Should I Let Her Start The Next Grade? Options

[allegretto4]

Hi,

I have a young pupil doing the transfer test in school this autumn. She is going well in her preparation for her G3 piano exam (would probably get a merit at this stage) but still needs a spurt of hard work between now and the exam if she is going to achieve the Distinction which her mum is very keen for her to get!

Mum asked if she could postpone sitting the exam till next Spring because of the transfer test but wants me to start work meanwhile on Grade 4. I prefer not to start her on the next grade before she gets this one! (I have already skipped her over G2 to do G3). I also explained that its not just about exams, etc. but mum is very keen for her to go up the grades asap! I also feel that the child has 'peaked' as far as G3 goes and to keep going till Spring is too much!

Having said all that, the last thing I want is to put this child under too much pressure (she seem to take most things in her stride!).

I would be interested to know what other teachers would have done in this situation.

Many thanks in advance.

[sbhoa]

I'd try to explain to mum that while not doing grade 3 is fine that doesn't mean she is ready for grade 4 immediately. Remind her that the exam is more like the end of a period of study and that passing one usually means the student is ready to start building the skills in order to be ready to start on the next grade.

[bevpiano]

I'd try to explain to mum that while not doing grade 3 is fine that doesn't mean she is ready for grade 4 immediately. Remind her that the exam is morel like the end of a period of study and that passing one usually means the student is ready to start building the skills in order to be ready to start on the next grade.

I agree absolutely with sbhoa - I think grade 4 is quite a bit harder than grade 3 & I certainly wouldn't be happy for her to move on too quickly. Perhaps a festival or concert would be a more suitable goal at this stage.

[maledictis]

I agree absolutely with sbhoa - I think grade 4 is quite a bit harder than grade 3 & I certainly wouldn't be happy for her to move on too quickly.

I agree that the jump between grades 3 and 4 is rather large.
I have recently found this to be a common place for losing students. A lot of them can get to grade 3 without doing spectacular amounts of practice, but grade 4 requires more dedication. It's a kind of "quit or commit" point (hey - that's a good phrase - perhaps I should copyright it (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) ).

[Robodoc]

At the risk of being shot down:

Certainly there is a jump between grades - there would be no point if there wasn't. Certainly, as has been pointed out, you wouldn't be happy to move on too quickly. Equally, I hope, nor would you be happy to hold her back unnecessarily. Furthermore, as has been pointed out, grades are a marker for progress but not by any means the only one. If your pupil is making progress why worry about the exams?

If you think she would probably get a merit at grade 3 if she sat it today, I would ask 2 questions: Firstly, if you make her wait until Spring she might upgrade to a distinction, but she might not - you say she has "peaked" - what then would be the benefit of the delay? Secondly, if she actually sat (and presumably passed) the exam today then what would you do with her tomorrow? You might not start straight in on grade 4 but might you start on preparatory work? If so, why not skip grade 3 as you skipped grade 2 (I personally don't think missing 2 or even 1-7 matters a jot) and teach to the pupils ability (as you portray it) rather than being straight-jacketed by the exam timetable?

As for the mum's desires for her daughter, you may have a problem: She is keen for 2 things but they would appear incompatible. I would push for actual progress over mere exam results every time.

Finally, you have said what you feel and what the mother feels: What does the pupil think?

[amycatherine]

I would actually agree with Robodoc. I personally only did grades 1, 4 and 8. Point out to the parents that in working for an exam, you are spending up to 6 months just learning 3 pieces. The same time could be spent learning up to 10 or even more - and therefore allowing her to progress onto the next level.

If the school exam is the focus at the moment, forget grade 3, push her onto the next repertoire book you use and just tell the mum the pieces are preparation pieces for grade 4. Then everyone is happy. The learning of the grade 3 pieces will certainly not be wasted.

Good luck.

[PianissiMole]

Also agree with Robodoc and AmyC. If she has 'peaked' as you say, and you are confident she would pass now, what has she to gain by waiting for what will surely only be a 'rubber stamp'?

[SueHM]

..in working for an exam, you are spending up to 6 months just learning 3 pieces.

Heaven forbid.

She sounds like a good pupil, and one you want to hang on to, so I wouldn't go head on with the Mother about this. Agree not to enter her for an Autumn exam, and crack on with whatever you would have been doing after grade 3 once you feel she has done as much useful work on the grade 3 stuff as she is going to. You could even use one lesson to do a mock exam, and give her a comments sheet and marks. Don't commit to an exam in the Spring term - wait and see how she gets on first. She may surprise you and be ready for grade 4 by then after all, or perhaps it can wait until the Summer. Keep her moving through plenty of different repertoire - maybe slip a couple of alternative grade 4 pieces into the mix and see how she gets on with them. This will give you a good basis for any future negotations with Mum.

