| The purpose of this study was to investigate the strategies that elementary general music teachers use to assess the National Standards for Music Education as well as factors that influence teachers' frequency of assessment and assessment practices. Surveys were sent to 619 elementary schools in Michigan with a forty-one percent return rate. Observation was the most used type of assessment and portfolios were used least. Standards one and five were assessed most frequently, while standards four and three were assessed the least. A majority of teachers agreed that it is important to teach and assess students on the standards; however, many also believed that participation and effort are the most important factors to consider when assigning student grades. Teacher opinions on time, their own training in assessment, and the role of effort in assigning grades were found to have significant relationships with certain assessment strategies and standards. |
