using their iPads or even apps on their smartphones, and a simple Google search will yield some of the many programs and apps that can be used for tracking student progress. As students perform individually in class, the teacher quickly can enter the rating of that student’s performance right into the app and move on to the next student. Then these scores can be referred to later when planning instruction, providing information to parents about individual student progress in music, or providing information to administrators about stu- dent learning in the music classroom. For example, a teacher could take the average of all first-grade student scores on the singing rating scale above at the beginning of the year and the average of all first-grade students using the same rating scale at the end of the academic year and report the differ- ence in the two averages as a way to demonstrate student growth on that particular skill.
New Resources to Explore
Many resources exist and are being developed to help teach- ers implement assessment programs in their classrooms. In Michigan, the Michigan Department of Education has contracted with the Michigan Assessment Consortium and the Data Recognition Corporation to develop sample as- sessments in the arts, including music, that can be used to demonstrate individual student growth and learning (Michi- gan Arts Education Instruction and Assessment Program, 2014). Fifty-two items for general music K-8 are currently under development by a team of experienced music teach- ers. These activities are naturalistic and correspond to the Michigan Benchmarks. Each activity can be used exactly as written, can be adapted for use in a classroom, or can serve as a model for teachers who wish to develop their own, and each includes a corresponding rubric when one is needed. They will be available free on line for music teachers to use as they desire in their own assessment programs. Michigan music teachers will have the opportunity to review these materials in Spring 2015 or to pilot test them in 2015-16. In- formation about volunteering for this can be found at http://
mi-arts.wikispaces.com.
In addition, the National Association for Music Education is developing assessments for use with the new Core Standards in Music (National Association for Music Education, 2014). Sample assessments can be found at
http://www.nafme.org/ my-classroom/standards/, as can a link to volunteer for the field-testing of those assessments. As with those in Michi- gan, these assessments can be used as models for developing assessments, can be adapted, or can be adopted directly for use.
Conclusions
Politics and educational policy have placed assessment in an unfortunate position in the educational landscape. Yet, as- sessment can play an essential and positive role in the class- room when it is positioned correctly as a tool for improving student learning and informing the process of teaching.
Therefore, music teachers must take an active, leadership role in developing assessment programs that are meaning- ful and manageable for use in their classrooms. Then, they must share these programs with their district administration and advocate for their use in demonstrating individual stu- dent learning and growth as a part of the teacher evaluation processes. Only in this way can assessment and its value be reclaimed by the music education community.
References
Michigan Council for Educator Effectiveness. (2013, July). In Building an improvement-focused system of educator evalu- ation in Michigan: Final recommendations. Retrieved from
http://www.mcede.org
Michigan Arts Education Instruction and Assessment Pro- gram. (2013, November). In Arts education assessment specifications. Retrieved from http://mi-arts.wikispaces. com/file/view/ASD_-_Version_7_5_-_TOC-_Appen- dix_1_-_December_17_2013_CQ_proofed_CP_ER_ JO.5.pdf/478192386/ASD_-_Version_7_5_-_TOC-_Ap- pendix_1_-_December_17_2013_CQ_proofed_CP_ER_ JO.5.pdf
National Association for Music Education, (2014). Standards: National coalition for core arts standards. Retrieved from
http://www.nafme.org/my-classroom/standards/ National Research Council. (2001). Eager to learn: Educating our preschoolers. In B. T. Bowman, M. S. Donovan, & M. S. Burns (Eds.). Washington, DC: National Academy Press. Peppers, M. R. (2010). “An Examination of Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Assessment and their Relationship to Demographic Factors in Michigan Elementary General Music Class- rooms.” Order No. 1487165 Michigan State University, 2010. Ann Arbor: ProQuest. Web. 5 Jan. 2014.
Shaw, R. (2013). Music teacher evaluation in Michigan: A survey of practices and beliefs. Paper presented at 2013 Symposium on Music Teacher Education, Greensboro, NC. Abstract retrieved from
http://smte.us/wp-content/up- loads/2013/10/SMTE_2013_Proposal_070_Slides.pdf State of Michigan Legislature. (2011, July). In Act No. 102: Pub- lic acts of 2011. Retrieved from 2012/publicact/pdf/2011- PA-0102.pdf -evaluation/
Cynthia Crump Taggart, a Past-President of the College Mu- sic Society, is Professor of Music Education at Michigan State University, where she directs and teaches in the Early Childhood Music Program. She is co-author of Jump Right In: The Music Curriculum, Music Play: The Early Childhood Curriculum and numerous journal articles. In addition, she was co-editor of Learning from Young Children and The Development and Practical Application of Music Learning Theory. She was awarded the Undergraduate Teaching Excel- lence Award for the Humanities and Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University and the Teacher-Scholar and Beal Outstanding Faculty awards at Michigan State. Dr. Taggart can be reached at
taggartc@msu.edu.
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