WRITING
RUBRICS
FOR
THE MUSICCLASSRO
can constructrubricsthat "layit all out,"tellingstudentsexactlywhatthey
Teachers
needto do in orderto writeorperformeffectively
magine that a music teacher
assigns an essay to her fifth-grade
students. They are to choose a
composer, researchhis or her life
and work, listen to examples of
his or her music, and write an essay
based on the information that they
gather. When the music teacher sits
down to read her students' essays,
however, she finds that she is uncer-
tain how to evaluatetheir work. While
some of the essays follow paragraph
form, the majority of them go from
one topic to another without transi-
tion and include aspects of the com-
poser's life that are irrelevant to the
assignment.
The teacherrealizesthat she doesn't
have sufficient information about her
students' writing abilities to know
what level of work she should consider
"acceptable"or "average."She also rec-
ognizes that her students didn't under-
stand what music content she was
expecting them to include. She appar-
ently left them wondering what kinds
of information about the composer
they should bring together in their
essays.
RachelWhitcomb teachesgeneralmusicand
directstwochoirsat BarleySheafElementary integrating
NewJersey.
SchoolinFlemington,
26
in musicclass.
relationshipsbetween music, the other
arts, and disciplines outside the arts"
and "understandingmusic in relation
to history and culture."l
To foster their students' learning in
music, however, teachersneed to edu-
cate themselves about specific grade-
level competencies in other subject
areas. This knowledge will enable
them to integrate these subjects fully
Writingis, afterall, one into the study of music. For example,
music teachers who want to integrate
toolsfor
of theprimary language arts into the content of
communicatingcontent music must become awareof the writ-
ing abilities of their students. They
knowledgeaboutmusic. need to examine samples of student
writing and discuss developmental
issues associated with the acquisition
of writing skills with language arts
teachers. Writing is, after all, one of
the primary tools for communicating
content knowledge about music.
For the fifth-grademusic teacherin
the opening example, the music con-
tent was clearly the most important
is essential to
Writing comprehen- aspect of her students' essays about a
sive study of many topics in the gener- composer. However, with limited
al music classroom. Music teachers understanding of the writing process,
who successfullyconnect their units of she was unable to give her students the
study with language arts and writing guidance they needed to show all that
skills enhance students' learning and they had learned about the life and
improve the content of their work. work of a composer. Her students
The National Standards for Music were undoubtedly awarethat their lan-
Education stress the importance of guage arts teacher expects them to
music with other subjects, demonstrate particular writing skills
such as languagearts. Standards8 and and formats. Once music teachers
9, respectively,call for "understanding clearly understand what language arts
MUSIC EDUCATORS JOURNAL
Figure1. Grade5 writingrubric: arts
Language
A/A+
(Strong)
0 strongopeningand closing
* informationpertainingto a single
topic
* eventspresentedin a logicalorder
* well-developedplot (fiction)
* completesentences
* variedsentencestructure
* connected and related sentences
and paragraphs
* many supportingdetailsproviding
thoroughexplanations
* good use of descriptivelanguage
* effectiveandvariedwords
0 correctverbtenses
0 agreementbetween subjects and
verbs
* clearreferencesfrom pronounsto
nouns
? accuratecapitalizationandpunctu-
ation
* standardspelling
Note: This rubricis based on a rubriccreatedby the Flemington-RaritanPortfolio Committee.
teachers' expectations are, they can
convey to their students that their
expectations are the same for writing
assignmentsin music.
Limited time often makes class-
room study of composers and careers
in music, for example, brief and shal-
low. Writing assignments that allow
students to deepen their understand-
ing of specific topics in music, while
using skills and concepts from other
subjects,give them an appreciationfor
the process of learning about music.
The possibilities for integratinghistor-
ical and cultural information with
music skills and content are endless.
