ABSTRACT
Systematic assessment is the keystone of the teaching process, yet it is an area often neglect-ed by the music teacher. Parents hear their child practice and perform for friends and relatives and they, along with school administrators and the public, judge the program at public performances. The purpose of assessment is generally perceived as being the assignment of grades to determine qualification for performance groups, a means of motivating students, or as an administrative necessity. It is also high on the agenda of advocates for music in the schools who believe that those subjects that are tested will find a place in the curriculum. Though all are important, these uses are minor when compared with the real purposes and value of assessment. In this chapter, we discuss many of the assessment tools, such as formative assessment. We organize other assessment tools that are used, but often unsystematically, and emphasize that student learning (skills, values, knowledge, and habits) is the primary purpose of instruction and that learning can be enhanced when the right assessment tools are used at the right time.
