Sight-Reading Practice and Assessment

The SASR (Standard Assessment of Sight-Reading) was created to assess and track sight-reading progress. 165 university professors, private piano teachers, and piano students were consulted on the creation of this project. Because of its non-subjective nature, the SASR has become the international standard for assessing sight-reading.

Methodology

The test is administered on a PC, tablet, or mobile device connected to a MIDI piano. The subject is given a series of excerpts to read at sight, for which they are assessed for correct rhythms and notes. If the subject's performance is assessed at 80% or above, the excerpts increase in difficulty; otherwise the difficulty is decreased. If the subject performs below 80% 3 times, the test is concluded and the subject's SASR score is automatically calculated.

Psychology, Tracking, and Improvement

Piano teachers can work most effectively with their students by understanding the psychology of motivation. Humans are naturally driven to self-assess and achieve goals. A clear assessment standard is a powerful tool to provide students with insight into their current sight-reading skills and a motivating metric to track their growth.

Administering The Test

The Standard Assessment of Sight-Reading is available with a Piano Marvel account. Piano Marvel is the top-rated piano learning software for piano teachers and students. A free account can be created at the Piano Marvel website.