Can Socioeconomic Status (SES) Predict How Well Your Marching Band Scores at a Contest?

Well, not exactly… but the optics may change the way you approach competition. In this study, Stern investigated correlations between SES and marching band scores at one of the largest (and most diverse) band contests in the United States: The Bands of America San Antonio Super Regional. It should be noted that this sample size can’t predict a band’s score outside of this particular contest date and location, but we can certainly learn from the analysis.

SES can include a lot of factors. Schools with “High” SES may mean access to more resources, and therefore may be perceived as a “better” school. “High” SES schools tend to have more prolonged participation in music education programs such as band, have more overall parental involvement, and the students are more likely to benefit from private lessons. As the marching band activity has evolved (particularly in BOA), more scoring emphasis has been placed on more subjective categories such as “effect.” Or in other words - more props, more costumes, and more things that cost money. Additionally, the competitive marching activity has created a market for additional walk-on staff, which also means (you guessed it) more money. Just check out the band fees for some of the top BOA programs in the nation - marching band isn’t free!

Not surprisingly, schools classified as “Low” SES may not have access to the same resources to compete with the more affluent programs in the same contest. Stern’s analysis found that SES accounts for 45.7% of a band’s overall score. Consequently, Stern described a competition within a competition: the “High” SES schools tend to battle it out against one another, and the “Low” SES schools tend to battle it out against one another. From Stern’s point of view, one heartbreaking concern is that it is difficult for the “have-nots” to look at the “haves” and separate available resources from success.

This disparity is exactly what I grew to loathe about marching band competition as an activity. For my students, I tried my best to promote the value of “doing the best we can with what we have,” and clearly communicate to my students that I did not care about the judges’ scores. In my view, it will never be an even playing field. I, too, heard students' concerns that a low score meant they weren’t “good” at music. Stern’s study shows us that a low score may only have just about 50% to say about how “good” a band is. But this is not to say that “Low” SES programs can’t be “good,” it just means that they have a pretty small chance of keeping up with their “High” SES counterparts in an apples-to-apples strong system.