Presentation

WG1 Assessment & Standards

This working group (WG) has focused on strengthening understanding of assessment methods and standards in European higher music education (HME) and highlighting innovative approaches towards assessment. The WG has also promoted competence-based learning and its work has built on learning outcomes for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd cycles of higher music education, produced in previous editions of the ‘Polifonia’ project.

Deliverables/outcomes

  • A Final Report on Assessments and Standards – The Group has studied existing assessment methods in European conservatoires, as well as the involvement of students in these processes. The sources of the study included a survey on elements of assessment for European HME; discussions during workshops at the AEC congress and the AEC International Relations coordinators’ meeting; the analysis of a questionnaire on external examiners; and the outcomes of three international seminars on assessment and standards. The findings have been gathered in a final report on assessment practices in HME in Europe:
Final Report on Assessments and Standards: English
Final Report on Assessments and Standards : French
Final Report on Assessments and Standards: German
  • A Reflective Checklist on the Assessment Process – The WG has also created a ‘check-list’ for good assessment practices. The results have been included in a short guide with the aim of fostering reflection on fundamental issues relating to assessment practices in HME institutions.
Reflective Checklist on the Assessment Process: English
Reflective Checklist on the Assessment Process: French
Reflective Checklist on the Assessment Process: German
  • 3 Seminars on assessment procedures and standards – Three training seminars on “Enhancing Standards of Assessment for Higher Music Education through International Dialogue” have been offered to senior staff of higher music education institutions and those involved in assessment with the dual focus of developing existing assessment policies within institutions and exploring new ways of calibrating standards.
The report on the 3 seminars is available here.
Those institutions interested in developing this kind of event can consult the ‘seminar model on assessment and standards’.

Contribution of the 3rd country partner

The WG’s work has been greatly supported by the wide experience and contacts of the representative of the e University of Melbourne, Australia. This expert put the team in contact with the developer of the project ‘Assessment in Music’ (AiM) at the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University, in co-operation with the University of Newcastle and the University of Tasmania in Australia. This led to a presentation of the AiM project at the first of the seminars on assessment procedures and standards.

Members of the ‘Polifonia’ WG1 on Assessment & Standards