MAY 1999
B/C(Developing)
0 an openingandclosing
* informationpertainingmainlyto a
singletopic
* some attemptsto presenteventsin
a logicalorder
* some attemptsto developplot (fic-
tion)
* mostlycompletesentences
* somevarietyin sentencestructure
* attemptsto connectsentencesand
paragraphs
* some supportingdetailsproviding
explanations
* some use of descriptivelanguage
* some attemptsto varywords
0 mostlycorrectverbtenses
? agreement between subjects and
verbs most of the time (errorsdo
not obscuremeaning)
* mostly clear referencesfrom pro-
nouns to nouns (errors do not
obscuremeaning)
* mostly accuratecapitalizationand
punctuation
* generallystandardspelling
I
For example, to "understandmusic in
relation to history and culture"(Stan-
dard 9), students can write about
political affairs during the time of
Mozart.
Music teachers who understand
their students' language skills will be
well equipped to integrate language
arts with music content. Rubrics are
useful tools that allow music teachers
to combine the tasks of integration
and evaluationneatly and concisely.
WhatIsa Rubric?
A rubricis a set of scoringguidelines
for evaluating students' work. Rubrics
D/F(Limited)
0 no openingor closing
0 informationpertainingto more
thanone topic
* eventspresentedin randomorder
* confused or indecipherableplot
(fiction)
* many or mostly incompletesen-
tences
* repetitious,mechanicalsentence
structure
* inadequate, missing, or indis-
cernible connections between
sentencesandparagraphs
* inadequateor no detailto explain
meaning
* limited or no use of descriptive
language
* repeatedwords;mechanicaluse of
wordsand phrases
* frequentlyincorrectverbtenses
* minimalagreementbetweensub-
jects and verbs (errorsinterfere
with meaning)
* unclear or missing references
from pronouns to nouns (errors
interferewith meaning)
* inaccurateor no punctuationor
capitalization
* inventedspelling
list the elements that students need to
include in theirwork in orderto receive
a particulargradeor evaluation.Teach-
ers often use rubricsto evaluateassign-
ments that requirestudents to demon-
strate their ability to combine knowl-
edge and skills or apply concepts to
real-life situations (authentic assess-
ment). Rubricsarevaluableto students
and teachers because they provide a
communicationlink. Teacherscan sup-
ply a rubric for a specific project and
review its criteriain advancewith stu-
dents. Students can refer to the rubric
while completing the project, using it
as a "checklistfor success."
27
Figure2. Grade5 musicrubric: unit
Composer
A/A+(Strong)
* informationpertainingto a single
composer
* detailed backgroundinformation
aboutthe life of the composer
* detailed descriptionsof the types
of musicwrittenby the composer
* good use of musicvocabulary
* many connections between the
life of the composerand relevant
historicalevents
* names and descriptionsof two or
more piecesby the composer
* interesting facts or stories about
the composer
* no more than one or two personal
experienceswith the music of the
composer
* significantevidenceof researchor
studyof the composer
Rubrics have different formats.
Some rubricsuse point systems, allow-
ing students to accumulate points
toward a particulargrade by including
particular facts or, in presentations,
demonstrating particular behaviors.
Other rubrics have letter-grade cate-
gories and list the information that
students' work in music must include
in order for them to earn particular
grades.Still other rubricshave descrip-
tive categories that detail the levels of
proficiency and frequency of demon-
stration that the assignmentrequires.
How can standard grade-level
rubrics for writing benefit music stu-
28
B/C(Developing)
* informationpertainingmainly to
a singlecomposer
* general backgroundinformation
aboutthe life of the composer
* general descriptions of the types
of musicwrittenby the composer
* some attempts to use a music
vocabulary
* some connectionsbetweenthe life
of the composerand relevanthis-
toricalevents
* name and some descriptionof one
piece by the composer
* some interesting facts or stories
aboutthe composer
* more than two personal experi-
enceswith music by the composer
(with greater emphasis on the
composer's name than his/her
work)
o some evidenceof researchor study
of the composer
dents? Examination of a typical writ-
ing rubric for fifth grade shows some
of the advantages for music teachers
and students alike. Investigation of
this rubric also opens other possibili-
ties for rubricsin the music classroom.
