In 1994, aggressive leadership from the National Association for Music Education resulted in the adoption of the nine National Standards for Music Education. Now, almost two decades later, much has changed. Standards have been studied and critiqued, and scholars have undertaken a great deal of research to identify best practices not only for…

Music education organizations achieved a huge success in Texas several years ago when legislation declared music as a part of the core curriculum. Similarly, more recent national education legislation like No Child Left Behind has recognized music as a core curricular subject. Since that time, little has been done to assess music students to…

One of the greatest concerns for music educators over the next few years will certainly be accountability for our work m the classroom. The National Standards for Music Education give teachers, guidance for what their students should be learning in music classes, but the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 has put additional demands on student…

The Fake Book is a square spiral bound Xeroxed book, about 7" by 7", maybe 250 pages long. It's all music--the notes, usually in C or B minor, of hundreds of standard tunes, jazz, pop, and every once in a while, classical. The Fake Book and all of its variants provide an evolving canon of tunes that defines a set of common standards for…