This book discusses assessment and its role in teaching and learning music in the classroom. For improving learning and raising standards, it puts the case for formative assessment, day-by-day, rather than summative assessment at the end of key stages. The advice is relevant to classroom and instrumental teachers, and the academic community.

Teacher Evaluation in Music: A Guide for Music Teachers in the U. S. aims to help music teachers navigate the controversial terrain of teacher evaluation. Rather than entering the debate on policy divorced from practice, this book is intended as a pragmatic approach to help music teachers to thrive within teacher evaluation systems and as a way to improve practice. Using Shulman's concept of content knowledge, general pedagogical knowledge, and pedagogical content knowledge, this book strives to help music teachers find a balance between advocating for themselves and their programs and for using teacher evaluation to improve their teaching. The book covers history of policy and law of teacher evaluation and the competing uses of teacher evaluation to rate teachers or as a professional development tool. The descriptions of policies, laws, and competing uses are approached in a way to help music teachers use teacher evaluation for their benefit to grow as professionals. This book has chapters devoted to giving detailed and specific strategies in key areas that research has suggested music teachers struggle to implement: questioning, literacy, differentiated instruction, and assessment. Complimenting these key areas are sample lesson plans which apply the strategies of questioning, differentiation, literacy, and assessment discussed in each chapter. These lessons serve as a resource and guide for teachers to develop their own lessons and improve their practice. The final chapter gives guidance on how music teachers may talk to administrators and evaluators to make teacher evaluation productive. Through these detailed descriptions of understanding teacher evaluation, talking to evaluators, and improving practice, music teachers may not just survive but thrive in these systems of accountability.

Aspects of Teaching Secondary Music provides a practical illustration of the skills, knowledge and understanding required to teach music in the secondary classroom. Musical concepts and ideas are discussed and a critical examination of key issues is given. This encourages the reader to engage with these thoughts and consider their views and beliefs in terms of how they will influence their potential to teach music in an inspired and effective manner.

Critical Issues in Music Education: Contemporary Theory and Practice provides a current introduction to key issues facing music educators. Designed as the main text for a Music Education Theory course or as a supplement for introductory courses on Music Education and Music Education Methods,this text presents a series of essays, written by key leaders in the field, each focusing on a single issue. It provides the most up-to-date, inclusive, and comprehensive introduction of any text on the market.Most of undergraduate music teacher education focuses on developing the skills and understandings necessary to become a practitioner. The updated second edition links theory and practice, offering multiple perspectives so that music teachers are prepared as well-rounded professionals, betterequipped to develop into leaders in the field. Rather than focusing on answering, "What to do" questions, Critical Issues in Music Education focuses on addressing "Why" questions, through examining underpinnings for the field and encouraging teacher inquiry.

139 assessment scholars, researchers, music administrators, students, and practicing music educators representing six continents and seventeen nations convened on March 8-11, 2011 on the campus of the University of Bremen in Bremen, Germany. The 34 papers published in this volume address assessment in national, state, and regional contexts as well as in district, school and classroom contexts. There is also a wealth of information about assessment in higher education and music teacher education.

The contributions to this volume aim to stimulate discussion about the role of assessment in the learning experiences of students in music and other creative and performing arts settings. The articles offer insights on how assessment can be employed in the learning setting to enhance outcomes for students both during their studies at higher education institutions and after graduation. An international group of leading researchers offers an exciting array of papers that focus on the practice of assessment in music, particularly in higher education settings. Contributions reflect on self-, peer- and alternative assessment practices in this environment. There is a particular emphasis on the alignment between assessment, curriculum structure and pedagogy.

In the music classroom, instructors who hope to receive aid are required to provide data on their classroom programs. Due to the lack of reliable, valid large-scale assessments of student achievement in music, however, music educators in schools that accept funds face a considerable challenge in finding a way to measure student learning in their classrooms. From Australia to Taiwan to the Netherlands, music teachers experience similar struggles in the quest for a definitive assessment resource that can be used by both music educators and researchers. In this two-volume Handbook, contributors from across the globe come together to provide an authority on the assessment, measurement, and evaluation of student learning in music. The Handbook's first volume emphasizes international and theoretical perspectives on music education assessment in the major world regions. This volume also looks at technical aspects of measurement in music, and outlines situations where theoretical foundations can be applied to the development of tests in music. The Handbook's second volume offers a series of practical and US-focused approaches to music education assessment. Chapters address assessment in different types of US classrooms; how to assess specific skills or requirements; and how assessment can be used in tertiary and music teacher education classrooms. Together, both volumes of The Oxford Handbook of Assessment in Music Education pave the way forward for music educators and researchers in the field.