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.

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.

Under pressure and support from the federal government, states have increasingly turned to indicators based on student test scores to evaluate teachers and schools, as well as students themselves. The focus thus far has been on test scores in those subject areas where there is a sequence of consecutive tests, such as in mathematics or English/language arts with a focus on grades 4-8. Teachers in these subject areas, however, constitute less than thirty percent of the teacher workforce in a district. Comparatively little has been written about the measurement of achievement in the other grades and subjects. This volume seeks to remedy this imbalance by focusing on the assessment of student achievement in a broad range of grade levels and subject areas, with particular attention to their use in the evaluation of teachers and schools in all. It addresses traditional end-of-course tests, as well as alternative measures such as portfolios, exhibitions, and student learning objectives. In each case, issues related to design and development, psychometric considerations, and validity challenges are covered from both a generic and a content-specific perspective. The NCME Applications of Educational Measurement and Assessment series includes edited volumes designed to inform research-based applications of educational measurement and assessment. Edited by leading experts, these books are comprehensive and practical resources on the latest developments in the field. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license

The Oxford Handbook of Philosophical and Qualitative Assessment in Music Education offers global, comprehensive, and critical perspectives on a wide range of conceptual and practical issues in music education assessment, evaluation, and feedback as these apply to various forms of music education within schools and communities. The central aims of this Handbook focus on broadening and deepening readers' understandings of and critical thinking about the problems, opportunities, spaces and places, concepts, and practical strategies that music educators and community music facilitators employ, develop, and deploy to improve various aspects of music teaching and learning around the world.

Improbasen is a Norwegian private learning centre that offers beginner's instrumental tuition within jazz improvisation for children between the ages of 7 and 15. This book springs out of a two-year ethnographic study of the teaching and learning activity at Improbasen, highlighting features from the micro-interactions within the lessons, the organisation of Improbasen, and its international activity. Music teachers, students, and scholars within music education as well as jazz research will benefit from the perspectives presented in the book, which shows how children systematically acquire tools for improvisation and shared codes for interplay. Through a process of guided participation in jazz culture, even very young children are empowered to take part in a global, creative musical practice with improvisation as an educational core. This book critically engages in current discussions about jazz pedagogy, inclusion and gender equity, beginning instrumental tuition, creativity, and authenticity in childhood. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a CC BY NC ND Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 International license

Music education takes place in many contexts, both formal and informal. Be it in a school or music studio, while making music with friends or family, or even while travelling in a car, walking through a shopping mall or watching television, our myriad sonic experiences accumulate from the earliest months of life to foster our facility for making sense of the sound worlds in which we live. The Oxford Handbook of Music Education offers a comprehensive overview of the many facets of musical experience, behavior and development in relation to this diverse variety of contexts. While the first volume primarily focuses on children during school-age years, this second collects an international list of contributors to explore how music learning takes place outside of the traditional classroom environment. Discussing a range of issues such as music education for the special needs population, music learning in adulthood, and music learning through media and technology these chapters help to broaden conceptions of music and musical involvement. Whether they are used individually or in tandem, the two volumes of The Oxford Handbook of Music Education update and redefine the discipline, and show how individuals across the world learn, enjoy and share the power and uniqueness of music.

The Routledge Companion to Teaching Music Composition in Schools: International Perspectives offers a comprehensive overview of teaching composing from a wide range of countries around the world. Addressing the current state of composition pedagogy from primary to secondary school levels and beyond, the volume explores issues, including different curricular and extracurricular settings, cultural aspects of composing, aesthetics, musical creativity, the role of technology, and assessment. With contributors from over 30 countries, this volume encompasses theoretical, historical, empirical, and practical approaches and enables comparisons across different countries and regions. Chapters by experienced educators, composers, and researchers describe in depth the practices taking place in different international locations. Interspersed with these chapters, interludes by the volume editors contextualize and problematize the teaching and learning of composing music. The volume covers a range of contexts, including formal and informal, those where a national curriculum is mandated or where composing is a matter of choice, and a range of types, styles, and genres of musical learning and music-making. Providing a wide-ranging and detailed review of international approaches to incorporating music composition in teaching and learning, this volume will be a useful resource for teachers, music education researchers, graduate and undergraduate students, and all those working with children and young people in composing music.