QUOTE(Car Expert @ Oct 19 2007, 05:49 PM)
When Jo.clarinet (my previous teacher) marked one of my Grade 4 theory papers and noticed I got a couple of notes in one of the scales wrong, she gave me no marks, whereas my new teacher gave me three marks out of five for the same criteria.
I don't believe in encouraging my pupils to think that they can get away with theory work that is only approximately right. I was at an AB seminar some years ago where in the 'questions and answers' session at the end, someone asked something similar - I think it was along the lines of how many marks would be lost if in writing out an Eb major scale the candidate forgot to put the flat by the final E. The official reply then was that the candidate would get no marks at all, because what they had written was NOT an Eb major scale. If that system has changed now, it is not for the better, I think!
My system generally is to mark the papers rather harshly and not make allowances. For example, with the little ones who tend to be untidy with their note-writing, overlapping lines/spaces, writing them in uneven sizes etc, I knock off lots of marks - they VERY quickly get the message and begin to take much more care, because they are always wanting to improve on their score from the previous paper. I feel that this is much more beneficial to the pupils than allowing them to continue working in a sloppy manner by being over-generous.
I have to say that three marks out of five for a scale with a quarter of the notes wrong seems far too generous to me!
