Assessment in the Kodály Classroom

Abstract

This chapter describes ways in which students in Kodály-based classrooms can be assessed for skills competencies, and makes the case that the acquisition of skills accompanied by assessment is the key to both musicianship and brain development. After a brief description of the Kodály philosophy, pedagogy, and its adaptation in the United States, it discusses the integrated K-5 music curriculum-instruction-assessment system in the Owatonna Public Schools District #761, in Owatonna, Minnesota, that has been continuously updated since it was first started over twenty-five years ago. The chapter then provides examples of each segment and describes how the teachers choose skills to assess, create and use rubrics, and conduct assessments. In addition, it includes examples of assessment in Kodály-based band, sixth-grade composition, and eighth-grade choir classes from other schools. Lastly, it addresses the application of national standards in the Kodály classroom.