American

Music
Education
from
1983-2008

(Lexi Finnie)
General Trends
Dissatisfaction with American education
Educational Reform
A general aim of education in this time seems to be to compete
with other countries in the global economy
Multicultural movement in education
Standards movement & greater focus on teacher
education/preparation
Increasing federal involvement in education
Ronald Reagan George H. W. Bush Bill Clinton George W. Bush

Cold War (1947-1991)

Columbine School Shooting 1999
September 11, 2001
 1980s
No federal authority over
education at the beg difficult to
attain uniformity of quality
1983- A Nation at Risk: The
Imperative for Educational
Reform
1983 report: 20th Century Fund
Task Force on Federal Elementary
and Secondary Education Policy
1990s
Economic pressures
Educational struggles
continue...
Educational reforms:
educational standards,
accountability, authentic
assessment
Federal government renewed
its involvement in education
National Standards for Arts
Education
 Leading up to 1983
Education Amendments Act of
1972

A Nation at Risk: The

Imperative for Educational
Reform
 Academic Preparation for College: What
Students Need to Know and Be Able to Do -1983
Published by the College Board as part of the
College Board Educational Quality Project
Strongly supported arts education. 6 major
areas of study:
1. Arts
2. English
3. Math
4. Science
5. social science
6. foreign language
Educating Americans for the 21st Century -1983
National Science Board Commission on Precollege Education in
Mathematics, Science, and Technology
Plan to improve math, science, and technology education for all American
elementary and secondary students so that their achievement is the best in
the world by 1995
High School: A Report on Secondary Education
in America -1983

Ernest Boyer (pres. Of Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching

& former US Commissioner of Ed.)
Recommended that 1st 2 years of HS should be core curriculum of required
courses (including the arts)
A Place Called School -John Goodlad
Strong support for arts education: 10-15%
of every students program should be the
arts
Suggested ways for more efficient and
effective schedules for school days
Purpose of education is to develop the
individual & a collective democratic
character
 Toward Civilization: A Report on Arts
Education (1988 NEA)
Aim: Identify & justify the arts that should be taught in school, and to suggest
ways to improve them
Frank Hodsoll- chair of the NEA (supervised the research for this report)
States should come up with an agreement for what all students should know
before graduating from high school & ways to monitor/evaluate school
districts
Strengthen and broaden arts teachers certification requirements
Gap between commitment and resources for arts education and the actual
classroom practice...advocated for a redistribution of resources
Goals 2000: Educate America Act (1994)
8 national education goals to be accomplished by 2000 (improve preschool
education and attendance, set high achievement goals, cultural knowledge)
1. Readiness to learn
2. Improved graduation rates
3. Competency in core subjects
4. World leadership in math & science
5. Adult literacy
6. Positive and safe learning environment
7. Professional development for teachers
8. Parental involvement
Led to the National Standards for Arts Education
1st time that standards were written for the arts as a core curricular
subject
National Standards for Music Education -1994

1. Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.

2. Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
3. Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments.
4. Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines.
5. Reading and notating music.
6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.
7. Evaluating music and music performances.
8. Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines
outside the arts.
9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture
No Child Left Behind Act
Overall- wanted accountability (wanted the schools to measure whether
students were learning) and to reward/punish the schools as a result
Every child would be tested every year in grades 3-8 (state tests not national
tests) in reading & mathematics
Congress passed NCLB based on the success of more testing in Texas of
better test scores, shrinking achievement gap...etc.
Walt Haney (Boston College) pointed out the drawbacks of the TX testing
system
Punishments for not making adequate progress for every subgroup of
students toward the goal of 100%
NCLB: Results
Results:
Failed: The goal of 100% proficiency by 2014 was out of reach
Excessive testing complaints...led to teaching to the test
States lowered standards to pretend to be proficient
Instructional time in history, science, the arts, geography, and even
recess time decreased...time was spent on reading, math, and test
preparation
Test scores & test prep became priority over actual education
In Reaction to NCLB...
Center on Education Policy: national, independent advocate for public education
Creating Student Success in School, Work, and LIfe from the Center on
Education Policy - in reaction to NCLB -promotes arts education for
advancement of school and to help close the achievement gap
From the Capital to the Classroom: Year 4 of the No Child Left Behind Act
Arts classes becoming limited to only some students in school and
after-school opportunities
Increasing view of non-tested subjects as just for fun
Vision 2020
Housewright Declaration- importance of music
Goals and suggestions for music education by 2020: Comprehensive,
balanced, and sequential music programs to achieve standards and meet the
needs of students
HS- variety of class options
Music for all
Self-expression through music creation & performance
Informed listening (responding)
Relationships between the arts and other disciplines (connect)
Ability to learn new music independently
Integration of technology
Multicultural/diverse repertoire
Quality assessment & curriculum & good teachers
MENC
MENC established the Professional Certification Program- to improve the
quality of instruction in schools and to recognize outstanding music teachers
Increased lines of communication between the government & MENC
Focus on unity amongst music teachers/MENC because of the budget cuts
1985 the Worlds Largest Concert series began
Now: Concert for Music in Our Schools Month sing-along, world-wide
National Anthem Project After September 11, 2001: MENC sent
a CD of the disc, Sing America! To
each member of Congress (a recording
of military bands)
National Anthem Project-
Restoring Americas Voice (2004,
launched by MENC)- advocated
for schools to teach the National
Anthem

