The New York State music assessment: History, development, and analysis of the data generated by the 2002 field test

This study examines New York State's Music Assessment, from its inception to the field-test in the spring of 2002, in the context of large scale music assessments and the effort to develop one that uses more authentic modes of assessment and alternative techniques. A group of 447 students from 20 school districts participated in the field-tests, and test items and outcomes, based on student performance, were studied from three perspectives: content, curriculum, and demographics.;A description of the exam's history is recounted and analysis of its content reveals an instrument whose items were developed, tested, and retested over a period of six years by professionals who addressed the breadth of the state's learning standards in its construction. Item analysis compared questions from the New York Assessment with the NAEP 1997 music assessment questions for content, depth, relation to real life tasks (authenticity), and use of techniques other that short answers (alternative techniques). The results suggest that the 2002 New York field-test employed more authentic modes of assessment and alternative techniques than the 1997 national assessment.;Student scores were disaggregated according to state learning standards, musical experience (in and out of school), and demographic data. The demographic data provided by the state was insufficient to draw substantial conclusions beyond comparisons of scores based on gender. Student achievement was strongest in response to questions based on Standard 4 (understanding cultural dimensions), and Standard 1 (creating and performing). Students showed a preference for performance over other modes of music learning in achievement scores, their choices of tasks, and response rates. Performing ensemble students' average scores were stronger than those of general music (Music In Our Lives ) students, but music instruction taken outside school had a stronger positive impact on the scores of the general music population.;This study provided some identifiable outcomes related to NY State's learning standards in music, stressing the connection between daily learning and evaluation associated with portfolio assessment. These findings have implications for large-scale and standards-based music assessment, state music curricula, and the use of authentic modes of assessment using alternative techniques in music.