Music K–12
For Testing until 9/30/2023

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Competencies and Skills and Blueprint

The test design below describes general testing information. The blueprints that follow provide a detailed outline that explains the competencies and skills that this test measures.

Test Design

table describing the format of the test, including test time, number of questions, and required passing score
Format Computer-based test (CBT)
Number of Questions Approximately 80 multiple-choice questions
Time 2 hours and 30 minutes
Passing Score A scaled score of at least 200

 

Competencies, Skills, and Approximate Percentages of Questions

Pie chart of approximate test weighting outlined in the table below.



table describing the competencies, skills, and approximate percentage of each competency's weight toward overall test score
Competency Approximate Percentage of Total Test Questions
1 Knowledge of music theory, history, and literature 20%
2 Knowledge of curricula and instructional planning 25%
3 Knowledge of instructional and assessment procedures 25%
4 Knowledge of professional and instructional resources 15%
5 Knowledge of instructional emphasis: choral 5%
6 Knowledge of instructional emphasis: instrumental 5%
7 Knowledge of instructional emphasis: general music 5%

Competencies and Skills

Competency 1—Knowledge of music theory, history, and literature

  1. Identify and discriminate between rhythmic structures (e.g., beat, meter, pattern, polyrhythms).

  2. Identify and discriminate between melodic structures (e.g., contour/ patterns, tonal systems [modes/scales], melodic sequence).

  3. Identify and discriminate between harmonic structures and textures.

  4. Identify and discriminate between standard music forms.

  5. Identify and discriminate between stylistic features, principal genres, and contributions of representative composers of the traditional stylistic eras of Western music.

  6. Identify and discriminate between stylistic features in American music (e.g., folk, ethnic, electronic, popular, jazz, classical).

  7. Identify and discriminate between musics of other cultures.

  8. Identify and interpret terms and symbols found in music scores.

Competency 2—Knowledge of curricula and instructional planning

  1. Identify appropriate skills, teaching strategies, and sequence of concepts for developing students' musical independence.

  2. Select music literature and materials appropriate for students' capabilities and musical maturity, including adaptation if warranted.

  3. Identify appropriate instructional strategies for the exceptional student.

  4. Identify instructional strategies for teaching music history and theory.

  5. Identify techniques for developing students' creative musical skills (e.g., improvisation, composition, listening skills, sight reading, performance skills).

  6. Identify appropriate organization of rehearsals and classroom activities to include music history, music theory, listening skills, performance, and sight-reading as integral parts of instruction.

  7. Identify trends and research affecting music curriculum development and instruction.

  8. Identify the relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts.

  9. Identify factors in creating a music curriculum that provides a balance of musical experiences for all students.

Competency 3—Knowledge of instructional and assessment procedures

  1. Identify music performance problems (e.g., intonation, phrasing, blend, balance, tone quality, notation/performance discrepancies) and methods for correcting the problems.

  2. Select teaching strategies that motivate and promote students' musical growth, independence, and creativity.

  3. Read, interpret, and identify appropriate techniques for conducting music scores.

  4. Make critical judgments about expressive qualities of music performances.

  5. Identify techniques for assessing and evaluating student progress.

  6. Evaluate the effectiveness of music instruction in terms of content, process, and teacher self-evaluation.

  7. Select strategies for implementing technology in music instruction.

  8. Identify qualities of music performance: characteristic tone quality, phrasing, blend, balance, timbre, tempo, dynamics, articulation, and both linear and vertical intonation.

Competency 4—Knowledge of professional and instructional resources

  1. Identify media resources and technology (e.g., sound recording and reproduction systems, visual aids) for instructional purposes.

  2. Select acoustic and electronic instruments (e.g., pianos, synthesizers, guitars, keyboards) for instructional purposes.

  3. Identify and select appropriate computer hardware and software for both administrative purposes and instructional applications.

  4. Identify techniques and resources for advocating music education and for generating community support for school music programs.

  5. Identify legal and ethical issues that impact music education (e.g., copyright, financial accountability, liability).

  6. Identify resources available through professional organizations, music industry, and publications.

  7. Identify procedures for student selection, recruitment, and retention, including feeder pattern articulation and placement in appropriate music courses.

Competency 5—Knowledge of instructional emphasis: choral

  1. Identify basic vocal diction techniques in different languages (e.g., English, Latin, Italian, Spanish, French, German).

  2. Identify problems of individual vocal production and determine methods of correction.

  3. Identify practices in the care and maintenance of the vocal mechanism to promote lifelong performance.

  4. Classify vocal characteristics and ranges at various levels of development and maturation.

  5. Identify representative repertoire for solo voices and small/large vocal ensembles at various levels of maturation and development (e.g., music lists from FVA, ACDA).

  6. Identify musical problems in an ensemble performance and determine methods of correction.

Competency 6—Knowledge of instructional emphasis: instrumental

  1. Identify basic performance techniques for wind, string, and percussion instruments (e.g., proper playing position; embouchure; sticking, fingering, and bowing techniques).

  2. Identify families of wind, percussion, and string instruments and their ranges, clefs, and transpositions.

  3. Identify problems of individual tone production (e.g., embouchure, bowing, sticking, proper breath support) and determine methods of correction.

  4. Identify musical problems in an ensemble performance and determine methods of correction.

  5. Identify representative repertoire for solo and small/large ensembles at various levels of maturation and development (e.g., FBA, FOA, NBA, NSOA).

  6. Identify practices in the care and maintenance of instruments and accessories.

Competency 7—Knowledge of instructional emphasis: general music

  1. Identify appropriate materials and repertoire for use at various levels of maturation and development.

  2. Identify practices in the care and maintenance of classroom instruments.

  3. Identify methods for incorporating creative movement in music instruction.

  4. Identify techniques for teaching students how to play classroom instruments (e.g., autoharps, guitars, chromatic bells, keyboards, recorders, ukuleles, Orff, percussion instruments).