The fundamental purpose of assessment is to improve instruction. Assessments provide ongoing feedback to help students learn, identify progress in achieving goals, and help teachers determine the effectiveness of their instructional approach. Assessment provide feedback for teachers, for students, for parents and/or guardians, and for the administration of a school district. Therefore, it is important for students to know what they are being assessed on, and for the teacher to provide clear goals and expectations to set their students up for success.
Embedding informal assessments within each class period is the most efficient way to measure student comprehension, and in many cases, is the most efficient method in which to decide the next step of the learning process. As an ensemble director, I fill my rehearsals with embedded assessments constantly providing students with feedback or asking them to provide their own feedback for themselves and for their peers on the sounds they are producing. Similarly, in an elementary setting, my lessons have frequent instances of embedded assessment, such as “thumbs up if you agree, thumbs down if you don’t,” and observational assessments through activities and discussions.
Formal or summative assessments should be used sparingly, however, when executed with effective rubrics that explicitly state the criteria for evaluation, they can provide a substantial amount of data. Technology is a great mediator for such assessments. With my ensembles, I use a cloud-based interface for students to upload recordings of their playing, and we use a similar system in the elementary setting. While some measure of skill-based achievement is necessary based on goals set and agreed on, most assessments should measure student transfer and application of the knowledge they acquire.