Assessment in Music: An Approach to Aligning Assessment with Learning Outcomes in the Higher Music Education

Abstract

This paper focuses on the progress and findings of the Assessment in Music (AiM) project. It addresses the alignment between learning and assessment by exploring the nature of academic standards as they are applied in higher music education across Australia. Funded by the Australian Government's Office for Teaching and Learning (OLT), the project team has been engaged in the mapping of all core assessment tasks in Bachelor degree programs at the lead institution to the Creative and Performing Arts Threshold Learning Outcome statements (CAPA TLOs), the Graduate Attributes (GAs) of the lead institution's host university, and the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) Learning Outcomes. Central to the project is the process of consensus moderation as a means of ensuring assessment standards at the lead institution, as consensus moderation has been adopted at its host university to enhance the validity and reliability of assessment practices. This presentation reports on both the findings of extensive mapping exercises and the results of consensus moderation processes with teaching staff. A list of music assessment tasks which align with the CAPA TLOs and AQF requirements will be the focus for discussion. Keywords: Assessment in music, learning outcomes, alignment.