forWriting
Rubrics
Figure 1 shows a sample rubric for
fifth-grade writing or language arts
classes.Teachersof these subjectsoften
share such rubrics with students in
order to make them awareof the crite-
ria for particularletter grades. A stu-
dent whose report exhibits the quali-
ties listed in the lefthand column,
MUSIC
D/F(Limited)
* information pertaining to more
than one composer;tendencyto
drift from one composer to
anotheror to confusecomposers
* limited or no backgroundinfor-
mationaboutthe life of the com-
poser
* limited or no descriptionsof the
types of music written by the
composer
* limitedor no musicvocabulary
* no connectionbetweenthe life of
the composer and relevant his-
toricalevents
* many personal opinions about
the music of the composer but
no name or specific description
of any piece, or a list of many
pieces with no relevantdescrip-
tions or evidenceof listening
* no interesting facts or stories
aboutthe composer
* only personal knowledge of or
hearsay information about the
composer
* no convincing evidence of re-
searchor studyof the composer
such as "strongopening and closing,"
will earn an A or even an A+, while a
student whose work does not meet
these expectationswill receive a lower
grade.2 During the process of writing
a report, students can make sure that
they are including the necessaryinfor-
mation in the correct format for the
assignment.
When music teachersassign a writ-
ten report, they can discuss this lan-
guage arts rubric with their students.
Teachers should emphasize that the
guidelines that students must follow
in their writing classesare also in place
in music class. Once teachers have
EDUCATORS JOURNAL
Figure3. Grade5 musicrubric:Instrument
unit

A/A+
(Strong) B/C(Developing) D/F(Limited)

* informationpertainingto a single * informationpertainingmainly to * information pertainingto more

instrument
* detailed backgroundor historical
informationabout the instrument
(i.e., origin,inventor)
* detaileddescriptionof the timbre
of the instrument
* musicvocabulary
* no more than one or two
accounts of personal experiences
with the instrument
* at least one or two interestingor
little-known facts among general
factsaboutthe instrument
* evidence of researchor study of
the instrument
a singleinstrument
* some background or historical
informationabout the instrument
(i.e., origin,inventor)
* description of the timbre of the
instrument but mostly from lis-
teningratherthan research
* some musicvocabulary
* more than two accounts of per-
sonal experienceswith the instru-
ment
* some general facts about the
instrument
* some evidence of research or
studyof the instrument
than one instrumentor tendency
to drift from one instrumentto
another or to confuse instru-
ments
* limitedor no backgroundor his-
torical information about the
instrument(i.e., origin,inventor)
* no description of the timbre of
the instrument
* limitedor no musicvocabulary
* excessive discussion of personal
experienceswith the instrument
* few or no facts about the instru-
ment
* no evidence of valid researchor
studyof the instrument

made this point, they can explain their music rubrics allow students to find combined rubric can have separate
expectations for the music aspects of connections between the language and sections for writing skills and music
the assignment.They can provide spe- music content requirementsthat they content. Such a rubric gives students
cific music content guidelines, calling must fulfill. Seeing connections all the information that they need in a
on students to use a music vocabulary, between these requirements allows cohesive, unified form that under-
for example, and to provide detailed students to make connections between scores the integration of subject mat-
music information. This kind of inte- the subjects,as well. Studentswill real- ter.
gration is appropriateat all grade lev- ize that they can approach areas of Before creating rubrics for writing
els, because it reemphasizes writing study in music in some of the same assignments, music teachers must
skills and concepts that students are ways that they approach other aca- decide what content they want their
learning or have learned, while demic subjects. students to cover. Teachers should
demanding that the content of their There are also connections between identify the main topics or aspectsthat
written work on music topics have the letter-grade requirements that they consider most important for stu-
substance. these rubricsestablish.Just as the writ- dents to master.Music teacherssimply
ing rubric calls for "many supporting need to ask themselves, "What is it
Rubrics forWriting aboutMusic details and thorough explanations"for that I want my students to learn?"
