalities of musicianship without being overloaded with assignments. This will mostly be graded on completion rather
than meeting a certain standard because the value is in the experience, not the final product. Students will be encouraged to put their
best foot forward because they will be presenting their final product to their peers and parents, not because they will be graded on it.
This also provides a space for assessment and feedback without a numerical value being placed on the quality of the product, as these
will all be deeply personal endeavors (Feldman 120-122).
There are several critiques that could be made of a syllabus that includes all of the above components. Most prominent is the
fact that this would be a lot of work for an elective class in which students are already expected to practice outside of class and go to
performances and festivals as necessary. Placing this burden on students could scare potential band kids away, as they already have
all of their other classwork, extracurriculars and a job to deal with on a regular basis. Tied into this is the fact that it places a lot of
emphasis on non-performance assignments for a class that is centered around group performance. There is a lot of writing involved,
as well as assessments being centered around the individual instead of the group. This contradicts my stated value of citizenship and
team-based mentality being a cornerstone to my program.
In response to these critiques I would say the following: When you factor in time spent in class on reflections, playing
demonstrations and the daily grade, there is not an egregious amount of outside work to be done. Most of the written assignments are
not terribly long, the practice journals should take around two minutes every time the student practices and the ILP is a semester long
project that can be as difficult or as easy as the student wants, within reason. As the central component to the program as a whole, the
wind ensemble should focus on broader musical learning and not just performing aspects of musicianship. This kind of structure can
be very motivating and rewarding for students, and a good culture within the program will draw more people into the fold regardless
of the workload. Accommodations for students with excessively busy schedules can be made as I don’t want workload to be the
reason that someone is not in my program.

Part 3: Take part of one piece (10-20 measures) from your Curriculum Project. Create a rubric that you could use to track student
growth on the piece. (You would use the same rubric for both the pre-test and post-test.) The rubric should have at least 4 criteria
and at least 4 levels. It must be specific enough to clearly show growth. (12 points)

Hungarian Dance No. 5, Johannes Brahms, arr. Robert Longfield, mm. 79-95
Note 4 3 2 1
Accuracy All notes are the correct Most notes are the correct There are several missed There are very few correct
pitch value and in tune pitch value, some may be notes and intonation is notes throughout the
relative to each other. slightly out of tune. consistently off. excerpt.
Rhythmic 4 3 2 1
Accuracy All rhythms are executed Most rhythms are executed Rhythms are consistently There is no attempt to
accurately accurately, with few errors inaccurate differentiate between
rhythmic values.
Tempo 4 3 2 1
Tempo is at a consistent, Tempo is consistent but Tempo is inconsistent, Tempo is inconsistent,
characteristic speed and all may be a little slower or with a few deviations and with many deviations, is
written tempo marks are faster than what is it is significantly slower or much slower or faster than
followed. characteristic of the piece faster than what is what is characteristic for
and most tempo markings characteristic for the piece the piece and written
are followed. and written tempo tempo markings are not
markings are not followed. followed.
Tone Quality 4 3 2 1
Characteristic, full, Tone quality is Tone quality has moments Tone is pinched, thin and
beautiful tone quality is characteristic but there are of beauty but is not tight. This is not a
consistently achieved lapses in the quality. Few characteristic of the characteristic sound of the
throughout the excerpt, squeaks, chips or breaks in instrument. There are instrument.
with no squeaks, chips or the sound. many chips, breaks or
breaks. squeaks.
Dynamics 4 3 2 1
All written dynamics are Most dynamics are played Some dynamics are There is little or no attempt
followed, there is an but they either do not played, but they are to follow the written
appropriate amount of contrast enough or are too inconsistent throughout the dynamic markings.
contrast and they are done drastic. There is a clear excerpt.
in the style of the piece. effort to follow dynamic
markings.
Articulation 4 3 2 1
Articulations are clear and Articulations are clear, but The starts of notes are There is no attempt to
appropriate. All written they are not be consistent clean some of the time, but distinguish between
articulations are followed. with markings on the page. do not represent markings articulation types and starts
of notes are not clean.
Grading Rubric: 60 Points Total

10 8 6 4
Assessment summary Assessment summary Assessment summary Assessment summary
includes all necessary includes all but one includes all but two is missing multiple
components necessary component necessary components
components
15 13 11 9
Assessment summary Assessment summary Assessment summary Assessment summary
is logical and is mostly logical and is somewhat logical is minimally logical
thoughtful, showing thoughtful, showing and thoughtful, and thoughtful,
consistent attention to attention to all of the showing attention to showing minimal
all of the listed listed considerations most of the listed attention to the listed
considerations considerations considerations
12 10 8 6
Rubric contains at Rubric contains at Rubric contains at Rubric is incomplete.
least 4 criteria and at least 3 criteria and at least 2 criteria and at Few rubric
least 4 levels. All least 3 levels. Most least 2 levels. Some descriptions are clear
rubric descriptions rubric descriptions rubric descriptions and measurable.
are clear and are clear and are clear and Rubric lacks
measurable. Rubric is measurable. Rubric is measurable. Rubric is specificity and detail.
specific and detailed specific and detailed somewhat specific
enough that it could enough that it could and detailed; it might
easily show student show sufficient be able to show
growth. student growth. student growth.
10 8 6 4
Description is logical Description is mostly Description is Description is
and thoughtful, logical and somewhat logical and minimally logical and
taking a clear thoughtful, taking a thoughtful, taking a thoughtful;
philosophical mostly clear somewhat clear philosophical
position. philosophical philosophical position is unclear.
position. position.
8 6 4 2
Description Description Description Description
demonstrates a clear demonstrates a clear demonstrates a demonstrates a
understanding of understanding of at somewhat clear minimally clear
multiple key ideas in least one idea in F & understanding of at understanding of
F & C Chapter 8. C Chapter 8. least one idea in F & ideas from F & C
C Chapter 8. Chapter 8.
5 4 3 2
Description clearly Description Description clearly Description does not
explains two potential somewhat clearly explains one potential address potential
critiques or explains two potential critique or limitation critiques or
limitations of the plan critiques or of the plan limitations of the plan
limitations of the plan