ABSTRACT
Curriculums can be conceived in multiple ways, though educators rarely agree on an exact definition. Teachers in successful music programs usually adhere to a well-developed curriculum, though admittedly, some perceive it constricts control of what and how to teach. In 2014 the National Association for Music Education released a new set of national standards to replace those from 1994. Standards do have their detractors. Elliott criticizes them as an ineffectual form of summative assessment in which we test, examine, and judge students' efforts removed from the efforts themselves. In and of themselves, content standards, even with the performance and achievement guidelines that supplement them, are too general to guide everyday teaching. In Intelligent Music Teaching, Robert Duke builds on the skill-based approach of the Core Music Standards and bases achievement on "component observable behaviors". Rehearsals, lessons, and concerts only go so far in measuring individual student achievement in performance.
