Development and Validation of a Music Education Competency Test

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to develop and validate a competency test in music education. The resulting Music Education Competency Test (MECT), pilot form, provided information on a student' s proficiency in selected singing, conducting, key board, and rehearsal skills. Three validity studies were conducted in order to obtain evidence on the relationship of MECT scores to (1) the student' s course grades, academic status, and teacher rating; (2) students entering as freshmen as opposed to those entering as transfer students; and (3) students with piano as the principal instrument as opposed to voice or orchestral instruments. One hundred and twenty-five undergraduates at the University of Illinois took one of the test forms. Results indicated that: (1) seniors score better than freshmen on the singing and conducting subtests; (2) instrumentalists score better than vocalists on the conducting subtest; and (3) students' scores on the conducting and diagnostic rehearsal skills subtests correlate significantly with instructors' ratings in corresponding areas.

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