Summative Assessment Tools

Summative Assessment Tools

End of Unit Performance

At the end of each unit in a choir class, there is a performance of one type or another. Often it is a concert for families to hear what we’ve been rehearsing and learning for the past few months. It might also be a festival, where the students’ performance is rated by professional adjudicators against an age and skill-level appropriate standard. In this case, the audience is usually small, and the focus is on what the three judges think of what we do. In either case, these performances are the natural culmination of our weeks of study, putting together all the elements of what we have been working on.

It is difficult to assign grades to individual students in a choir. Choir directors typically assign a high percentage of the final grade to performances, but may not do any formal assessment of individual student’s singing. Students might fail the class if they don’t show up for the performance, but the teacher can’t be absolutely sure how well each student knows what has been studied by observation during a concert, so the grade is necessarily given just for attendance. Another form of assessment is needed. This situation has troubled me, so I have tried to devise activities that will allow me to assess every member of the ensemble individually. It does take more time than the traditional way, but I believe it will quickly improve the whole choir’s skill level, and be well worth the extra effort.

Although the final performance experience is common to choirs of all ages and abilities, I have chosen to write about an advanced high school choir. The choir sings in four sections, soprano, alto, tenor, and bass. The students might be as young as tenth grade, but most would be in grades eleven and twelve. They would have been singing with me for at least one year, and would know how to read music well. In addition, their skills as singers and their commitment level would be high, as they must qualify for this choir by audition.

If I were working with a younger or less experienced choir, I might expect somewhat less sophisticated responses to questions. The music they would be learning would also be less difficult. I would adjust the final assessment to make it less intimidating by having more that one singer from each section perform, or by having small groups stand near me while a large portion of the choir sings. However, I would not have to adjust the actual activities leading up to the assessment.

Preparation

Students are taught music theory each day in the form of short explanations of what is found in the music. In addition, students are given a short “bell work” activity which not only teaches theory but also reinforces what has been previously taught. This is an important aspect of teaching a choir, as it is by learning to read music well that choirs grow from being “good” to “great.” In addition, every day we have a short period of sight-singing where students learn to not only read the music but to apply it vocally without hearing it first. This is another great way for choirs to grow in skill and ability. We watch and listen to recordings of good choirs on a regular basis and discuss what we see and hear. The music is presented in the context of culture and history to make it more “real” to the students. This type of cross-curricular instruction also gives students many more ways to link what we study to their previous knowledge and a variety of applications of they learn. These and other classroom activities are used to assess many of the music standards. The final performance requires the combination of all of these many skills into one activity, which has the added benefit of being very “real” to students, since they have an audience. This formal assessment activity allows the teacher to effectively assess Standard 2.0, Creative Expression, which cannot be assessed with pen and paper. A student could describe creative expression on paper, but not demonstrate his/her skill in this area.

Music is rehearsed for several weeks previous to our performances. We rehearse as much as possible without the piano for several reasons. One is that pianos are even-tempered, which has the effect of making them slightly out of tune (long explanation). Another is that the piano hides a lot of errors in singing. The final reason is for me very important--I want the students to be really independent singers, and staying in tune without the help of a piano is a critical part of this skill.

I make frequent use of recording equipment, both audio and video, during rehearsals. It is very valuable for the students to have the opportunity to hear the overall sound of the ensemble, rather than just what it sounds like from their spot on the risers. I often like to have them listen to audiotapes so they hear the choir without the distraction of watching themselves. However, we also need to work on presentation, so they need to know how they look in the ensemble. Students are frequently unaware of movements when they are nervous, so we watch for people adjusting their hair or scratching their noses. We also look to see how our mouths move in comparison with our classmates and other choirs to help the students’ voices blend better and improve the overall tone of the choir. All of this helps the students learn to be better performers, and helps prepare them for assessment activities.

