The tension between assessment and music teaching and learning within formal schooling has been an enduring educational dilemma. The ‘possibilities’ of assessment in music education is further agitated by recent neo-liberalistic accountability movements and standards agendas in the Western world. The question is how assessment impact on classroom practices. We ask ourselves how students' expressed 'creativity' and musical learning can be responded upon and graded, and what practices - including formative feedback processes - that encourage students’ musical learning. The symposium takes a holistic view of musical learning and knowledge as a starting point, and aims at discussing and reflecting upon possibilities and challenges with assessment in schools. Holistic or multi-dimensional musical learning can be defined as structural, tensional, acoustical, bodily, emotional and existential, which in turn can be expressed as skills, analytic knowledge, creativity, expressivity and music making. One issue that will be treated uniformly across the presentations at the symposium is what constitutes the formulation of achievement criteria that are connected to practice, that are possible to communicate and at the same time describe relevant qualities of expressed musical knowledge. Another issue is how teachers use criteria in formative assessment, and how students’ learning and creativity is encouraged, rather than limited. A third one is how achievement criteria can help students to reflect upon and assess their own musical learning and knowledge. Related to those issues are questions about the language used in formulation and communication of achievement criteria, which in turn is connected to imaginations and expectations among teachers. How can collaborative aspects of musical knowledge be taken into account, and in what ways can holistic musical learning be expressed in action by students and assessed by teachers? Last but not least questions of quality and equality relevant to reflect upon, which also will be done. The symposium will be dialogical and interactive in nature with audience insights shared on key thematic issues.   We wish to use ”a whole morning”. First part: Introduction 10 min, presentation 1: 12 min, pres 2: 12 min, pres 3: 12 min, pres 4: 12 min, pres 5: 12 min. First summary, and a couple of questions 10 min. (Coffe break) Second part, pres 6: 12 min, pres 7: 12 min, pres 8: 12 min, pres 9: 12 min, pres 10: 12 min, dialogical summary 10-15 min, discussion the rest of the time.   Each speaker includes questions, or another kind of ”bridge” to the next speaker in his/her presentation to keep the read thread throughout the presentations, which we think also will engage the audience.   Introduction: Assessment of expressed musical learning form a holistic point of view – the weight and danger of conceptualisation. Cecilia Ferm Thorgersen, Associate Professor in Music Education, School of Music in Piteå, Luleå University of Technology, SWEDEN (10 min)   What can various approaches to the assessment of music learning tell us about our values and philosophical strands when seen in a historical perspective? Geir Johansen, Professor in Music Education, Norwegian Academy of Music, Oslo, NORWAY (12min).   Revisioning assessment of music creativities in educational settings: From practice to theory. Pamela Burnard, Associate professor, Cambridge University, GB, (12 min).   Teachers as artists and artists as teachers. Meeting the challenge of artistic assessment in music education program: a pragmatist suggestion. Lauri Väkevä, Professor, Sibelius Academy, Helsinki, FINLAND.   Equal assessment of musical knowledge in relation of creativity and holistic musical learning, Fredrik Påhlsson, PhD-student, Royal College of Music in Stockholm, SWEDEN. (12 min)   Students' use of criterion based, formative assessment in lower secondary schools.  Jon-Helge Sætre, Faculty of Education and International Studies, Oslo University College, Oslo, NORWAY. (12min)   The dimension of Self Concept in assessment of musical learning in primary schools. Joakim Hellgren, PhD-student, School of Music, Luleå University of Technology, SWEDEN (12 min).   Music teachers reflections upon new classroom assessment practices in Norwegian lower secondary school. John Vinge, PhD-student, Norwegian Academy of Music, Oslo/ Hedmark University Collage NORWAY (12 min)   Some reflections upon formulations of achievement criteria for assessment in music within a Swedish national curriculum reform. Annika Falthin, PhD-student, Royal College of Music in Stockholm, SWEDEN: (12 min)   From conceptions of quality to criteria and back again: In search for a professional didactical discourse on qualities in popular music. Olle Zandén, Assistant professor, Stockholm, University, SWEDEN. (12 min).   Summing up – challenges and possibilities in dialogue Cecilia and Pamela (10-15 min)   Discussion 15 min.