How Can Elementary Teachers Measure Singing Voice Achievement? A Critical Review of Assessments, 1994-2009

Abstract

The first content standard of the National Standards for Music Education requires that students sing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music. Although state and district elementary music curricula vary widely, many are based on the National Standards for Music Education and therefore include singing as a primary content area and method of teaching and learning music. However, classroom assessments of singing voice achievement and development vary widely, and information about reliability and validity of these assessments is rarely reported. The purpose of this article was to identify and discuss measurements of singing voice achievement for elementary aged students that have been used in research studies from dissertations and refereed music education journals since the publication of the National Standards for Music Education in 1994. The author describes each measurement tool, discusses its validity and reliability, and evaluates the practicality of each measure for classroom use by elementary general music teachers. Finally, recommendations for how one of these measures might be used to improve instruction in an elementary music classroom have been made.

Task-Based Variability in Children’s Singing Accuracy

“…As test design becomes better understood, music teachers can more confidently implement formal assessments of singing than may currently occur in classrooms (Salvador, 2010).…”

“…Researchers in music education have created unique measures of singing (Salvador, 2010) and have tested many different samples across the elementary grades in order to describe properties like singing range, accuracy, and other features (Hedden, 2012). Children have demonstrated widely varying competencies, from 9-38% of children deemed "inaccurate" (Goetze & Cooper, 1990) to 75-90% in one sample defined as "non-singers" (Levinowitz et al, 1998).…”

“…Generally, children sing accurately more often than not, especially if one diminishes the value of maintaining a pitch center (i.e., staying in the same key), which may prove to be a more advanced skill rather than one which occurs early in the developmental process. However, the literature indicates that as few as 13% of general music teachers formally assess singing in their students, usually using teacherdesigned scales or rubrics (Salvador, 2010).…”

“…A music teacher equipped with a useful measure can make sound pedagogical decisions and execute accurate academic reporting. Measures of singing accuracy have been put forth by researchers for use with various singing tasks (Salvador, 2010).…”

The effects of instruction on the singing ability of children ages 5 to 11: A meta-analysis

“…Literature reviews suggested that there was a need for alignment among studies regarding terminology (Welch, 1979a) and methods of measurement (Goetze et al, 1990). The need is reflected again in subsequent literature reviews devoted to the assessment of singing ability (Salvador, 2010;Welch, 1994).…”