To appeal against my DD's Grade 3 piano result???

[Sticklebug]

Please tell me if IABU and just being a precious mum or should look to appeal (not even sure if I can).

My DD had her grade 3 piano exam a couple of weeks back. Her piano teacher predicted an easy distinction for her (134 and 138 in 2 mock exams - her teacher is also an examiner) and my DS's teacher who has heard her play agreed she should get a distinction. I could hear her playing in the exam from the waiting area and although I am completely unmusical it sounded exactly as it had at home and she made no mistakes.

She went in confident and came out beaming with the view that it had gone well. She knew that she had made a minor mistake in her B piece and she had to start one of her scales again, but apart from that she believed that she had done well. She got a merit in her grade 2 (4 points off a distinction but failed sight reading) and a distinction in her grade 1 and she felt that it went as well as her grade 1.

I have just received her results online (which, unfortunately I let her read with me as we had every confidence they would be good) and she has scrapped a pass with a score of 105. She cannot believe it - she tried so hard and played so well and her confidence is knocked completely. Her friend got exactly this score in her grade 2, but she knew she messed up completely and had to restart one piece twice and did not complete another.

She is so confused and now says that she wants to retake it but would be so nervous as she thought she had done so well.

She has always been so confident in exams that I do not want this to affect her.

We have not had the details yet as they come in the post a little later. Her teacher is 'gobsmacked' and will ring me tomorrow to discuss.

Is there any right of appeal?
Am I just feeling so awful because I hate to see my quiet, confident little girl so destroyed? Or should I look to take this further for her?

And bear in mind that music exams are designed to be passed, not failed. The candidate starts with full marks, and the examiner knocks a bit off for things she thinks aren't up to standard. I don't think those comments match the marks at all.

But I would probably leave it, as the op has.

This is what your dd got:

Just under the acceptable standard in general accuracy
Inadequate sense of continuity
Poor recovery from slips

And this is a pass for the pieces:

General security of notes and rhythm
Suitable tempo
A reasonable sense of continuity
Evidence of careful preparation
Prompt recovery from any slips

Dynamics, phrasing and control all come under the remit of a meit so it does seemto me there is some discrepancy "the right hand needed slightly greater control and articulation in places" for example. A merit is performance with evidence of articulation and control a distinction is confident sense of performance and control.

Based on those comments and having looked at the markscheme in greater detail I would actually appeal.

Why not stop taking the exams? Do they help anything?

Enjoy playing an instrument without facing the unnecesary stress and disappointment of exams.

Unless they are incredibly stressful and upsetting and sucking the joy out of music making, don't stop doing exams- they are useful! Dd has been dancing since she was 3 but because I deliberately sent her to a school that didn't do exams she missed out on a fab opportunity this summer because she didn't have any bits of paper to show for it. And her music exams are going to be very useful on university applications in a couple of years.

They don't stay 10 long!

I think that a grade 8 music exam actually equals a C at A Level in UCAS points too, doesn't it? When I heard that I wished I'd continued doing my exams!

It may be that while your DD played well, she wasn't quite outstanding enough for the top grades. E.g. did she have excellent interpretation/expression as well as the notes?

I know it must be annoying if you feel she deserved a higher mark. But I suggest you just put it behind you and move on to the next stages. Grade 4 next!

Performing in concerts and bands and collaboraitng with others on music weekends will sound just as good, if not better, as extra-curricular info on application forms.

It's not either/or!

It's definitely a good idea to keep doing exams, if they're not getting too stressful, as seeker says.
They really are good at preparing you for high pressure situations, and they show prospective employers/unis etc that you can handle stuff.
plus, if she did decide to do music academically, she'll need the grades.

grade 8 distinction is 75 UCAS points which is almost a C at A level (80 points), but might be better thought of as a little above an A at AS level (not that you can get an A at AS level, but if you could it would be 70 points - same as a grade 8 merit).

However, virtually all offers for university places from the more respected universities are given in terms of A level grades and not UCAS points, and even where points are used it is often specified that they should be from particular qualifications, so music exam grades are only very rarely of use.

The government is supposed to be making music exams passed at grade 6 or higher officially equivalent to GCSEs by 2014 according to this news article though.

It used to be that Grade 8 practical and theory combined were accepted in lieu of an A level for certain courses.

Not read all thread, I'm afraid, but if this has not been mentioned already I'll offer that the dc's piano teacher does not put in a candidate for an exam until they have exceeded the standard for that grade. If they have been comfortably doing Grade 4 sight-reading then they'll not be freaked out by the Grade 3 exam. He firmly counsels against the inclination of some teachers to rush through the grades, only ever playing exam pieces and haring onto the next grade the second the exam's done.

I think he may be right: two of his dcs went to the Royal College of Music, and ds has got a distinction for every grade up to 5 (except a merit - grade 2, I think, when his examiner was being examined during the exam!).

