I remember sitting in my final evaluation my second year of teaching elementary music. I had presented my lesson plans (which are stellar, if I do say so myself), and I’m feeling good about how this is going to go. My principal sets down my plans and says, “okay…but where is your data?” Ummm…what do you mean, my data? I know how my kids are doing. And also, I have over 500 kids every week. How am I supposed to use assessments and data in elementary music? I worked so hard to make great lessons that met my kids where they were, and here I was getting docked because I wasn’t writing my formative assessments down. I left the evaluation feeling defeated, defensive, and even a little embarrassed.
During the summer after that evaluation, I had to really sit down and reflect on my teaching practices. We were never taught how to track the data of hundreds of students. I only had thirty minutes with each class, and I wanted to use every minute I had to make music. Of course I want to be the best teacher I can possibly be, and that meant that I needed to sit down and figure out how to efficiently collect data in the elementary music room. Over the course of the last several years, I have seen the importance and value in assessments and data in music. Now I believe that everyone should be recording their observations and using it to adapt their teaching! Here are some reasons why you should be using assessments and data in the elementary music room.
Assessments and Data Help Guide Planning
Before I began thoroughly recording data, I thought I knew how each students was performing. I thought I could tell you how well a student could sing on pitch or play rhythms. The truth is, I was doing those kids a disservice. While my first thought was, “how can I possibly track hundreds of students every week,” the truth was that I couldn’t possibly just remember how every kid was doing musically.
Assessments and data help me plan for the next class, the next week, and beyond. Data shows me where students are, how long I need to spend on a unit, and whether we need to go back and review more before moving on to the next concept. General education teachers do the same thing- they test, track the data, and adjust plans as needed. Of course we should be using assessments and data to guide our teaching, too! Assessing and tracking data is the best way to see what our students need from us.
So how exactly do you use data to guide your planning? You might be surprised at what your students need more help with or what you can go through quickly. For example, almost every year I am surprised at how much time it takes to teach high and low to kindergarten. I always think it is something they will catch on to very quickly, but it never seems to work that way. Without tracking data to know which students need more time, I may breeze through it. Or, I may spend too much time on a concept like fast and slow when my students learn it quickly. Looking and reflecting on data helps prevent students from feeling confused or bored.
If you need some ideas of how to assess and collect data in a fun, easy way, you can read this post about assessing quarter and eighth notes.
Data Gives Families Honest Feedback
I used to dread putting grades in the grade book because I didn’t want families to question my professional judgement. I also didn’t want students to feel like they weren’t good at music because they didn’t get a good grade. Well, neither of these reasons for not wanting to put in grades is fair to the students or families in my school.
Students want to know how they are doing in their classes. They want to improve and learn, and it was selfish of me to keep that information from them. Years later, I give students a grade for behavior in every class, and I put a rubric in the grade book for all assessments so parents and students both know the expectations. I’ve learned how to put in grades quickly and easily. Yes, not all families look at the grade book, but the parents that do appreciate knowing how their child is doing in music. I know because I’ve gotten the emails about it! You can find pre and posttests for quarter and eighth notes here, and when you download them I’ll also send you some tips for grading quickly and efficiently so you don’t waste your short amount of time with your kids.
Music is a Core Subject
We already know that music is important for kids. We know the many, many benefits of music in schools. It helps with creativity, social and emotional learning, cooperation, perseverance, and so much more. It’s healing and connects us all. It teaches skills our children need regardless of what they decide to pursue as adults. However, if these reasons aren’t enough to treat music as the important subject it is, the U.S. senate named music as a core subject back in 2015, so it’s our responsibility to treat it as such.
If we don’t advocate for our subject area, who will? Recording our assessments helps show our professionalism and dedication to serving our students. It shows that we have high expectations for our students and for ourselves. Now, don’t get me wrong- I’m not here to impress my colleagues and try to prove my worth, but teaching elementary music can be lonely sometimes. It can be easy to feel less than compared to other teachers in your building. The more I collect data and use it to plan, the more validated I feel in what I’m doing. I feel like I’m giving students the best education I possibly can, and that’s exactly what children deserve. I treat music like a core subject because I know its importance, but collecting and recording data helps me remember that I am just as important as the other subjects in school.
Do you already use assessments and data in your classroom on a regular basis? Tell me your thoughts- what do you like about assessments? What do you struggle with? What do you have questions on? If you’re looking for pre and posttests and tips on grading hundreds of students quickly, be sure to check that out here!
