Maine Motif Maine Motif May 2017 Issue 3 Volume I | Page 10

Picturing Assessment
By Rebecca Mallory, District 5
How do we picture assessment? It is my opinion that assessment is typically dreaded by
our students because it involves work and grades. They become obsessed with the grade
and don't always see the value in it other than the label it gives them. This article
explores approaches to teaching students to perceive assessment and evaluation as part
of a learning cycle, whose outcomes are meant to guide their future achievement. As
they assume responsibility for their education, their perception of assessments should
be as valuable tools meant to help them set and achieve their goals.
Too often persons concerned with measurement and evaluation become so involved in the process
and techniques of testing and measurement that evaluation is overlooked: Evaluation should serve
to facilitate and improve the instructional process in the classroom… (Boyle and Radocy, 1987,
pg.18)
Grading is one of the biggest hurdles music teachers experience. When we are forced to
boil down students' progress to a single letter or number grade, it is very difficult to
disseminate what it symbolizes. According to Kuhn (2010), “grades can take on many
meanings, or dimensions, for the student receiving the grade as well as for the many
constituencies that are aware of them” (ch.3, pg. 1). Students seem to be consumed with
achieving a certain grade rather than understanding the purpose of receiving it. No
matter how your system forces you to represent student progress, it is more important
that students understand the process over the snapshot grade. What are we trying to
achieve with these labels? Are students obsessed with a label or with learning?
Recently, a student was ready to submit a sight-reading assignment and asked me if it
would affect his grade in the class. If I answered “no” he would have submitted it not
caring about the consequences. I, of course, answered “yes” and he asked me what grade
I’d give it so he could decide if he should redo the assignment. This scenario taught me
many things. First, he was only motivated by a grade and not by learning the skill or
content. Second, I had not equipped him with the necessary tools to self-assess and
make a musical decision himself. I was glad he sought feedback but I also realized that