As many of you know, I head up Fine Arts Assessment by MusicFirst. I'm not adding this to trumpet our offerings, but rather to say that, as someone who is working with more districts in their TIA Fine Arts assessments than anyone else, I might be able to offer some clarity.

TIA is NOT "one size fits all"; there are regulations, but it is a unique TEA program in that it allows districts to design their own individual plan that best fits their community, and the way the factors are assessed and administered is determined by each district. In short, there is not a single path to design the program. While this leads to confusion and often miscommunication, it is terrific that districts can "own" their decisions about what is best for their community, as long as their plan is ultimately approved.

The one commonality is that individual student growth must be measured and documented.

As a former fine arts administrator at the collegiate level, I would absolutely argue that portfolios are the most accurate way to document student growth in the creative arts. HOWEVER, teachers don't have time to maintain them, iron-clad rubrics need to be created, and then you have to find reviewers whom you can trust to accurately apply the rubrics in a way you are comfortable with. Remember, we have three judges at UIL in the spring for a reason!

In music, performance assessments are often favored using machine assessment. However, remember, you have to administer the pre-tests in the first grading period (marching season!), and they need to be monitored in an isolated space (practice rooms and personnel). Depending on staffing and facilities, this can be a heavy lift - but many do it.

Well over 90% of the districts I work with elect to use pre- and post-tests using knowledge-based assessments. TEA is getting much tighter on regulating the degree to which these are teacher-created, hence the need to use a third-party service. In the Fine Arts these CANNOT be generic - they need to be customized to the TEKS each area and community prioritizes. Example: there probably isn't a need to have a host of questions on music history or musician health. Not that this isn't essential knowledge, but it probably isn't what you prioritize on a day-to-day basis. (Simpler yet - if it doesn't make your band sound better, it probably isn't a priority!)

I hope this helps clarify some aspects; I'm happy to discuss with anyone who needs more information. There truly is no need to overcomplicate the plan to initiate this potentially lucrative opportunity!