The Ability of Non-Music Majors to Self-Evaluate at the End of a Music Course

The researchers of this study investigated the participants’ (N = 177) use of a self-evaluation tool employed at the end of an online undergraduate music course that fulfilled the Texas general education requirement for the creative arts. Participants’ use of the two aspects of the tool correlated at r = .5548 – interpreted as a high positive relationship. The Pearson coefficient for instructor final grade and the student desired grade was r = .4456 – a moderate positive correlation. A t-test of the instructor grade to the student desire grade was -2.814 with a p = .002. Free-response justifications for the desired grade generated a mean of 3.53 sentences each that were qualitatively coded into themes: Effort/Completed 22%, Generalized Statements 20%, and Positive Affirmations 11% as the larger categories. Participants consistently used the form to justify a desired grade, evaluate their work, and suggest a final grade. However, that grade was statistically significantly lower than the final grade issued by the professor.