Curriculum and assessment in popular music education

Abstract

In this article, I examine how curriculum and assessment in popular music can be organized and delivered in valid and authentic ways in both school and university settings. This discussion focuses on how popular musicians learn, what they do as independent musicians on a regular basis and how this is contrasted with traditional models of music instruction and assessment in schools. I describe the three stages of backward curricular design and address formative, summative and negotiated assessments in detail. This discussion is supported with examples of assessment tools currently being used in selected popular music programmes in diverse school settings around the world.