50% of a student's grade in my band class is based on their musicianship requirements. For the most part, this is based on a series of "musicianship tests" that I give them. I have a total of 15 levels of musicianship tests. Students are required to work on one for each 9 weeks (4 in 6th grade, 4 in 7th grade, and 4 in 8th grade); there are a few extra for the kids who work ahead of the class. Most levels have about 10 requirements on them, and each requirement is pass/fail.
I try to avoid giving grades for each requirement which is why I use pass/fail: if they play it correctly they receive full credit. They can try each requirement as many times as they like, but they do not receive any credit unless it is 100% correct. I give 10 points per requirement, so if they only pass 7 of them, they 70 points out of a possible 100 for 50% of their grade.
What I like most about using this system, is that students can work ahead. Right now, my 7th grade students are working on Level 5, but several have finished that already, and have started working on the next level. I have a series of incentives and awards they can receive for working ahead. Chair placement is based on their requirements and what level they are on. This makes chair placement fair (at least I think so!) and very easy to explain to parents. As a matter of fact, since I started this, I have never had a parent or student complain about their chair placement!
Playing requirements are 50% of their grade because it is the emphasis of my class. I have a very hard time giving credit for concert attendance or participation because while it is important, the student grade should reflect what they are learning in class. The remaining 50% of their grade is based on other criteria - which was outlined in my last post, and I will talk more about that later...
How do you grade your students? How do you weight your grades?