When the students have had ample time to learn the music, we have an activity which is a first step toward learning to self-assess, and directly prepares them for the summative assessment for the unit. It is easier to critique someone else’s work than one’s one, so we begin by creating a mini-performance experience in our classroom for students to assess other sections of the choir. One of the music standards states that students should devise criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of a performance. In light of this, I will ask the students for a list of what they would look for to determine if a performance was a good one. Students are typically able to generate an appropriate list very well the first time the question is asked, as they know what sorts of things I’ve been pointing out to them in our rehearsals. By asking the students for criteria, I am sure the assessment tool is a valid test of what we’ve been studying. Choosing the criteria fills one aspect of our standards on its own, but I find carrying it further to be an extremely valuable learning experience.

The next day, I present them with a checklist of the criteria they chose for each of the other three sections of the choir. Each section then sings their own part of the music alone, while students in the other sections score them on each of the chosen criteria. After each group performs, students from the other sections tell them first what they did well, and then what they could improve. (Most students of this caliber don’t need to be told to phrase their criticisms in a positive way, but I would still remind them of this the first time, just in case.) The singing is typically done with the piano accompaniment, which helps the students feel more confident, but has a major drawback. Playing the piano necessarily divides my attention, so I can’t reliably assess the students’ performance. This is the same reason directors can’t assess individuals during the actual concert performance, so we need an added tool.

I have found this intermediate activity to be an excellent scaffold for the final assessment for several reasons. It helps students learn to critique a performance, which is one of the standards; it helps students realize what they know and what they need to work on; it motivates each individual student to really learn the music well; it prepares them for the graded assessment to come; and it helps prepare them for a more successful concert or festival performance, which builds both the overall program and their confidence.

I don’t require students to critique themselves the first time we do the activity, as this is more difficult. However, it is an available activity from the beginning, which allows differentiated instruction for those students who are more advanced and feel up to the challenge. Eventually, I would require everyone to critique their own section’s performance, as well as the others. Finally, in the performance reports they write for me after the concert or festival, I ask them to critique their own personal performance in each concert. The end result of all this student-assessing is improved performance by everyone, as the students develop an understanding of how much each individual affects the whole ensemble. By listening to their comments and reading what they write on the worksheets, I can determine what new aspect of singing the students are prepared for, and what areas still need reinforcement, which directs my next steps of teaching. We will either work on additional nuances in the music, or continue perfecting those that have already been presented. In addition, if the criteria the students choose doesn’t quite match what is in my rubric for the upcoming formal assessment, I will have three options: I will either guide them to chose things they’ve forgotten about, adjust my teaching to better cover the missing elements, or adjust the rubric to cover only those things the students are ready to be tested on.

This mini-performance activity is of great benefit to student learning, and allows me to assess their ability to evaluate other’s performances. Pen and paper tests allow me to assess understanding of music theory and the history of the music we’ve studied. However, something else is needed to allow a choir director to formally assess each student’s singing ability. There is no way to effectively hear what each individual does in a large group, and the very act of singing with other people may hide a student’s need for help to stay on pitch and to hold a part against other singers. The truly independent choir member will be able to sing his/her part alone while others sing from the other vocal sections. In order to effectively assess each student, I have devised the following formal culminating assessment tool to be used only with the most advanced of high school choral students.

Formal Individual Assessment

This formal assessment requires each student to sing for a video camera with one person from each of the other three sections of the choir. Assigned quartets go to a practice room to sing assigned passages of their music without accompaniment, while the rest of the choir continues to rehearse. I prefer to use this method so the students aren’t required to sing in quartets in front of the whole choir or come in after school to be graded, and I can continue to teach while they are taping. The video tape allows me to rewind and watch as many times as I need to for accurate assessment of each class member. In addition, it allows the students to see exactly what I saw, when they receive their scores back. I haven’t actually done this type of assessment before, but think I would most likely choose the most difficult passage of the most difficult song for one assessment, and something easier, but very lyrical and flowing for another. This would create the motivation for everyone to really work on that difficult passage so the ensemble will be technically very accurate, and allow me to assess good tone, phrasing, and emotion, which are equally important to the overall performance, without the added pressure of technical difficulty. As an additional scaffold, I would work up to the students doing this without their music, so initially the rubric would not include memorization.

