Conservatory Instrumental Teachers’ Ideas about the Functions and Purposes of Assessment

Most research on teachers’ ideas about assessment comes from studies conducted with general education teachers (e.g., primary, secondary, university). In contrast, there are only a few studies focused on teachers of art-related disciplines, specifically those who teach instrumental performance in music conservatories. The aim of this study was to describe the ideas that instrumental music teachers have on the functions and purposes of assessment, comparing them with the ideas outlined in the current music curriculum. Participants were 18 teachers from different instrumental specialties, who taught at state-funded conservatories within the autonomous Community of Madrid. We conducted semi­structured interviews in which we asked teachers about the purposes that they had in mind when assessing students. Responses were analyzed using content analysis. Findings showed that the most frequently mentioned primary purposes of assessment were summative, formative and self­assessment, while grading students appeared most frequently as a secondary purpose. Few teachers refereed to the formative purpose. In addition, we found that the teachers’ responses alluded to both social and educational functions of assessment. We conclude that the ideas of the interviewed teachers reflected what is prescribed in the current music curriculum only partially, given the marginal role of the formative purpose as compared with curriculum guidelines. Limitations of the study are discussed. We suggest that researchers should conduct future research addressing the tensions between educational and social functions of assessment throughout each educational cycle.