Subject: Re: [MK8] Questions concerning ASW (Analysis of Student Work) for teachers in NC

First off, I'm not in NC, so I don't have the exact same wording on standards, and the way I am judged in GA is different. (We used to have to do something similar to this, but now we have the SLO--student learning objective-- which is a test given to our students by the county in a standardized format, though it's rife with problems.) Anyway, though, being a standards/curriculum/data nerd, here are my thoughts:

For the first one:
I would do this one as performance, not pencil and paper. Set all the kids working on a short list of rhythmic patterns. Circulate and observe one by one (really doesn't take that long, and all the other kids aren't causing problems because they're busy working too). Determine what percentage of correctly-performed rhythms you would consider as mastery level. (Usually not perfect. Even masters can make mistakes. Maybe 90%? 95? Maybe less factoring in your time crunch and not seeing classes very often?) Or you can phrase it as number of mistakes and draw up a simple rubric, such as 0-2 mistakes = Mastery, 3-5 = progressing, etc. If you must do it by pencil and paper, you could alternately do one where you show a rhythm pattern, play different audio examples, and have them pick the one that performs it correctly. Or have them listen to a rhythm pattern and choose which answer has it written out correctly. Question: Do you have to show growth by pre-testing and post-testing
students?

For the second one:
Personally, I might reconsider choosing that one because it's a vague standard. (We have vaguely written standards in my state too.) The use of the words "many" and "various" are what make it vague. Does that mean 20? 40? 50? How many cultures? Which ones? How many instruments from each culture? Knowing an erhu is more impressive than knowing steel drum, does that count for more? I'm pointing this out because this is a debate we've had in my county over the questions that have been chosen for us on our SLO test. We have a vague instrumental standard, and it's hard to write questions that really judge it because it's hard to quantify what an appropriate amount of knowledge is. The real problem here is that many music standards across the nation were written a little vaguely, without the notion that they would be strictly tested, and then it turns out some of them aren't easy to quantify what makes a good test score. If you get to choose, I would pick a different standa
rd, one that is easier to quantify and possibly another performance one.

~*~*~*~*~
Sarah Latimer
Mansfield Music
________________________________________
From: MK8-talk on behalf of Donald West
Sent: Monday, March 21, 2016 10:54 AM
To: mk8-talk@lists.musick8.com
Subject: [MK8] Questions concerning ASW (Analysis of Student Work) for teachers in NC

Good morning,

Many of you remember different teachers asking about this when it was
instituted in NC. It is a way for us to be evaluated. Today, I would like
some opinions on the best way to accomplish two different objectives with
two different grades.

I have to decide a way to accomplish the following two objectives.

For the First Grade, the objective is AE.M.1.ML.2.1
Interpret rhythm patterns that are iconic or standard notation for quarter
notes, quarter rests, and beamed eighth notes.

For third grade, the objective is AE.M.3.MR.1.4
Identify the sounds of a variety of instruments and voices, including many
orchestral instruments from various cultures, children's voices, and male
and female adult voices.

These in theory can be paper and pencil or video clips.

Any suggestions?

Thanks so much,

--
*Don West*
*General Music K-5*
*Manning Elementary School*
*1102 Barrett Street*
*Roanoke Rapids, NC 27870*
*westd.mann@rrgsd.org *