This paper describes the evolution of music in American public schools and universities. Included are some statistics on the number of elementary, middle, and high schools that offer each type of music instruction, including band, choir, orchestra, and music for general students. Also included are some discussions on the evolution of university music programs. The paper concludes with a description of the new national voluntary standards for music education, and some assessments of the strengths and weaknesses of American music education programs. 

This was part of a pair of papers presented as the Honor Guest Lecturer Addresses (the other being "Music Education Research in the U.S.A.: An Overview"). This item includes the English and Greek translations of the work. 

Text of paper presented at the first conference of the Greek Society for Music Education, held in Thessaloniki, Greece on June 26-28, 1998. It was one of a pair of papers presented as the Honor Guest Lecturer Addresses (the other being "Music Education in the U.S.A.: An Overview"). This item includes the English and Greek translations of the work. 

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine relationships between pitch-matching and grade level, sex, ethnicity, and classroom teachers’ use of music among K-3 students (N = 289) taught by the same general music teacher. Portions of the data from a pitch-matching exercise that functioned as the music teacher’s roll-taking procedure during the 2005-06 school year were treated as pre- and post-tests. There were no significant pretest differences between ethnic groups (Hispanic, White, Other). There were significant pretest differences among classes taught by different classroom teachers, as well as the female students scoring significantly higher than males. Covariance analysis (pretest as covariate) revealed significant improvement by girls over boys on the posttest. There were no significant pretest differences among grade levels, suggesting a lack of carryover of pitch-matching skills from previous years, despite significant improvement (pre-post) for every grade level during the year under study. The boys performed poorly relative to girls in higher grades, though the interaction was not significant. Finally, the study revealed relationships between classroom teachers’ reported use of music and student gain scores (pre-post) in pitch-matching.

||VEZA IZMEĐU REPRODUKOVANJA ZADATOG TONSKOG NIZA I RAZREDA, POLA, ETNIČKE PRIPADNOSTI I METODA KORIŠĆENJA MUZIKE U NASTAVI NA PREDŠKOLSKOM UZRASTU I U PRVA TRI RAZREDA OSNOVNE ŠKOLE
Cilj rada je bio da se ispita veza između reprodukovanja zadatog tonskog niza i razreda koje dete pohađa, pola, etničke pripadnosti i načina na koji nastavnici razredne nastave koriste muziku u nastavi kod predškolske grupe i učenika od prvog do trećeg razreda (N = 289) kojima predaje isti nastavnik muzike opšteg smera. Podaci dobijeni na bazi vežbe za reprodukovanje zadatog tonskog niza koje je nastavnik muzike koristio u procesu prozivke učenika tokom školske 2005/06. godine su delom iskorišćeni kao predtestiranje i post-testiranje. U predtestiranju nije bilo značajnijih razlika među etničkim grupama (Hispanjolci, belci, ostali). Značajne razlike u predtestiranju evidentirane su između odeljenja kojima su predavali različiti nastavnici razredne nastave, a bilo je primetno i da su rezultati devojčica bili značajno viši u odnosu na dečake. Analizom kovarijanse (sa predtestiranjem kao kovarijantom) u post-testiranju je utvrđeno značajno poboljšanje kod devojčica u odnosu na dečake. U predtestiranju nije bilo značajnijih razlika između različitih razreda, što je sugerisalo da nije bilo prenošenja veštine reprodukovana zadatog tonskog niza iz prethodnih razreda, i pored značajnog poboljšanja (predtestiranje – post testiranje) u svakom razredu tokom referentne godine. Dečaci su imali slabije rezultate u odnosu na devojčice u višim razredima, iako interakcija nije bila važna. Konačno, studija je ukazala na vezu koja postoji između načina na koji su nastavnici razredne nastave koristili muziku u nastavi i napretka koji su učenici pokazali u pogledu reprodukovanja zadatog tonskog niza (predtestiranje – post-testiranje).

Compulsory education and school laws were enacted in the British colonies of North America beginning from the 1640s. Compulsory school laws were gradually enacted in all states of the United States of America between 1852 and 1918, with enforcement of the laws following gradually and but unevenly in the various states. Today, most states require attendance up to age 16. Music was gradually introduced to the elementary school curriculum from the 1830s. Today, music is mandatory for all (general) students in Grades 1-6 in most schools and in some schools in Grades 7-8, and is an elective subject in most schools in Grades 7-12. General music classes in the U.S. are similar to compulsory music classes in many other countries. Approximately 25 percent of American public secondary school students participate in elective music performing ensembles, which are a distinctive and positive feature of American music education.