Assessment Portfolio

Annotated List

1. Exit Tickets

a. Gathering a small sheet of paper from the students with information such as

“What did you learn today?” or “Where have you heard this concept of sound

before?” and collect it at the end of class before they can leave the class.

b. It forces the students to think about what it is they did in class and write it down.

It also gives the teacher a way to figure out what they learned or where the future

instruction needs to be guided.

2. Journal Entries

a. Having students enter into a journal an entry over a certain topic. They can write

about anything once prompted to and the prompts can consist of anything that the

teacher wants them to think about that day.

b. Guides the future instruction based on what they wrote or didn’t write. Also gives

students a chance to think deeply about a topic instead of quickly answering in

class.

3. Paper/Pencil Tests

a. Giving the students a document with questions over what has been learned over a

certain time period.

b. Gives the teacher concrete evidence on if the students understand a concept or a

theory. Forces students to study and ensure that they know the material they will

be asked about on the test.

4. Recordings

a. Giving students a set number of measures in a piece to record and send it into the

teacher to listen to and give feedback to the students on how they can improve.

b. Forces the student to practice a given section and allows them to listen to

themselves play and assess themselves on what they can improve upon. Allows

the teacher a chance to hear each student individually on sections in the music

they are working on and the teacher can change future instruction to help all

students move forward in the learning process.

5. Playing Tests

a. Similar to recordings but in person. Students get one chance to play a section of

their music in front of the teacher.

b. Forces the students to practice their part well enough to play it on a first try and

allows the teacher to give immediate feedback to the student on how they can

improve.

6. Checklists

a. Clear criteria that is immediate feedback to the student. Consists of mostly “Is this

happening, or is it not happening” questions.

b. Gives the opportunity for peers to assess each other using criteria set by the

teacher and it provides concrete evidence of what is being learned or not.

7. Listening Guides

a. A reflection written by the student outside of class over a piece of music assigned

by the teacher.
 b. Gives students a way to listen to music that will pair with the music they are

working on in ensemble. Allows the teacher to read their reflection on the piece

and see if they are thinking musically or if they are thinking “Did I like this piece

of music?”

8. Portfolios

a. A collection of work done by the student documenting achievement throughout a

period of time.

b. Forces student to do certain things to make sure they meet all criteria of the

Portfolio. It also forces students to reflect on their work assessing themselves on

the quality of work and documenting their progress.

Implementation

*If anything doesn’t work in your classroom, adjust it so it suits your students and the needs of

your classroom.

1. Exit Tickets

a. A question is written on the board or on the projector whenever an exit ticket is

desired. On a provided half sheet of paper, students are given 1 to 2 minutes

before the bell rings to answer the question. The thought doesn’t need to be

complete. The sheet must be collected in a basket by the door before the students

can leave. The teacher will read them and use the information to change or

enhance the future teaching.

2. Journal Entries
 a. A question or writing prompt is presented to the student at the end of class. The

students pull out their journal for class and are given are given 4-6 minutes to

write on that prompt. The prompt is pulled from a lesson that was previously

taught or a lesson that is getting ready to be taught so the teacher can know how

to adjust the lesson or what they need to retouch before moving on. Teacher will

collect student journals and respond to the students explaining what they need to

focus on or continue to think about.

3. Paper/Pencil Tests

a. A test will be announced at least a week in advance and will consist of

information that the students have already learned. Depending on the difficulty

of the test, students will have a set amount of time to answer each question before

moving on to the next activity. Tested information will be about music theory,

and music history only because those two areas are most widely accepted as

objective. Once completed with the test students will turn it in and it will be

graded by the teacher.

4. Recordings

a. Students will be given a set period of time to turn in recordings of a certain

passage of music they are working on currently in ensemble rehearsals. Students

will record themselves using a computer or phone and send the audio file into the

teacher to listen to and give feedback to the student.

5. Playing Tests

a. Students will be given an excerpt out of their music they are preparing in

ensemble rehearsals to be played in front of the teacher. During class, there will
 be a work day, except for the students playing test time, in which they will go into

the office or small ensemble room and play that excerpt for the teacher. The

teacher will then fill out a rating sheet outlining levels in instrument carriage,

right notes, right rhythms, steady pulse, tone, pitch, or dynamics on scales of 1 to

5 (or smiley face to frowny face). It is important that there is a different set of

criteria sheet for each instrument and that you tailor the criteria for the specific

ensemble you are working with. Once done playing, the student will go back and

continue working on whatever the current project is in ensemble.

6. Checklists

a. This is used for simple tasks like posture, putting cases where they belong, sitting

in chairs and other “house keeping” tasks like that. Create a list consisting of

what is important to you for your students to do but keep them as clear as

possible, like a description of a skill, “the student…”

7. Listening Guides

a. Teacher will assign a song that pairs with music they are learning in ensemble

rehearsal and tell to write a reflection over the piece. The first one you will

receive a lot of “I didn’t” or “I did like the piece of music” but the goal of it is for

them to think musically and apply what they are learning to their reflection. Give

each student a challenge such as “Can you identify the key of the piece.” Or

“What is the basic ostinato pattern throughout this piece of music, so they

continue to build upon their ears to help them in rehearsal without being told to

fill in a work sheet with all challenges like that written out.
 8. Portfolios

a. At the beginning of the semester students will be given a rubric outlining what a

portfolio needs to look like. The rubric shouldn’t be set in stone to allow for the

student to include in it what they are proud of from their semester and want to

show. What should be there is: playing test ratings, programs from concerts

attended, checklists from the semester, the journal, listening guides, and

everything else in from the semester that can show that the student grew over

time.

Exemplars

1. Exit Tickets

a. What will you practice tonight?

b. Who have you listened to that demonstrates good tone on your instrument?

c. How do you fix a quick technical passage?

2. Journal Entries

a. What story would you put along with the piece we rehearsed today?

b. How does music effect your daily life?

c. What did you hear in rehearsal today that still needs to be fixed?

3. Paper/Pencil Tests

a. Key signature test

b. “Naming notes in the other clefs” test

c. “History of the composer in our folder” test

4. Recordings

a. Record m. 45 to 72 in Red Riding Hood.

5. Playing Tests

 (Not enough)  (Sometimes)  (Always)

Played with good

tone

Played all the

right notes

Played the right

rhythm

6. Checklists

Yes No The Student…

Put the case back their locker once their instrument was out.

Pinches the bottom on the slide with 1 or 2 fingers

Has a pencil and a tuner on their stand during rehearsal

Brought their music to class

7. Listening guides

a. Listen to the Big Phat Band’s “Rotten Tomato” and write a chunk on the song.

8. Portfolios

a. Create a portfolio of your own performances as well as performances you have

attended including information about the composer of each piece and your own
story for the piece. Include two more criteria of your own choosing about each

performance.