Scholars from the PRC point out that critics of the model operas mainly zero in on the sameness of the scripts, the emphasis on class struggle, and the fact that all the rich diversity of Chinese opera was reduced to just a handful of model operas. But one scholar notes that "the overall artistic level of the model operas was actually very good, especially the music."
回首過去的樣板戲年代，大陸學者認為樣板戲為人詬病的是劇本樣板、突出階級鬥爭的思想內容，並以樣板戲來統一所有劇種，然而在藝術成就上，「樣板戲的總體水平是很高的，尤其是音樂設計。」