Public High School Music Education in Maryland: Issues of Equity in Access and Uptake

The purpose of this study was to investigate issues of equity in access, uptake, and outcomes of high school music education in the context of an individual state, Maryland. I explored equity through four angles: (a) representation among music students and teachers, (b) factors associated with access to music courses, (c) student and school characteristics associated with music enrollment, and (d) postsecondary enrollment outcomes of students who did and did not enroll in music. Sample members included all students enrolled in a public high school in Maryland belonging to the 2015 to 2016 ninth-grade cohort (N = 55,500) and public high school teachers (N = 17,250) during the 2015 to 2016 school year. Approximately 22% of all students were enrolled in a music course their ninth-grade year, and there were substantive differences in demographic representation in band, chorus, orchestra, piano, and guitar classes compared to the student body. Logistic regression results showed that school size was the most salient predictor of access to a music course. Multilevel modeling revealed student-, school-, and teacher-level characteristics were all associated with student enrollment in an ensemble music course. Finally, students who enrolled in music courses did not suffer an opportunity cost regarding college enrollment.