Large Group Performance Evaluation in the United States

Adjudicated performances have been a component of music education for more than a century, and the policies and structures associated with these events intersect with curriculum, instruction, and teacher evaluation. The purpose of this study was to describe state-organized large group performance evaluation (LGPE) practices for high school bands, choirs, and orchestras across the United States. We asked the following research questions: (a) How prevalent are state-organized LGPEs in the United States? (b) What organizations administer them? (c) How common are sight-reading requirements, use of prescribed music lists, and piece difficulty rules in the structures of state-organized LGPEs? and (d) How common are adjudicator training, comments-only options, and score availability at state-organized LGPEs? We found that most states had state-organized processes, and most were administered by music education organizations whose leadership was comprised of practicing and retired teachers. Choral educators generally had more flexibility than band and orchestra teachers in terms of prescribed music lists and repertoire difficulty. Adjudication training practices were inconsistent across states and ensemble types. The pervasive nature of LGPE participation in the ensemble setting has implications for educators’ ability to align with the National Association for Music Education’s curriculum standards and equity-based strategic plan.