RSVP

Using a good rubric for a performance activity is the best insurance that the assessment will be reliable. Students will know what I’m looking for, and by writing it down, I am forced to be specific. The activity is standardized in that every student’s assignment is the same. Each person sings his own part without companions and against the other sections in the composition. However, there is one variable that can’t really be avoided. In any one quartet, there might be someone who is really ill-prepared. If someone is singing their part poorly, this could make it very difficult for the others to stay on track. If they do this well, it would show them to be very independent singers. However, if it creates an insurmountable problem for the other singers, I would have to allow them to perform again with people who know their parts. The activity is valid, because it is almost the same as the final concert or festival performance. The best choirs sing with the students not divided into sections, but all mixed through the ensemble, and this advanced choir would probably be used to this arrangement. Consequently, the only differences are that the audience is a video camera and the students can’t hear anyone else singing their notes, at whatever distance. They must be very independent, but having the other sections represented in the quartet is usually a help to singing one’s own part, rather than a hindrance. Finally, this activity is a practical way to assess individual singers because the teacher can assess four students at once, with minimal disruption to the rehearsal. It requires grading time outside of class, but by assigning the students to sing only portions of the music and by filming four people at once, that time shouldn’t be excessive. Particularly if I have a teacher’s assistant to run the camera, the activity should go very smoothly with the students absent from the rehearsal for only a short time. If not, I would have to keep watch that no groups stayed too long in the video room, but that is doable. In spite of the extra work involved, I think this will be a very valuable activity for advanced choir members—one that will pay valuable dividends to the whole ensemble.
Unit Grading Activity

NAME______PERIOD_____ DATE______STUDENT # ______

Assigned music: ______(filled in by instructor)______

Each student will sing this passage in a quartet (assigned by the instructor) for a performance grade for this unit. Quartets will perform a cappella in a practice room, while being videotaped. Grades will be assigned using the rubric found below.

Pts. / Posture / Rhythm / Intonation / Diction / Tone / Preparation
5 / Consistently demonstrated excellent posture throughout. / Consistently performed rhythms accurately with a steady beat, including attacks and releases. / Consistently performed correct pitches accurately with excellent intonation / Excellent accuracy of diction, with consistently correct vowels and consonants / Sang with consistent, clear, focused tone / Shows
excellent practice effort; music memorized.
4 / Showed effort toward good posture most of the time, but with some stiff shoulders. / Performed rhythms with overall accuracy, but with some variation of beat and some errors of release. / Some incorrect notes, but with good intonation / Some inaccurate vowels, but good consonants / Somewhat clear, focused tone most of the time / Demonstrated good practice effort, with music mostly memorized.
3 / Adequate posture most of the time, but with some stiff shoulders or collapsed chest and some leaning. / Some rhythmical errors with a mostly steady beat including errors of attacks and releases. / Some pitch errors and fuzzy intonation / Some combination of inaccurate vowels and consonants / Tone was somewhat breathy or student over-sang some of the time. / Showed marginal practice effort, with some memorization
2 / Shows little effort toward good posture. Lack of care for good balance, open chest or standing tall. / Uneven beat and inaccurate rhythms create problems staying with other singers. / Performed few pitches accurately with poor overall intonation / Mostly inaccurate vowels and consonants / Overall tone was either breathy or over-sung. / Demonstrated little practice effort, with little or no memorization
Pts:

