Hundreds of educators contributed to writing and reviewing the new National Core Music Standards over two years of development. Thousands more will find their professional lives shaped by these standards over decades to come. Three individuals involved in standards development explain.

Educators are professionals. One important attribute of professionals is their constant quest for personal growth. Great music educators are lifelong learners who draw on a variety of sources to improve their expertise and effectiveness. In the first part of this topic, the author listed the primary purposes of student assessment, and focused on…

Educators are obliged to stand up for children--to point out when the self-declared local "education emperor" (or mayor or governor) has no clothes. The so-called reform government has turned some local districts into a Wild West where schools share no common or sequential curriculum and all that matters is test scores. Music educators must join…

The "Three Artistic Processes" provide a powerful model for organizing standards-based music teaching and assessment as well as a vision of the musically educated student. They also clarify how student-centered music education helps children master 21st-century skills necessary for future success. This article outlines why and how music teachers…

This article outlines how to make music programs more inclusive and therefore enable music teachers to compete more effectively for enrollment. Fortunately, music affords teachers many compelling options to win the hearts and minds of students, and thereby to create a more musically literate and supportive public. The author suggests that music…

Assessment is both essential and a potentially powerful positive force. Music teachers need to provide assessment evidence to survive in today's data-driven school environment. However, the more important reasons they must assess are to improve their professional effectiveness as teachers, to improve student learning, and to help them advocate for…

Every new teacher soon realizes the importance of principals, those often put-upon school leaders who play a key role in determining the direction and quality of education in their buildings. In this article, the author focuses on differently spelled but equally important "principles"--the kind that guide one's decision making. While principals…

The National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) recently published the results of the 2008 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in Music, the fourth in a series of NAEP music assessments that began in 1971. It is important that NAEP, known as "The Nation's Report Card," measures the music achievement of America's students, both…

Asserts that study of the arts fosters the type of divergent and creative thinking needed in both the business world and society. Argues that educators should work together to develop schedules of eight instructional periods allowing for more arts instruction. Considers requiring arts courses for graduation from high school. (MJP)

Suggests that music education by its nature is well suited to meeting the special needs of at-risk students. Discusses the role of music in motivating and enabling students to succeed. Defines the causes of failure as inability and lack of desire to learn when at-risk students receive the wrong kind of instruction. (DK)

Suggests ways music teachers can improve their teaching and solve instructional problems by using existing research and conducting their own. Also offers strategies to help music district supervisors encourage effective use of research. Identifies several useful publications as sources of research reports. Includes a chart listing reasons and…