Music Performance Assessment

Abstract

Assessing student performance is a central challenge for music educators. In alignment with previous research, this article asserts that rubrics provide a viable and useful structure for assessing music performance. To expand the potential of rubrics in music education, challenges to effective rubric construction are identified and addressed through the construction of three different types of performance rubrics: (1) a discrete-component rubric, (2) an integrated-component rubric, and (3) a self-reflection rubric. Through analysis of these rubrics, we identify ways to construct assessment criteria that are sufficiently descriptive to accurately measure achievement and provide helpful feedback to learners. We demonstrate how criteria can be constructed that both encourage achievement of curriculum expectations and technical proficiency and leave room for students’ expressive intentions. We offer ideas for integrating these rubrics into the music classroom.