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| The National Standards in Music Education: by: Professor Randi L’Hommedieu February, 2002 As part of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act of 1994, federal funding was provided to develop a set of voluntary national standards for education in the basic core subjects. Music and the arts were initially excluded from this project, but aggressive lobbying by the Consortium for Arts Education, led by MENC, resulted in not only inclusion of the arts in the standards project, but also in the first-ever federal recognition of the arts as core subjects in public K-12 curricula. The arts standards development team proposed five overarching goals. At graduation from high school, the authors suggested, students should: 1 Be able to communicate at a basic level in the four arts disciplines (dance, music, theatre, and the visual arts); 2 Be able to communicate proficiently in at least one art form; 3 Be able to develop and present basic analyses of works of art; 4 Have an informed acquaintance with exemplary works of art from a variety of cultures and historical periods; 5 Be able to relate various types of arts knowledge and skills within and across the arts disciplines. (1) These goals entailed nine content standards for music education. The developers recommended that students should learn to: 1. Sing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music; 2. Perform on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music; 3. Improvise melodies, variations, and accompaniments; 4. Compose and arrange music within specific guidelines; 5. Read and notate music; 6. Listen to, analyze, and describe music; 7. Evaluate music and music performances; 8. Understand relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts; 9. Understand music in relation to history and culture (2) Within each standard the committee suggested a number of achievement standards, which were designed for assessment at the usual academic check points-fourth grade, eighth grade, and at exit from high school. MENC also led the way in the development of associated "Opportunity-to-Learn" standards which define the conditions under which music instruction should be supported in terms of staffing, scheduling, equipment, facilities, and funding. How big should your high school music library be? According to the standards, you should have a library of 75 titles for each ensemble and a budget sufficient to purchase 15 new titles each year. How much money should you have for instrument repair? Five-percent of replacement value. These nationally endorsed standards for support are the most authoritative source for documenting your needs and developing strong proposals for supporting a quality program. Perhaps the most important sentences in the whole document read: "It obviously is unfair to expect students to meet achievement standards in any discipline, including music, unless they are given reasonable opportunity to learn the skills and knowledge specified. They must be provided with the necessary support by the school, including sufficient courses, staffing, materials and equipment, and facilities. Similarly, it is unfair to hold teachers accountable for their students' meeting the standards unless they too are ensured adequate time, materials, and other necessary conditions for teaching. And it is misleading for a school to claim a commitment to teaching the arts unless if offers learning opportunities consistent with that claim." (3) The standards movement is here. Indeed, most state music curriculum goals are based on the national standards. In-service music teachers can use the standards as a benchmark for self-assessment and a guide for program design. Or we can allow others to use the standards as a tool for imposing curricular and instructional guidelines. If you would like to become more familiar with the standards and all the supporting materials available to help you use them, check out the following internet sites: Goals 2000: Educate America Act: ************************** Educational Articles ● School Service Articles ● Product Articles ● Here's an Idea |
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