I believe that improvisation should be included in the musical skills area because it is a creative aspect of music. It can be an assessing tool to let the teacher know that the students know basic musical aspects, harmony, pitch, rhythm. Improvisation helps devolpe the musicians ear as well. Plus improv. is one of the 9 National standards for music Education. Along with creativity, improvisation is an important skill to have that you can bring to the real world; be it dealing with customers at your part time job or interacting with friends when bored

I believe that using standardized tests in the music classroom defeats the entire purpose of learning about music. Standardized tests put a fear in the heart of every teacher because it lists a criteria need to be met in order for the school to have a reputable program. But the people who benefit from the standardized tests are the administrators who do not care about music in schools unless it adds more zeros to the end of their paycheck.