Washington State’s Classroom-Based Performance Assessments

Abstract

How does an entire state assess the arts in every school district at the elementary, middle, and high school levels with interrater validity and reliability? This chapter will summarize how Washington State’s Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) created, developed, designed, piloted, assessed, implemented, and reported arts classroom-based performance assessments (CBPAs), 2003–2016. The OSPI music CBPAs measure what educators value and teach, align with state arts learning standards regarding what all students should know and be able to do in music, and empower teachers to change their practice, resulting in practical significance. Developed by music educators, music CBPAs measure how individual students create, perform, and respond to real-life prompts. The CBPAs are formative and summative in design, and have become part of accountability instructional practices and state policy via annual district implementation verification reports. The vision for the initial CBPA design was: Curriculum + Instruction + Assessment for/ = Learning.