An Experiment in Guidance

Abstract

OR some years past the music department of the Medina County (Ohio) Schools has administered musical talent tests to pupils in the fifth and sixth grades in an effort to discover what pupils should take advantage of the opportunities for music study offered in the school instrumental classes. During the last school year careful record was kept of enrollment both before and after the tests were given, so that an accurate report might be made regarding the effectiveness of such tests in stimulating interest in instrumental study and in bringing about increased enrollment in the classes. Enrollment for instrumental classes is taken during the first week of school. At that time the children who have already decided to study an instrument sign up for the classes. Last year the names of these students were kept separate from later registrants so that it would be possible to tell which pupils came into the classes entirely as a result of the tests. During the second week of school, four of the Kwalwasser-Dykema music tests were given in all the fifth and sixth grade rooms of the county, these being the grades from which most of the beginning instrumental pupils are recruited. The four tests given were the pitch discrimination, the tonal memory, the rhythmic imagery and the tonal imagery. The question may arise as to why only these four were used instead of the entire battery of tests. The reason was largely one of administrative necessity; to give and grade all of the tests would have required more time than was available. It seemed that the pitch discrimination and tonal memory tests would give a fairly good indication of the natural underlying musical sensitivity of the children, and that the rhythmic and tonal imagery tests would give some indication of how well the children had responded to the usual musical instruction in their regular classrooms. The assumption was that a child who is naturally musical will acquire more knowledge of music notation in the regular school classes than one who possesses more meagre musical talent. All of the papers were graded and the pupils were given percentile rankings according to the plan outlined in the manual of instructions accompanying the tests. If a child received a percentile ranking of fifty or above in any one of the tests it was assumed that he had average or more than average ability in the musical capacity measured by that particular test. Since four tests were given, it was assumed that a child who ranked above fifty in any three of them probably possessed more than the average amount of musical talent and would therefore make a good candidate for class instrumental instruction. To the parents of these children who ranked above the fiftieth percentile in three or more of the tests, the following letter was sent, by mail so that it might receive more careful consideration and attention.