RUBRICS AND CHECKLISTS KEITHA LUCAS HAMANN ASSESSMENT IN ARTS EDUCATION

DEFINITIONS Rubric: A set of guidelines for evaluating student work (performance or product) o Analytic (specific) or Holistic (global) o Scale  Starts at 0 or 1  Uses 4, 5, or 6 levels o Descriptors o Parallel Construction o Hierarchical o Item independence

CONSTRUCTING RUBRICS Determine what needs to be assessed (skills, outcomes, learning targets) Relate to benchmarks Develop tasks to elicit outcomes Determine criteria Pilot and revise

DESCRIPTIVE LANGUAGE Uses verbs that are observable/measurable Matches Sings Memorizes Uses language that clear describes the skills Extended singing range Memorization of song text Contour of the melody Clearly articulates expectations at each level Less good: sometimes, always, rarely Extended singing range, appropriate range, low range, speaking voice

INDEPENDENT CRITERIA AT EACH LEVEL This is an essential element for a reliable rubric. Each level should communicate clear expectations that can only apply at that level. A crude example is the rubric where "Excellent performance" makes up to 2-3 errors and "Good performance" makes 3-4 errors. How do you score the person with 3 errors? Precise language is helpful for establishing independent criteria. What is the difference between a good and a better performance? Music performance occurs on a continuum, so it is a challenge to separate good from better. The more clearly the criteria are independent the better.

HIERARCHICAL Each level is clearly different Each level is clearly better or worse To the extent possible, levels are equivalent in size. Related to independent criteria at each level is the need for each level to require higher performance at each level. Consider range in this example: Extended singing range (A 3 to D 4 ) Appropriate range (C 3 to C 4 ) Low range Low range near speaking voice. The highest three levels are clearly hierarchical. Low range and low range near speaking voice are a bit more problematic in both independence of criteria and hierarchical requirements.

EXAMPLE 3: BAND RUBRIC-NOTES 4 Plays all notes correctly No fumbling No missed accidentals Appropriate articulations 3 Plays most notes correctly Very little fumbling No missed accidentals Mostly appropriate articulations 2 Plays some notes correctly Some fumbling Some missed accidentals Some appropriate articulations 1 Plays few notes correctly Considerable fumbling Many missed accidentals Ignores articulations

RECORDER

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RUBRICS ASSIGNMENT As you can see, rubrics can vary greatly in quality. Rubrics are also challenging to write well. Try your hand at writing a rubric with at least 4 criteria and 4 levels of proficiency.

CHECKLISTS A checklist is a list of behaviors Most often checklists use additive scales (check all that apply and sum the check marks). Checklists tend to be dichotomous meaning that they use only 2 choices (yes and no, visible/not visible, etc.) Validity is increased when tasks are clearly defined. Reliability is increased by having a sufficient number of tasks Both reliability and validity are increased with both testee and scorer is given clear instructions.

CHECKLIST ASSIGNMENT Create a checklist for evaluating an element of music performance. Checklists work well for things like embouchure and posture when elements can be evaluated on a yes/no basis. Post your checklist in the appropriate document in the Test Items collection.

PARALLEL CONSTRUCTION The same elements appear in all levels of the rubric: Range Pitch matching (contour, chant) Memorization of text In this example, I have a problem with adding expressively at the advanced level, but I think the intention was to continue to develop the melody singing element. This rubric uses a moderate level of difficulty for words and uses clear grammar, which makes it likely that evaluators will apply the rubric in similar ways.