Excels26-30

Meets21-25

Approaches16-20

Begins 12-15Total Score ______

Standards /

Objectives

/ Activities[r1]
1.0 ARTISTIC PERCEPTION
Processing, Analyzing, and Responding to Sensory Information
Students read, notate, listen to, analyze, and describe music and other aural information, using the terminology of music.
Read and Notate Music
1.1 Read an instrumental or vocal score of up to four staves and explain how the elements of music are used.
1.3 Sight-read music accurately and expressively (level of difficulty: 3; scale: 1–6). / TSWBAT:
Read a vocal score with four staves, demonstrating understanding of designated pitches, rhythm, and Italian musical terms.
TSWBAT: Sight read music accurately and expressively / Daily explanations of the theory found in their music.
Daily “Bell work” activity
Daily sight-singing activities
2.0 CREATIVE EXPRESSION
Creating, Performing, and Participating in Music
Students apply vocal and instrumental musical skills in performing a varied repertoire of music.
Apply Vocal or Instrumental Skills
2.1 Sing a repertoire of vocal literature representing various genres, styles, and cultures with expression, technical accuracy, tone quality, vowel shape, and articulation—written and memorized, by oneself and in ensembles (level of difficulty: 4; scale: 1–6).
2.2 Sing music written in three or four parts with and without accompaniment.
2.3 Sing in small ensembles, with one performer for each part. / TSWBAT:
Sing with uniform vowels
TSWBAT:
Sing their music with appropriate expression, according to the various genres represented.
TSWBAT:
Sing their music with and without piano accompaniment
TSWBAT:
Sing assigned music in a quartet, with one person per part.
TSWBAT:
Sing in mixed order in rehearsals & performances. / Watch videotapes of their group and others
Daily rehearsal of music
Music is sung without music in performances. (Eventually required for the videotape, as well.)
Music is rehearsed frequently without the piano accompaniment.
Formal Assessment:
Each student sings assigned passages of music in a quartet for a video camera without accompaniment.
Students rehearse and perform in mixed-quartets on the risers.
3.0 HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXT
Understanding the Historical Contributions and Cultural Dimensions of Music
Students analyze the role of music in past and present cultures throughout the world, noting cultural diversity as it relates to music, musicians, and composers.
Role of Music
3.1 Identify the sources of musical genres of the United
States, trace the evolution of those genres, and cite well-known musicians associated with them.
3.2 Explain the various roles that musicians perform, identify representative individuals who have functioned in each role, and explain their activities and achievements.
Diversity of Music
3.3 Describe the differences between styles in traditional folk genres within the United States.
3.4 Perform music from various cultures and times. / TSWBAT:
Identify the genre, culture and historical context of the assigned music.
TSWBAT:
Compare and contrast various folk genres of USA. / Lecture: The music is presented in the context of culture and history.
These standards are covered in daily lectures, bellwork, and quizzes, depending on the repertoire chosen by the teacher.
4.0 AESTHETIC VALUING
Responding to, Analyzing, and Making Judgments About Works of Music
Students critically assess and derive meaning from works of music and the performance of musicians in a cultural context according to the elements of music, aesthetic qualities, and human responses.
Analyze and Critically Assess
4.1 Develop specific criteria for making informed critical evaluations of the quality and effectiveness of performances, compositions, arrangements, and improvisations and apply those criteria in personal participation in music.
4.2 Evaluate a performance, composition, arrangement, or improvisation by comparing each with an exemplary model. / TSWBAT:
Recognize what choirs can do to improve their overall performance.
TSWBAT:
Identify positive and negative elements of their own performances.
TSWBAT:
Develop list of criteria that shows quality of performance.
TSWBAT:
Identify qualities and techniques of various choirs that can be emulated. / Watch and listen to recordings of good choirs and discuss or write about what we see and hear.
Students listen to and watch their own performances during rehearsals.
Mini-performance activity: Students list criteria for evaluating a performance.
Each section sings their own part of the music alone, while others listen. After each group performs, students from the other sections tell them first what they did well, and then what they could improve.
5.0 CONNECTIONS, RELATIONSHIPS, APPLICATIONS
Connecting and Applying What Is Learned in Music to Learning in Other Art Forms and Subject Areas and to Careers
Students apply what they learn in music across subject areas. They develop competencies and creative skills in problem solving, communication, and management of time and resources that contribute to lifelong learning and career skills. / TSWBAT:
Show respect for others in the ensemble.
TSWBAT: Use classroom resources with care, maintaining them for future use.
TSWBAT:
Demonstrate good communication skills as they both offer compliments & constructive criticism. / Students learn to problem solve, communicate, and manage time and resources as they participate daily in the ensemble.
Students from the other sections tell first what they did well, and then what they could improve.

[r1]PLEASE NOTE THIS TOS IS NOT FORMATTED USING THIS YEAR’S TOS TEMPLATE FOR PERFORMANCE TASKS