Corporate Profit at Equity's Expense: Codified Standards and High-Stakes Assessment in Music Teacher Preparation

• Published in: Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education no. 152; pp. 1 - 16
• Main Author: Koza, Julia Eklund
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Urbana Council for Research in Music Education, School of Music, University of Illinois 01-04-2002; Univ of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Subjects: Assessment; Corporate Culture; Corporate profits; Corporations; Cultural Influences; Educational publishing; Educational standards; Invited Essay; Music education; Music Teachers; Public companies; Publishing industry; Reform Movements; Subsidiary companies; Teacher Education
• ISSN: 0010-9894; 2162-7223

Focusing on current mandated reform initiatives in music teacher preparation, this analysis explores the question of who tends to benefit and at whose expense when educational reform concentrates on the establishment and implementation of codified standards and high-stakes testing (S&A). The author argues that giant multinational corporations lobbied heavily for S&A initiatives and are profiting substantially from them. Although the S&A reform movement is proving to be a boon to publishers of textbooks and tests, as well as to companies offering testrelated services, it poses a serious threat to equity initiatives in music teacher preparation. Specifically, it is likely to hamper teacher educators' efforts to create a more diverse pool of music teachers and to institute culturally relevant music content.