Mapping formative assessment in higher music education: A scoping review of its implementation and impact on musical intelligence

Formative assessment plays a crucial role in education by enabling teachers and students to gather detailed information about students’ learning progress and provide feedback to enhance learning. Despite growing interest in formative assessment across disciplines, its application and impact in higher music education remain underexplored. This scoping review addresses this gap by systematically mapping the landscape of formative assessment practices in university-level music education. Guided by a scoping review framework, 22 empirical studies published between 1976 and 2023 were analyzed. Drawing on Sternberg’s theory of musical intelligence, the review identifies three primary formative assessment strategies—teacher-directed, peer assessment, and self-assessment—which respectively contribute to the development of students’ creative, practical, analytical, and wisdom-based skills. These skills, when integrated, support the comprehensive growth of musical intelligence. Analytical and practical skills were most frequently enhanced through formative assessment. The review also discusses several contextual and institutional challenges, including time constraints, students’ readiness for peer and self-evaluation, and teachers’ preparedness to implement formative assessment. This study contributes to the field of both educational assessment and music education and offers critical reflections and directions for using formative assessment more effectively to support students’ musical learning experiences.