Left: a portable MiniDisc recorder
Right: a MiniDisc console
While a chorus or band director is rehearsing their ensemble during a class period, students can still be tested on exercises from a method book or excerpts of their music with minimal disruption. Here's how.
Make sure the students know what they are being tested on, and which order they are being tested. Tell them that once the person before them completes his "exam," they should quietly go into the testing facility.
Appoint someone (preferably a parent volunteer or assistant director, but if necessary, a student director or leader) to run the MiniDisc. Make sure they are aware of how to begin recording (hit the record button), stop recording (hit the stop button), and insert tracks into the disc to separate student assignments (hit the T-Mark button).
Set up a MiniDisc recorder in a practice room or spare office. Put the microphone at a level that would be comfortable for all students to play well.
Send the first student back to the testing facility.
After testing and grading, allow the student the option of self-evaluation. This is one of the most important tools available to a musician.
The reason why MiniDisc Evaluation is a preferred method is the data collected on the Disc is able to be converted to MP3 format, recognizable on almost any computer. MP3s can be burned onto a CD and played in a conventional CD player as well.