Classroom music teachers in England design their own music curricula for Key Stage 3 (11 - 14 year olds, 6th - 8th Grades). These curricula are designed in a context where policymakers define, regulate and legitimate curriculum formulations. This study traced curriculum development in England, where government has validated a policy driven…

Assessment of arts educators, including music educators, has evolved into a high-stakes situation that drives teacher pay, promotion, and retention. This assessment process is driven by federal policy advocating for a value-added model based on student performance. Principals, who are often charged with assessing artistic musical performance,…

A new study has found that state requirements that students pass exit tests to graduate from high school appear to do nothing to improve achievement on federal reading and mathematics tests. The study, the results of which have been peer-reviewed and accepted for publication in the journal "Educational Policy," compared the reading and math scores…