Best Practices for Standards-based Assessment in the Secondary Choral Music Setting

Abstract

ABSTRACT BEST PRACTICES FOR STANDARDS-BASED ASSSESMENT IN THE SECONDARY CHORAL MUSIC SETTING by Tasha Twesme The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2016 Under the Supervision of Associate Professor Sheila J. Feay-Shaw This qualitative study of secondary choral music teachers addressed the successes and difficulties of current assessment practices in music education. The purpose of this study was to identify best assessment practices for a secondary choral classroom within a standards-based grading system. In order to understand the process of assessment development and implementation, a mixed-model approach to the research was used including a survey and semi-structured interviews. The survey was intended to gather basic assessment information from a larger population of secondary choral music teachers about their current practice. Following the survey, a small number of participants were identified and interviews were used to gather more detailed data surrounding effective assessment practices. Surveys were sent electronically to 300 secondary choral music teachers throughout the state of Wisconsin. Sixty-eight teachers responded to the online survey, representing a 23% return rate, providing detailed documentation regarding their assessment practices. After analyzing the survey data using both descriptive statistics and qualitative coding, six teachers were selected and five agreed participate in follow-up interviews to gain additional information about assessment in their teaching practice. Several themes emerged from the data collected in this study surrounding the use of standards-based grading in a secondary choral setting, as well as best assessment practices for secondary choral music. Survey and interview data highlighted both benefits and criticisms of the use of standards-based grading in classrooms. Topics such as the inclusion of behavior in the academic grade, and grading of formative and summative assessments were explored in this study. Additionally, responders shared best assessment practices surrounding student involvement in assessments and concert performance assessments.