HAT Journal 11

 Is it really such an issue if students get predominantly A grades in a music class? I feel
that it could turn students away from music if it is something they are doing for
enjoyment and it brings down their GPA.
 Should music classes be worth less when calculating GPA
 I feel that it would be hard to grade on musicality sometimes. A student could really put
thought into the style of their performance, but be wrong, and I don’t think that would
be their fault.
 I wonder how often arts teachers get criticized for being too subjective in their grading. I
would like to think that as a music teacher I will have the knowledge and skills to discern
what is acceptable for my students or not.
 I wonder how my assessments will change over time. I wonder if I will lighten up on my
grading criteria, or get stricter with experience in the job. If I start off easy and get
tougher, students may respond poorly to that, so it would probably be best to start off
strong and ease up a bit. On the downside of this, students may not like me or my class
at the beginning if it is challenging for them.
A

 It makes sense that fine arts teachers tend to grade based on non-achievement
categories rather than based on skills. It is a subjective subject.
 Something I don’t consider often is to check for completion. It is hard to grade for
completion in music because it is often a physical activity without immediate proof of
growth.
 Rubrics should be as simple as I can make them, without leaving out any important
information. I have never made a rubric before, so this is good to know now.
 I really like the quote on page 51 that said, “Does the assessment instrument measure
what I want it to measure?”. Whether that be a rubric, video, live performance, or some
other means of performance assessment. It would be pointless to grade without a
guide, because then it is only subjective.
 I have never entertained the idea of good grades versus learning. It is important to
stress this to students often.
T

 I think it would be beneficial to me as a teacher to do as much skills-based assessment

as possible. As of right now, I think I will have weekly opportunities for students to
formally demonstrate skills. I think short playing excerpts will be good. I could have
them demonstrate that they know how to play slurred staccato by having each student
play a measure by himself or herself.
 I think it would be interesting to allow students to turn in a score out of 10 that they
would give themselves before I give their score to them. This can give me perspective
into their thoughts of my teaching and their performing.
 I would like to implement a second chance policy of sorts. If a student is unhappy with
his or her grade on something, they should be able to redeem himself or herself with
another attempt at another time. This opportunity should probably not be given to
students at all times, for any assessment. There is potential for it to be abused. Perhaps
I would allow one retry per quarter.
 I will use informal assessment for recitation of knowledge, and not waste my time on
many written tests that could easily be covered in class—during playtime. It will be
more engaging for students too when I ask questions that they know the answer to and
they answer it right.
 I would like to do a portfolio for each student to show parents how much they progress
each year. I think an electronic portfolio would be really good for storing playing test
videos that parents can watch. It will be a good reminder to parents and students that
they are consistently progressing.