Standards-based assessment for secondary choral ensembles: a framework to document student learning

Abstract

Though one of the first disciplines to incorporate national standards in its curricula, the field of music education has not traditionally shown much consistency in its assessments, with disparities in priorities on both local and national levels. Schools often allow teachers the freedom to cover whichever content standards they choose, whether those benchmarks come from the district, state, or national level. Though secondary choral teachers may express freedom and creativity through the repertoire they program for their choirs, they can ensure that all students gain similar skills and training by incorporating a variety of standards-based assessment strategies in their performance ensembles. As choral music educators seek to improve the level of musical artistry and growth in their classrooms, they should incorporate structured individualized assessments which address all eleven of the National Core Arts Standards in order to guide teaching and learning of a wide variety of musical and academic skills and improve documentation of learning for communication with students, families, and administration.