Assessment in the Choral Classroom

1. Assessment in the Choral Classroom A Presentation by Michaela Mondro and Lara Wolford

2. Introduction to the Choral Classroom • Build skills in ear training, sight reading, vocal independence, vocal technique, performance etiquette • Rehearsals culminate in concerts each season • Choir functions as a group – teamwork and collaboration are a crucial part of assessing students

3. Auditions and Placement • Usually consists of range-testing, sight-reading, and harmonization • Often done one-on-one (ie director and student) • Can be done in quartets (soprano, alto, tenor, bass) • Used to determine what choir one is placed in and/or what voice part they will be singing

4. How are they Reliable and Valid? • Test-Retest Reliability – everyone sings the same piece and does the same exercises • Shows individual abilities • Allows director to compare results • Criterion Validity • Predicts student’s ability to perform in ensemble and concert • Content Validity • Represents curriculum aim • Helps us justify repertoire choices based on student’s ability

5. Vocal Assessment • Also done in quartets • Great way to check memorization of text and knowledge of notes • Can be done in private or in front of group

6. How is it Reliable and Valid? • Test-Retest • Can be administered multiple times to show progress over time • Internal Consistency • Exercises chosen should be able to assess student’s progress • Difficult exercises will be difficult for all • Content Validity • Allows us to determine that repertoire being performed is within the abilities of singers • Construct Validity • Levels of difficulty of each exercise should be about the same for the group

7. Participation • Due to the nature of the choir room, decent part of grade is based on participation in rehearsal • i.e. have all music, pencil, posture, singing when asked, not chewing gum • Memorization checks – written or oral • Either done as one final grade at the end of the semester or individual points per day

8. Written Assessment • Selected to supplement the repertoire being sung • Music Theory • Ear training • Larger-scaled projects (i.e. Composer project) • Concert Reports • Typically not the largest part of assessment

9. How are they Reliable and Valid? • All forms of Reliability and Validity should be taken into account when writing tests, just as you would when writing a test for any other subject

10. Concerts • Serves as exam • Culmination of work in rehearsal and individual work of student • Graded based on memorization, performance, and concert etiquette

11. Final Grades • Breakdown of everything worked on during semester and concert • For example… Participation in Rehearsal – 30% Memorization and Vocal Testing – 15% Written Work – 25% Concert Participation – 30%

12. Bias • Just because we’re not a “typical” style of assessment doesn’t mean we can’t have bias! • When choosing audition pieces, make sure it is something that is easily recognizable (i.e. not choosing a piece that is only recognized by one culture) • Choose a piece that is difficult enough to test ability but not so difficult that it is unsingable by most students • Offensive items • Be wary of cultural groups and/or religious groups when choosing repertoire (ie don’t program a winter concert just full of Christian carols) • Penalization • This is difficult to avoid because of the variety of languages used to perform – there will always be students who have an advantage

13. Accommodation • If bias is found (which it most likely will be…) take the time to use accommodations • Choose folk songs that represent the cultures of people in the classroom • Let students use facilities to learn music on their own after class if they don’t have the resources to practice at home • Provide larger copies of music for those who have problems with their eyesight • There are many ways to use accommodations in the music classroom