Music teachers can develop rubrics an A or A+, for instance, the instru- After they identify their main objec-
for writing about most topics covered ment rubric stipulates that students tives, such as having students provide
in their curricula. They can use their must give "detailedbackgroundor his- detailed information on the life of a
school's or district'swriting criteria as torical information about the instru- composer, they can begin to connect
a base for creating these rubrics. Fig- ment" in order to have a chance at their objectives to the writing rubric.
ures 2 and 3 show examplesof rubrics these grades. This connection createsintegration in
for writing assignments relating to Music teachers can adapt rubrics curricula,as well.
composers and instruments. Teachers for writing in general to rubrics for
can use rubricssuch as these in combi- writing about specific music topics, or Rubrics
forPerformance
nation with a writing rubric. Parallels they can combine writing and music Music teacherscan also use rubrics
between the writing rubric and the requirements into a single rubric. A to assess performances and other

MAY 1999 29
Figure4. Grade4 performance
rubric:
Recorder
playing,using"Lightly
A/A+(VeryGood)
* plays correctnotes
* uses correctfingerings
* plays correct rhythms (holds
notes for correct number of
beats)
* plays first two phrases forte,
next two phrases piano, and
remainderof piece mezzo-forte
* keeps a steady tempo
* observesrest
* plays with a pleasanttone
* appearsto be thoroughly famil-
iar with the piece
* plays through piece completely
without stopping
Figure5. Grade7 performancerubric:Singing technique In "TheStar-SpangledBanner"
A/A+(VeryGood)
* singswith good posture
* singswith confidence
* begins on correctpitch and sings
pitches without scooping (sliding
to the correctpitch)
* adds final t to "light," "fight,"
"night"
* takes breaths in correct places;
maintains correct breathing and
support(does not breathebetween
"spangled" and "banner")
* observesritardandoon "flagwas
still there";slowstempo on ending
phrases;observesfermataon "free"
* sings with pleasant tone and
expressivequality
* dropsjaw throughout
* usescleardiction
* usespurevowels
* has memorizedall words
30
Row"
B/C(Satisfactory)
* plays mostly correctnotes
* uses correct fingerings most of
the time
* plays with only slight rhythmic
discrepancies (holds most notes
for correctnumber of beats)
* plays at differentdynamic levels,
but differences should be more
evident
* breaks tempo only one time to
correctnotes
* observesrest
* plays with no squeaks
* appears to be adequately famil-
iar with the piece
* plays through piece with some
stopping
B/C(Satisfactory)
* singswith good posture
* singswith some confidence
* beginson correctpitch or sings in
one key after starting on the
wrong pitch; sings pitches with
some scooping
* sometimesadds final t to "light,"
"fight,""night"
* takes most breathsin the correct
places;is developingbreathsupport
(takesquickbreathbetween"span-
gled"and"banner")
* observesslight ritardandoon "flag
was still there";slows tempo only
slightly on ending phrases;
observesfermataon "free"to some
extentbut not fully
* is developingtone quality
* dropsjaw some of the time
* usescear dictionsomeof the time
* usessome purevowels
* has memorizedmost words
MUSIC
D/F(Needs Improvement)
* plays many incorrectnotes
* uses incorrectfingerings
* plays with hesitations that lead
to rhythmic discrepancies and
keep music from flowing (fre-
quently holds notes for incor-
rect number of beats)
* makes no change in dynamic
level
* fails to maintain a steady beat
* fails to observerest
* plays with many squeaks and
an unpleasanttone
* appears to be unfamiliar with
the piece
* is unable to get through the
piece
D/F(Needs Improvement)
* singswith poorposture
* lacksconfidence
* begins on wrong pitch and fluc-
tuatesfrom one key to another
* never adds final t to "light,"
"fight,"or "night"
* takes breaths at inappropriate
times (obvious breath between
"spangled" and "banner")
* fails to observe ritardando on
"flagwas still there"or to make
other changes in tempo (e.g.,
slowing final phrasesor observ-
ing fermataon "free")
* sings with harsh tone and no
expression
* does not dropjaw
* does not enunciatewords
* does not use purevowels
* has not memorized words; is
unfamiliarwith song
EDUCATORS JOURNAL
Figure6. Grade2 generalmusicrubric:
Singingandplaying"RockyMountain"
Outstanding
* sings in head voice and with
correctpitches
* has memorizedwords
* sings while playing quarternote
rhythmic patterncorrectly
* holds mallets correctly and
bounces them off bars of metal-
lophone for good vibratingtone
* begins patternat correcttime
* keeps patternsteady throughout
* ends pattern at correcttime
* internalizesrhythm
* is relied on by others as singing
and rhythmic leader
instructional activities that are unique
to the music classroom. Distributing
rubrics for these activities in advance
makesstudents awareof exacty what is
expectedwhen they carryout a presen-
tation or performance.Rubricsfor such
activitiesgive students a better sense of
what qualitiesmake "good"music. For
example, sample rubrics for perfor-
mance-relatedactivitiesin figure4 (for
recorder) and figure 5 (for voice)
emphasize that a good instrumentalist
"plays correct notes" and "playswith
pleasant tone" and that a good singer
"singspitcheswithout scooping."
