Communicating Learner Progress to Parents/Guardians

[nafmeadmin]

I teach General Music, K-6, at 4 schools, 2 per semester. Each year I try to find ways to communicate assessment feedback with students and their parents/guardians. In the past, I have created rubric checklists for every student(currently I have 650-700 at 2 schools) listing the course of study objective or Standard assessed for their grade-level. I would then check off each individual student’s ability (according to the rubric and assessment results) on their feedback form. This form was then sent home. In doing so, I have had to make a large number of copies and write each student’s name on thier summary report. This year, I have been collecting data/assessment results on a clipboard transferring the results to a class table I created in Word, but I’m not sure what is the best way to share the results.
I have read “Assessment: The How, What and Why” on the NAfME website, and I really do want parents to know that I AM trying to teach standards and that students ARE growing musically.
How do you communicate learner progress, performance data, and/or standards/objectives assessed to Parents/Guardians?

[nafmeadmin]

If your system has an online grading portal use it. The main problem is with the shear number of students that all music teachers have. You can count on spending 20-30 minutes a day just putting in grades. There are some that have an ipad app that will put them in as well. When you put the grade there on a program like this you will need to include the rubric in the notes section if you can.

[nafmeadmin]

I have had good results with my grading and assessment using the ipad2. I think you’re doing a good job with what you have in place. Often times we are seen as extra curricular and not a subject that needs assessment. In terms of communicating the results to the parents, what is in place with your current school? Perhaps sending a supplemental reports to parent when the report cards go home.

[nafmeadmin]

Thanks for your responses! We currently have an online grading portal. Though there are some parts of the program that are not yet set up for itinerant teachers, I do record final grades there. I think I will sign up for one of the summer technology courses offered by our system to find out if I can use the grading portal to record and report assessment results. There may be an app that goes along with it that I have not learned about.
Since I am only at each school for a semester at a time and only a few days a week at each (with no extra rehearsal time alloted), I think I will try an idea I read about called “Bring Your Parents to Music Class.” I would like to start by allowing students from only one or two grade levels to invite their parents to sit in on a regularly scheduled music lesson. My principals have already approved this, and I think it may be a good way to show/communicate to parents that students are actually being taught and are learning objectives and standards. If anyone has tried this, please let me know how it worked for you and any tips you may have on making this as successful as possible.

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