Youth Engagement – Chapter 6: Evaluating Impact

YOSA (Youth Orchestras of San Antonio) uses several quantitative measures to evaluate impact, such as SAT scores, college admissions, and scholarships, that are useful for reporting to parents and for fundraising. Attendance metrics are useful gauges of student experience.

When it comes to youth engagement as a form of inclusion, however, signs of success are often subjective. For qualitative evidence, students complete year-end surveys, but Sara Vicinaiz of YOSA cautions that “the majority of our musicians report general positive experiences in our orchestras.” That is where their student-led Musician Council comes in, giving more nuanced responses to help point toward areas needing improvement.

Gary Padmore at the New York Philharmonic agrees: “the indicator is their understanding of their place in the orchestral world—an inclusive place, where all are welcome,” rather than, for instance, solely knowing more about music.

At Talent Unlimited High School in New York City, director Megan Delatour uses surveys as part of instruction. Her students see many performances by major performing ensembles. Delatour asks them to evaluate these ensembles based on the standard they themselves are held to as “an inclusive ensemble, empowering diverse individuals to collaborate, explore, and take responsibility for authentic bold choices.” Students respond to a detailed survey about their entire experience in the performance venue as well as the performance itself. “It’s a chance for them to get to the core reason of why (or why not) they enjoyed certain performances,” she says. And it provides tangible evidence of student growth and what adjustments to make in instruction.

Alison Levinson at the Pacific Symphony particularly treasures the comment written by one student reflecting on their experience in arts-X-press: “For the first time in a long time, I can look in the mirror and feel like I’m worthy.” Similarly, a student in South Dakota Symphony Orchestra’s Music Composition Academy said of his first composition, a wind quintet titled Mine, “this is the first time I’ve made something that’s all mine.” Youth, teens especially, can find important personal growth through well-designed creative musical projects and simply through having their ideas and experiences taken seriously by adults.

“Success is if they’re engaged, if there’s some sort of spark, feeling seen, surprised that an adult or other person I care about sees me. Also, the spark of seeing something that inspires you, opens your world in a new way, gives you a new sense of purpose. That changes the way students think about the work they do in school.”

Laura Reynolds, VP of Impact and Innovation, San Diego Symphony

Photo: El Sistema USA Youth Ambassadors. Credit: El Sistema USA