The activity for recorder(figure 4)
uses the song "LightlyRow."Its rubric
helps studentsduring practiceby speci-
fying the dynamics, rhythmic tech-
niques, and other elements of music
that they need to address.The singing
activity (figure 5) has a similar rubric
but for singing techniqueof studentsat
a highergradelevel. These performance
rubricsgive music teachersthe chance
MAY 1999
onthe metallophone
Satisfactory
* sings in head voice and mostly
with correctpitches
o has memorizedmost words
? sings while playing rhythmic
pattern after observing and
attempting a few times, or plays
pattern but can sing along only
aftera few attempts
* holds mallets correctly and hits
them on bars, bouncing most of
the time
* begins pattern close to correct
time after catching on to it
* keeps patternsteady aftergetting
it going
* ends pattern at almost the cor-
rect time
* is in process of internalizing
rhythm
* relieson leadersfirst for success
to communicateto studentsand others
in the school community what criteria
go into successfulperformance.
Figure 6 shows a sample rubric
relatedto a typical activity in a general
music class-singing and playing the
metallophone. This rubric includes
such items as "sings while playing
quarternote rhythmic pattern correct-
ly." Teacherswould use such a rubric
primarily to evaluate student partici-
pation and success in classroom and
group activities.
Teachers can use rubrics to assess
broad areasas well as specific ones and
can include criteriathat help students
as well as themselves. It is up to indi-
vidual teachersto decide which activi-
ties they could strengthen by supply-
ing written criteria to their students.
Often, music teachers have in mind
but do not communicate the behav-
iors that they would like to see and
hear in their students' performances.
Rubrics allow teachers to define these
NeedsImproveiment
* does not sing in head voice; has
trouble with pitches; sings in
speakingvoice or monotone
* is unfamiliarwith words
* is unable to sing and play quar-
ter note pattern at the same
time; pattern is arrhythmicand
choppy
* does not hold mallets correctly,
and does not bounce them off
bars
* startspatternlate consistently
* changespatternthroughout
o ends too earlyor too late
* has not begun to feel rhythm
internally
* cannot continue performing
without leaders
behaviorsprecisely,elaborateon them,
supplement them, and share them
with students in a format that
enhances music learning.
Music teacherscan also use rubrics
to implement music content standards
by creatingdetailed written criteriafor
each standard.Teacherscan develop a
rubric for each grade level, specifying
age-appropriatebehaviorscalled for by
each standard, so that students, par-
ents, and other teachersclearlyunder-
stand the music teacher'sexpectations.
For example, Standard 4 of the
National Standards, "composing and
arranging music within specified
guidelines," would involve different
responsibilities at different grade lev-
els. What kind of composing should
third graders be doing? What instru-
ments should first gradersbe playing?
What time signatures should sixth
graders understand? Teachers can
answerthese questions efficientlywith
"contentstandard"rubrics.
31

SelectedResourcesforTeaching
with Rubrics
Printed
Materials
Burch, C. Beth. "Creatinga Two-TieredPortfolio Rubric."In The English
Journal86, no.1 (1997): 55-58.
