In terms of bass line assessment, we’d have to say our favorites include I Want You Back by the Jackson 5 and Under Pressure by Queen and David Bowie.

Oh, uh, wrong word.

Although, now that we think of it, there are some similarities.

Just as the bass line in a song establishes a foundation from which the rest of the song seems to spring, a baseline assessment gives you a picture of a student’s starting point so you can measure their progress more accurately.

In general, a baseline assessment typically takes place at the beginning of a unit—before any instruction has taken place at all—and is used to establish a student’s starting point.

Common forms of baseline assessments can include:

• A pre-test to see what a student knows at the beginning of a unit
• Anecdotal reports of what a student already knows about a subject
• Class discussions in which students work together to list all of their current knowledge on a topic
• Student answers to multiple choice questions about a subject, along with self-ratings about the confidence of their answers ("I know this," "I think this is right," or "I’m guessing," for example)

Because baseline assessments are used to get an honest picture of what students already know and what they need to learn, they aren't graded.

So, yeah, your students are gonna like 'em.

And if they don't? Just drop a bass line, too. Everyone loves The Backstreet Boys.