From the ABRSM website - here's the mark scheme for pieces (same for grades 1-5)
www.abrsm.org/resources/theseMusicExams0607.pdf
You can see the criteria for other elements of the exam too.

27?30 Distinction
Technical fluency
Confident sense of
performance and tonal
control
Sensitivity to musical detail
and mood
A musically convincing tempo

24?26 Merit
Attention to dynamics and
phrasing
Evidence of tonal awareness
and control
A suitable, sustained tempo
Sense of the character of the
piece
Good sense of rhythm

20?23 Pass
General security of notes and
rhythm
Suitable tempo
A reasonable sense of
continuity
Evidence of careful
preparation
Prompt recovery from any
slips

17-19 Below Pass standard
Just under the acceptable
standard in general accuracy
Inadequate sense of
continuity
Poor recovery from slips

1 - You started confidently but there were some dips as you progressed. The right hand melody needed slightly greater control and articulation in a couple of places. (19/30)

2 - The left hand rang out at bar 17 but the right hand melody was not always under control. The pulse was good. (18/30)

Seems pretty harsh compared to the mark scheme to me.

Thats what I thought MrsPommel

I've completely changed my mind. I think you should query this. But don't tell your dd you're doing it. My dd has got higher marks then those with MUCH tougher comments!

seeker - the teacher is going to challenges the marks for 3 children together as all were harsh and not in line with expectations. She is doing this with another teacher who had two children fail on the same day who again have received distinctions so far.

Have decided not to go down formal query route as the only outcome if successful is to get your money back and resit exam. She has passed and already put it behind her, so will move onwards now.

She does play a lot for pleasure and the exam route is of her own choosing. My DS also has lessons (from another teacher) and shows no interest in exams...each to their own.

....but am still miffed about comments and marks!!!!!

I skimmed over some of these replies so apologies if this has already been raised, but was she playing on a strange piano?

That can make a difference, particularly for a child whose hand muscles are still developing, and especially if the action is a bit stiff. They can end up, for example, distorted the phrasing without quite realising it. That happened to me once when I only scraped a pass in a grade exam in which I had been expected to do much better.

The approach you are taking seems reasonable i.e. an informal approach for more feedback through the teacher and involving other pupils. I don't know how many exams are recorded but I should have thought that there ought to be enough recorded material to check the moderation, in case this particular examiner was being too harsh for that level.

Sticklebug - what area are you in? Just wondering, as we had a few from music school also getting low marks in the summer - we're in the West Midlands.

We are in Surrey, but I understand that examiners go 'on tour' for a couple of weeks at a time so can pop up anywhere...

eeek! I hope this one doesn't pop up for DD's exam on monday...!

Stickle, sound like your teacher is doing the right thing, as this examiner is obviously not marking to the same criteria as other examiners (including your DD's teacher).

Your DD sounds like a great little musician and hopefully she'll not dwell on the bad mark for too long.

DS thankfully got a merit in his Grade 3, but I thought I would post his examiner's comments for comparison:

A2 - Technical delivery was rather cautious but rhythmic outlines were correct and some dynamic contrast explored (23/30)
B2 - Tone was much warmer here and hands well balanced to project the melodic lines with musical shape and dynamics were graded elegantly (27/30)
C2 - You chose a careful tempo for this piece - dynamics were good and you captured something of the character. Just a little unease towards the end. (23/30)

DS was annoyed about the last piece as it was by far his best but he played it at the speed his teacher told him to and the examiner felt it should have been faster.

He also got 17/21 for scales - "scales were well-known and had generally good coordination and musical intention. Arpeggios were delicately played but all nicely secure".

15/21 for sightreading - "key was identified and there was some correct reading of notes although it felt rather timid"

18/18 for Aural

Total 123/150.

DS's piano teacher says she puts them in for grades when she feels they should comfortably get 125 so if they have an off day they should still pass and if they have a good day they should get a distinction.

Pieces are open to criticism over interpretation. Scales and arpeggios aren't. There isn't really any excuse for not drilling these until they're really secure, and played at a cracking speed. Aim for full marks, allow a couple to slip due to exam nerves. But only a couple!

Sight-reading seems weak. Is it presented as a minor part of the weekly lesson, or is it a way of life? Are there song books etc. on your piano, with the expectation that a new one will be tried every day? The best way to get good at sight reading is to HAVE to do it - the second best is to PRETEND you have to!

What about aural? Unless this comes naturally, it needs to be another every-day thing. Can you help your daughter with this? Beat time to music on the radio? Play the "I sing a tune, you sing it back" game?

I agree completely about regular routine with sight reading and so on.
ds2's sight reading was a weak point, so we got the Harris books and he's been doing just 3 pieces a day (after his scales as part of his regular practice). He's been doing this for just a month and his sight reading has improved immensely already, certainly up a grade level. And it's just incorporated into his daily routine.