The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of criteria-referenced formative assessment on music achievement. Archival data from 1,173 students who participated in the first two years of the Arts Achieve project were used to examine the overall and school level effects of criteria-referenced formative assessment on music achievement, as well as its effect on content knowledge, listening, and performance achievement tasks. The relationships between sources of feedback from formative assessment -- self, peer, teacher -- and music achievement were also investigated. Unbiased causal treatment effects were derived after employing propensity score analysis to minimize selection bias and adjust for pre-treatment differences.;The results of this study indicate that criteria-referenced formative assessment had a small, positive overall effect on music achievement, with the largest gains in achievement at the elementary school level. Criteria-referenced formative assessment had the largest effect on content knowledge and listening tasks; however, the effects on music performance were mixed and therefore inconclusive. Feedback from teacher assessment and self-assessment alone were positively and significantly related to music achievement. Peer assessment, however, was not a significant predictor of music achievement.;This study contributes to scholarship on formative assessment by providing a framework for using propensity score analysis to investigate constructs in formative assessment research. In addition, this study provides music educators with empirical evidence of the efficacy of using criteria-referenced formative assessment practices to promote and support music teaching and learning.
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