Measuring Student Music Growth With Blind-Reviewed Portfolios: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Abstract The purpose of this study was to develop reliable and valid measures of student learning and growth in music classes (prekindergarten through 12th grade [PK-12] public schools) in Virginia by replicating the first portion of the Fine Arts Teacher Evaluation Pilot (Memphis City Schools, 2012) with a research grant. The methods involved: (a) surveying all state stakeholders, (b) forming the Music Growth Measures Committee that created measurement instruments (MIs), (c) creating professional development offerings with teachers to assist them in assessing their students’ work and selecting artifacts that could illustrate growth over time, and (d) forming a local review team comprised of peer-exemplary music teachers from one school district to conduct a holistic blind review of teacher-selected student artifacts using the MIs as submitted with portfolios of student work. The MIs measured Virginia music standard strands: performance and production, cultural context and music theory, judgment and criticism, and aesthetics. Reasonable reliability and validity resulted from constructing measurements with the community in which they were to be used and utilizing a blind-review process. Additionally, the process promoted a sense of empowerment in teachers and was viewed positively by teachers and administrators as a successful professional development effort. The MIs and student growth portfolios were considered useful as measures of student growth for use in teacher evaluations.