Examination of the Relationships Between Socioeconomic Status and Music Student Achievement in State Level Performing Groups

With the goal of exploring the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and student success, the author of this study examined the schools represented by members of the large school Texas All-State choirs and bands from 2005 to 2015 (N = 10,726) and the percentage of those students from economically disadvantaged schools. In addition, the author considered whether the association of SES and student success differed between choirs (n = 5545) and bands (n = 5181). The Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) governs the Texas Music Educators Association All-State choirs and bands competitions, clinics, and performances. Each fall and early spring, students from around the state of Texas compete for placement in an All-State ensemble. The schools represented by members of these All-State ensembles from 2005 to 2015 and the percentage of economically disadvantaged students found at the represented schools of All-State members were used in this study. For analysis purposes, schools were categorized into three separate groups based upon a school’s SES, which was measured as the percentage of economically disadvantaged students from each school, according to publically available data from the Texas Education Agency (TEA). A school’s percentage of economically disadvantaged students depended upon the percentage of the student body that were eligible for free or reduced lunch. The representation in the TMEA All-State band and choirs is as follows: high SES group (0% - 33% economically disadvantaged), medium SES group (34% - 66% economically disadvantaged) and low SES group (67% - 100% economically disadvantaged). Results indicated that there is currently an underrepresentation of the low SES group in the TMEA All-State ensembles, with an eleven year mean showing only 10% low SES group being represented. The medium SES group had an eleven-year mean of 29% and the high SES group had an eleven-year mean of 60%. Overall, the high SES group represented over half of all participants in All-State ensembles. The low SES group had a greater representation in bands than in choirs.