Farr,R., and B. Tone. Portfolioand PerformanceAssessment.Fort Worth,
TX: HarcourtBraceCollege Publishers,1994.
Popham, W. James. "What'sWrong and What'sRight with Rubrics."Edu-
cationalLeadership55, no. 2 (1997): 72-75.
Schaffner,Ann. "Rubricsin Middle School: Rewardingor Rueful." Teach-
ing and Change86, no. 1 (1997): 258-83.
Webb, K., and N. Willoughby. "AnAnalytic Rubric for Scoring Graphs."
The TexasSchoolTeacher22, no. 3 (1993): 14-15.
Locations
Internet
The Center on Learning, Assessment, and School Structure:
www.classnj.org
For more sample rubrics:aelvis.ael.org/rel/quest/stories/creating.htmand
add.miningco.com/library/weekly/aaO9 1597.htm
StudentInputintoRubrics
Allowing students to help create
rubrics increases their understanding
of music. They take on the task of
defining and identifying characteristics
of music of high quality. It is some-
times necessary for teachers to create
the criteria for evaluating the assign-
ment by themselves, either because of
time constraintsor because the assign-
If thetaskat hand
ment is of a type that is completely buildsonprevious
new to students. However, if the task
at hand builds on previous learning, learning,studentscan
students can and will accept the chal- andwillacceptthe
lenge of coming up with their own
ideas of what makes "GradeA" work.
Music teachers should have appro-
challenge ofcomingup
priatecriteriafirmlyin mind beforedis-
withtheirownideasof
cussing a particular rubric with their
students.Such preparationallowsteach-
whatmakes"Grade A"
ers to be in chargeof the discussionand work.
to guide the developmentof the rubric
while still allowing students to provide
valuable input. Often, students will
applyideasfrom previousunits of study * a a a
to the rubricunder consideration,thus
enhancingthe classdiscussion.
In creating a rubric for metallo-
phone playing, as in figure 6, teachers
32
can initiate a discussion of behaviors
that students have previously demon-
strated and consider appropriate for
this and similar activities. Teachers
should review classroom procedures
with students and remind them of
things that they have learned. Prompt-
ing students to think for themselves
and come up with ideas enhances their
skills in analysis,classification,organi-
zation, and interpretation.
Benefits
Once music teachers understand
their students'writing abilities, as well
as the criteria that they themselves
already expect in music activities and
performances,they will be preparedto
take full advantageof rubrics as tools
for assessmentin music. Whether they
develop rubrics to assess writing
assignments, classroom performances,
group activities, or portfolios, they
will discover that rubrics are flexible
tools that communicate educational
goals precisely and concretely (see the
Selected Resources for Teaching with
Rubrics sidebar). Applying rubrics to
teaching and learning called for by the
National Standardsfor Music Educa-
tion ensures that the objectives and
assessmentof a varietyof music activi-
ties will be as clear as possible to
teachers,students, and parents.
Notes
1. Consortiumof NationalArtsEducation
Associations,NationalStandards for ArtsEdu-
cation(Reston,VA: Music EducatorsNation-
al Conference,1994).
2. If a student'swork fulfillsmost of the
requirementsof a particularcategory-for
example,the B/C category("Developing")-I
usuallygive the highergrade.If, on the other
hand, the work meets half of the category's
criteriaor less, I give the lowergrade.When I
am evaluatingwork that falls into the A/A+
category("Strong"),I may give an A+ if the
studenthas taken extracare-using excellent
spelling,for example,or an especiallyimpres-
sivelayoutor cover.I mayalsogivean A+ to a
studentwho has fulfilledeverysinglerequire-
ment in the category.(I giveA's to most stu-
dents whose work falls into this category.)
Some teachers check their students' work
againstthe requirements in the categories,and
a a
for
if, example, a student has met manyof the
requirements from the B/C categoryand a
few from the A/A+ category,his or her grade
is usuallya B. i
MUSIC EDUCATORS JOURNAL