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Assessment in Music Education
A Summary of Important Scholarship
Rationale
When I began my teacher education and
became more familiar with the Virginia
Standards of Learning, I quickly realized that
these standards shared too little with my
experience in actual Virginia music classrooms
-- and that much of what is in the standards I
did experience but that my teacher or their
administrator would have no way of knowing
that I had achieved the standards laid out by
the Department of Education. It is this tension
that leads me to ask: In what ways are licensed
music educators held and not held responsible
for the Virginia Music Standards of Learning? I
believe strongly that both as a way for
educators to be sure their students are
changing in their understandings of the world
and as a way for students themselves to reflect
on their development, assessment must be an
integral part of every classroom. As a student in
numerous public-school music classes, I saw
them run primarily as daily large ensemble
rehearsals rather than as daily opportunities for
transformative experiences. This is problematic
because, while large ensembles represent a
wonderful way to engage with music, they
represent an extremely small portion of how
adults engage with music throughout their lives
and thus are not holistically preparing young
students for lifelong musicking. The state
standards represent an improvement towards
this goal upon the ways in which music is
currently taught, which is why this research is
important. The goal of this research is to create
knowledge about how students in Virginia can
be better served by being assessed more
appropriately and effectively.
Research Question
What themes are suggested in important
existing scholarship with regards to the
question: In what ways are licensed music
educators held and not held responsible for the
Virginia Music Standards of Learning?
Thomas M. Hassett
hassettm@dukes.jmu.edu
JMU Music Education
Themes in Texts
Inadequacy of Current System
All analyzed texts show significant
shortcomings in the current system of
educational assessment, both in general and
specifically in music education. In general,
educational assessment is too standardized,
not always valid, and tied to consequences that
are too severe for many schools to survive
them if they fall below expectations. In music
education, similar deficiencies appear.
Practitioners’ engrained practices (see below)
and certain systems which have long been
used also contribute to ineffectual assessment.
Engrained Practices
Analyzed texts that deal particularly with music
education make important references to what is
usually done, what’s tradition, and what
practitioners may have experienced as students
themselves. This suggests we are operating in
a system that may be in need of reform,
particularly in consideration of the other issues
discussed in these texts.
Focus on Improving Students/
Teachers’ Lives
Although much education policy is enacted for
the benefit of administrators or policymakers
(e.g., policies whose purpose is to raise test
scores to improve the image of the school or
district), analyzed texts are written through a
different lens. Instead, these texts are written
with the intention of improving individual
students’ and teachers’ lives by improving the
actual quality of instruction and/or by making
teacher practices more efficient or more
manageable.
Recommendations
Certainly, more methodical research must be
conducted in this area to determine which areas
Recommendations, cont.
are in most need of reform. We must also listen
to what teachers and students say about their
experiences in the classroom. It is also
essential that valid assessments are used daily
in every music classroom. Assigning grades
based on attendance of a few concerts a year
or on “participation” does not provide relevant
parties meaningful information about the quality
of instruction, and it does not provide our field
with any data regarding the value of music
education. If we are to continue as a profession,
we must assess ourselves professionally.
References
Hamilton, L. S., Stecher, B. M., & Yuan, K.
(2012). Standards-based accountability in the
United States. Education Inquiry, 3(2), 149-170,
doi: 10.3402/edui.v3i2.22025
Berryhill, J., Linney, J. A., & Fromewick, J.
(2009). The effects of education accountability
on teachers: Are policies too-stress provoking
for their own good? International Journal of
Education Policy and Leadership 4(5).
Retrieved December 4, 2019 from
http://www.ijepl.org.
Fisher, R. (2008, September). Debating
assessment in music education. Research and
Issues in Music Education, 6(1). Retrieved
December 4, 2019 from files.eric.ed.gov.
Stringham, D. A. (2015). Engaging students in
instrumental music assessment. In Burton, S.
L., & Snell, A. H. II. Engaging musical practices:
A sourcebook for instrumental music. Lanham,
MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
Stringham, D. A. (2019). Virginia Public School
Administrators’
Education.
Perspectives
Virginia Music
on Music
Educators
Association. Poster presented at 2019 VMEA
Professional Development Conference, Hot
Springs, VA.