A test of musical achievement, the central criterion of which was musical sensitivity as evidenced by the ability to make aesthetic judgments, was empirically validated and field-tested upon elementary school children in the Manhattanville Music Curriculum Program as well as in the California Music Educators Statewide Music Testing Program. The test was comprised of excerpts of compositions by recognized composers and a mutilation of each. Reactions of the Manhattanville children, who received training in creating and experiencing contemporary music, differed from those of their California peers who received other types of musical training. Some of the observations made were that (1) musical children of the same age score similiarly though drawn from divergent programs; (2) Manhattanville subjects were more perceptive than their California counterparts but less likely to agree that the original composition excels its mutilation; and (3) individual differences are greater within samples than between them. (Tables, test items and criteria, and a brief bibliography are provided.) (Author/MF)