[Susie]

Lots of different things impinge on this. For example, how difficult is the transfer test, and when is it held? Our year 6s do their test in October, so I take the view that it doesn't affect piano at all, since the exams are held Nov/Dec and I ask for a late week to separate everything out.

Then, your pupil is 10/11 and as someone else said, she may have a view on the subject. She may feel that, having worked hard, she would like to take the exam and have proof of her hard work.

It seems to me that you certainly don't want to be doing G3 exam in the Spring without doing lots of other work in between times. Maybe that's the answer, put the G3 exam work on hold, do "progress" work for G4 and rev all the G3 pieces up for the Spring exam after Christmas. (That's not the way I would do it, but is an option.)

[Dulciana]

As soon as I start to hear that the transfer test is going to be an issue with regard to piano practice and/or progress, alarm bells start to ring in my head. Can a child really be putting so much time into this that 20 minutes practice per day is no longer possible? What will the scenario be when GCSEs come along - or even 'big' school, with all the extra activities and homeworks and travelling time that that can entail?

My response has always been, "Don't be daft; if you want to do the exam and are ready to do it, then do it now." The only question is in the wanting to.

The other issue here, if the exam is not to be done now, is whether it's more beneficial to wait or to move on, and there is really no argument. An exam is a piece of paper. Progress comes from learning/dabbling at/perfecting/picking bits out of...as much music as possible; in my experience holding a ready child back to take an exam at a later date because of the transfer test only spells disaster - they lose their zest and interest. Do it now or forget it, and get on with teaching. Exams are a tool and at times a useful goal in the long learning process. Many people need that goal. But be careful that in this scenario the exam does not instead become a negative factor in learning to play. A short time on down the line, Grade 3/4/5 will not be relevant. A Grade 8 pianist can be a Grade 8 pianist whether or not all the grades have been passed along the way - and, in fact, it's often those who haven't done them all who will be best equipped with the experience to do justice to Grade 8 - if we consider that to be the ultimate achievement of most of our pupils.

[andante]

It depends on what is involved in the entrance tests. In some areas it is common entrance where you take one exam and it goes to all the selective schools. In our area the grammar schools each set their own exam (two weekends in early December), and there is an academy that has it's own exam (October). The grammar exams could be on the date you are offered for the music exam, and are quite likely to be the same week. My daughter will be sitting them this autumn and I wouldn't be too happy with the idea of a music exam too. The week of the exams we will cut down on other activities as she needs to be mentally and physically relaxed.

[sarah123]

I think doing a music exam alongside 'proper' exams is a really good idea because it means you can really justify taking time out from revision and stuff to do something you enjoy, so you don't end up feeling guilty practising when you could be revising. If music practice stresses you out, then why put yourself through it in the first place? Personally, I wouldn't dream on taking time out from the usual activities during exams because, far from relaxing me, it would give me more time to worry about the impending doom. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

[Dulciana]

I think doing a music exam alongside 'proper' exams is a really good idea because it means you can really justify taking time out from revision and stuff to do something you enjoy, so you don't end up feeling guilty practising when you could be revising. If music practice stresses you out, then why put yourself through it in the first place? Personally, I wouldn't dream on taking time out from the usual activities during exams because, far from relaxing me, it would give me more time to worry about the impending doom. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

I agree - practising and playing are a good way of emptying the mind of other clutter.

I do take on board andante's point, though, about dates of music exams clashing, potentially, with transfer exams, especially if a child is applying to schools that have separate entrance exams.

[andante]

The activities I was referring to were things like gym club which involves a late night as well as 3 hours of strenuous physical activity, rather than a bit of music practice. I wouldn't ever suggest to my children that an exam were a stressful situation. When they go into a music exam I always say "have fun!" rather than good luck. But I still think that too many out of the ordinary things happening at once is hardly a good thing. There is no race to get through music exams after all, but they can only take the entrance exams on a specified date.

Saying to a child " You don't need to practice your music this week because you've got a really dreadful entrance exam to cope with " is hardly going to help. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

[sbhoa]

Saying to a child " You don't need to practice your music this week because you've got a really dreadful entrance exam to cope with " is hardly going to help. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

But it happens. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif)
A student I had was just starting to wake up and do enough playing between lesson to start progressing and was also enjoying playing. The parents decided that when it was time for Y6 sats she wouldn't be able to manage piano lessons at the same time. This child was a bit of a worrier who was being given the message that she needed to worry!
This is not an isolated scenario either...