Teacher assessed grades

Assessing students is something we teachers are quite good at. From the quick assessment in a lesson to the more formal assessment in a performance exam. We often know what we are looking for and what different grades ‘look like’.

But it is not always easy to assess, particularly if you are new to the profession. As music teachers we don't simply have one exam that we can mark, we have to assess analysing, performing and composing.

Last year seems like a blur now, but I remember that I took time to really look at my students and consider what grade I thought they deserved. I based this on everything I knew about the student and brought that all together to provide my senior leadership team with the required grades. I felt lucky that my school provided us with support and quality assurance checks based on past data and success in our subjects.

This year we have slightly more guidance, and also more time. But let me start by outlining some of my approaches from last year

• I took into account all of the performances that I had on record.
• Graded music exams were considered, particularly for my A Level students who weren't able to produce the usual recital. Where they had a Grade 8 certificate for an instrument I felt this was a clear indicator of ability.
• Composition work was not complete in March 2020, but it was nearly there, and luckily as soon as the likely closure was announced I had exam groups off timetable to work. But I decided to look at the work I had and the progress that had been made. For some I had complete compositions that just needed tweaking – something I knew they could do if they had a few more weeks. Some compositions needed more work in terms of length, but the content was good enough to make a clear judgement.
• My considerations took into account the two full mock exams that had been completed as well as Long Answer questions set for homework and internal assessments.
• I looked at the students’ target grades, progress from the start of the course and also how they compared to the previous year. I considered students in relation to those I had taught in the past that were similar. This was a rough process, but a useful one all the same.

This year is going to be a little different. These students have had 11 months of learning on the course and many of them have not completed coursework. This year I am going to be looking at some similar parameters to last year, but also adding in one or two things to help me with my judgements.

My plan is to set extended pieces of writing to complete during the lockdown. While this isn't under exam conditions, it will provide me with a good picture of how they are getting on with their writing. I will be using exam style questions and marking using the marking criteria set out by my board.

If we get back to school, I want to use lesson time to work on compositions, but at this stage that is an unknown. I don't feel comfortable asking them to compose at home because this is designed to be ‘controlled conditions’ coursework. If we don't manage to get much completed after lockdown then I will apply the same measures as last year – look at what they have done and consider where it could be with time.

This year I feel more prepared to get students performing using Zoom or another platform. I think they are more used to the idea and it will be a way to assess how well they are performing compared to December when I last heard them.

My grasp of online learning has advanced a great deal since 2020 and I now feel that I can create good assessment questions and material online. I am going to create listening tasks that can be completed online at set times so I know they have completed them in timed conditions.

Above all, I will undertake the same fair process that I have used throughout my career. I will take the marking criteria and the work I have and make a judgement about the students I know incredibly well. Some I have taught for four years and I know them as musicians and composers. I will use all the data I have available and come to a decision that I feel comfortable signing off. It is all we can do and as long as we are fair, consistent and professional, I know that we will get it right for our students.