Participants perceptions of fair and valid assessment in tertiary music education

This chapter reports on the views of a selection of Bachelor of Music students and their teachers at the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University (QCGU), providing important insights into how current assessment practices influence student learning in the Australian context, and with particular reference to the Threshold Learning Outcomes for the Creative and Performing Arts. Themes addressed include the role of teacher feedback, experience with self- and peer assessment, the role of exemplars in standards-based assessment, balancing holistic and criteria-based assessment practices, subjectivity in assessing conceptualization in creative works, and the role of tacit knowledge in students fully understanding and applying assessment criteria. Results of focus group sessions with students in the Performance, Musical Theatre and Composition streams of the Bachelor of Music degree, reveal that participants are enthusiastic about ensuring that assessment practices and teacher feedback enhances their growth as musicians, ultimately enabling them to become self-regulated learners. Their teachers are equally concerned about providing their students with high professional standards as reference points for their musical growth, and ensuring that summative assessments of musical performances are fair and valid.