http://www.schooltube.com/video/205db5b5c76a4
49cb57d/National-Anthem-Project-2008-Capital-Ap
pearance
Multicultural Movement
General music programs were the 1st to integrate multicultural music into the
curriculum...in the 1990s, ensembles had only just begun exploring multicultural
music
Music Educators Journal
1989- The World of Music -book published by Silver Burdett and Ginn
1989: MENC published Multicultural Perspectives in Music Education (compiled by
Anderson and Campbell)
1990: MENC & Smithsonian and the Society for Ethnomusicology sponsored the
Symposium on Multicultural Approaches to Music Education
(1985 the Worlds Largest Concert series began (featured international
concerts)
https://nafme.org/programs/miosm/music-in-our-schools-month-miosm/mios
m-archive/
 It is possible that music education has
embarked on a new cycle and that by 2020,
the multicultural/global perspective now
being fostered will be accepted as
commonplace with still another change
underway
Aesthetic Value of Music...
Abraham A. Schwadron
Music professor at University of California LA
Aesthetics: dimensions for Music Education
Purpose- to provide a firm philosophical
framework for contemporary music
education
More aesthetic experiences should be
available to all (not just the talented few)
Music ed should prepare students for a
consumer-oriented society
Gerard L. Knieter
Music prof. at California State University, Northridge; chair of music ed dept.
at Temple University
Wrote: The Nature of Aesthetic Education
Characteristics of an aesthetic experience: Focus, perception, involves
affect, involves cognition, involves the cultural matrix
3 modes of behavior in music: creativity, performance, response
Music ed should be for all students in different forms

Charles H. Ball
Associate professor of music at George Peabody College for Teachers,
Nashville Tennessee
Wrote: Thoughts on Music as Aesthetic Education
Experiencing art is the most important element in aesthetic education
Factual knowledge without music appreciation is wasted
Bennett Reimer
Professor of music emeritus at Northwestern University
Wrote: A Philosophy of Music Education (1st ed. 1970)

Jane Remer
Author, consultant, and faculty member at Teachers
College/Columbia University
Wrote: The Arts for Arts Sake vs. Integration: A False
Dichotomy for Schools; Changing Schools Through the
Arts: How to Build on the Power of an Idea
Standards-based, test-driven school culture influences
educators to have to make the arts relevant by
connecting them to the existing curriculum
Richard Colwell
Professor of music at the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign, the University of Northern
Colorado, Boston University, and the New England
Conservatory of Music
Wrote: Handbooks of Research on Music Teaching and
Learning; Planning and Evaluation: The Evaluation
Dilemma
Music is unique because it is not set up in a
hierarchal structure of simple to complex ideasno
systematic way to teach
Musical success relies on talent.
Gardners multiple intelligences has hurt the arts,
and that instruction doesnt make much of a
difference
Paul Lehman
Professor of music education at the University of Michigan; President of MENC
Wrote: The National Standards: From Vision to Reality
Described the significance of the standards project - allows arts educators to
take ownership of arts education (rather than advocacy groups who lack arts
ed experience)

Michael L. Mark (1936-present)

Wrote about the history of American Music Education- The No Child Left Behind
Act in A History of American Music Education
Created difficulties for music over the issue of testing - it wasnt required, so
the emphasis on testing in reading and math became the focus and resulted
in a decrease in instructional time for school music and art
Also pushed music teachers to relate music to reading and math
Praxial Music Education
Philip A. Alperson (1946-present)
Professor of philosophy at the University of Louisville; editor of the Journal of
Aesthetics and Art Criticism
Coined the term: Praxial -art education should take into account the motives,
intentions, and productive considerations of artists

David J. Elliott
Wrote: Music Matters and The Praxial Philosophy of Music Education
Music prof at NYU
Music is a human activity
Music is something people do...musicing
The nature of music should be the center of music education
Music is multicultural
Warrick L. Carter (1942-2017)
President of Columbia College (Chicago)
Music educators need to make school music welcoming for minority students
to encourage involvement

Patricia Shehan Campbell

Music prof. At University of Washington, Seattle
Wrote: Musical Exotica (multiculturalism)
Focuses on music education & ethnomusicology
In an attempt to include multicultural music in schools, students are often
receiving disconnected experiences that seem unorganized and without an
overarching purpose needs improvement
Important to maintain the core of music while teaching multicultural music
Howard Gardner (b. 1943) -Multiple Intelligences

Developmental psychologist
Professor of Cognition and Education at Harvard
Wrote: Frames of Mind (book 1983)
Theory of Multiple Intelligences
Linguistic
Logical/Mathematical
Spacial
Kinesthetic
Music
Intrapersonal
Interpersonal
Naturalistic
Review
Educational reform research, resources, and reports!
More Federal Involvement:
Accountability Standards
Multiculturalsim
Aesthetic and Praxial views of Music Education