Choral music in the American high school has been the victim of a great deal of experimentation in the past while supervisors were seeking its best medium and educators were pondering its place in the curriculum. The high school vocal music department has passed through several periods, each characterized by a particular interest. There were, for instance, periods of hymn singing, lyrical frivolities, oratorio singing, and a recent period when the word a cappella, applied to any chorus or choral composition, became a panacea. Although they were times of poorly balanced music curricula, these eras of specialized interest were not useless, for through them vocal music education has gained the necessary experience from which a well-balanced program of high standards may be built. At the present time there is a need for evaluation of the work being done. It is not the purpose of this thesis to trace historical development of high school choral music, to remedy present ills, or to discuss choral techniques but rather to take stock of the present situation. The study of existing conditions was made by means of a questionnaire which is discussed in full in the second section of this thesis. Previous studies were used as a basis for statements of conditions in the past. Studies made by committees of the Music Supervisors Conference and the Music Teachers National Association, the Bureau of Education of the Department of the Interior, and a few books of authorities in the field have been particularly helpful. A discussion of general trends in the voice class movement in the high school is included because this movement is so closely allied with the future of high school choral music. Recommendations and predictions for the future have been made on the basis of these previous studies, results gleaned from the questionnaire, and the writer's personal experience.