Music Education and Standardized Testing

The recent decision by Florida music educators to begin the use of optional standardized assessments in music for fourth graders gives our field another reason to have a wide scale discussion about assessment and related issues in music education. Reading the responses of teachers and the general public gives an interesting picture of peoples attitudes, perceptions and beliefs in relation to issues ranging from the legitimacy or importance of music education to what is actually being worked on in music classes. It seems that most of the articles focus on comments from music educators that look at the music standardized tests as being positive for various reasons. The articles contain few comments from music educators critical of standardized testing in music.

One critique focuses on the idea of the tests themselves while another critique comes from a perspective that music education is based on playing instruments and singing rather than understanding music and in addition critiques the reasoning behind giving a standardized test in music. The majority of people writing and blogging about this issue are outside of music education and may not know about the National Standards for Music Education or the various state standards across the Nation, which play a role in the creation of these tests. All of these blog entries and articles focus on the standardized testing within music but few address the way that the No Child Left Behind Legislation and standardized testing across the school curriculum have affected music programs. Our field is at a point where some music teachers have to justify upgrading technology in their classrooms by proving how it will improve standardized test scores. Music programs across the nation are being cut due to shifts in money to support No Child Left Behind efforts or policies put in place that allow for music programs to be eliminated in order to focus on subject areas such as English Language Arts and Math, both of which are subject to standardized tests under NCLB.

The use of standardized tests in music based on state standards is actually not new. Even before a discussion about the music standardized tests being created in Florida took place on the MENC general music bulletin board, New York State had an optional state music assessment for ninth graders in place. More recently Oklahoma adopted a mandatory state assessment for music students. On a national scale, in 1997 the NAEP assessed thousands of eighth grade music students and reported the results.

Assessment is not limited to standardized testing of students [some affiliate links below]. Unfortunately we hear much less about music students being assessed using various types of portfolio based assessments which show growth of understanding and ability over time. Music teachers interested in this approach might want to take a look at the Arts PROPEL model and the book Tools for Powerful Student Evaluation by Susan Farrell for some ideas. Rather than moving in a direction towards standardized music tests, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction takes an alternative approach seriously.

A number of books in music education look at assessment more comprehensively such as Assessment in Music Education: from Policy to Practice edited by Lebler and Carey. This book takes a broad research-based look at assessment in music teaching and learning and could be a powerful resource when making decisions in a music program.

Standardized testing both in and out of the music classroom will continue to affect our field. It is important that we continue to look at and discuss the issues from a variety of perspectives grounded in a strong philosophy of music education and keeping in mind the implications of our decisions. Where do you stand?