The Amazing Marking Machine, A Process for Efficient, Authentic Assessment

Abstract

In the assessment of performance, examiners, whose specialized skills are in applying well-formed and experienced aesthetic judgment, are often involved in peripheral tasks such as administration or down-time while waiting for performers to set up. The goal of this project is to develop assessment processes that minimize the peripheral and down-time for examiners and students alike and provide a structure for authentic assessment tasks and detailed, specific, and timely feedback for students.Between 2010 and 2014 I coordinated and or taught in several offerings of courses in Jazz Performance and Popular Music Performance, in which I developed some processes towards achieving this goal. One process assists examiners to simultaneously mark a number of individual performers in group situations, and based on criteria that are specific to each student’s activity. Having developed the process as an electronic proof of concept, the next step in the research is to shape the system around the needs, activity patterns, and perceptions of students to improve their experience of the process and therefore improve overall compliance. This highlights an important area for future development and places the system in a conversation between staff and students to improve the value of student’s experience and learning.