Grading

Concepts and Skills
	The following concepts and skills are stressed in all band classes:
		Performance skills, including tone, intonation, articulation, phrasing, expression, rhythmic authority, dynamics, accents, tempo, balance/blend, accuracy
		Music notation reading and understanding
		Music highlighting
		Posture and instrument position
		Understanding instrument care
		Specific group performance before an audience and assessment of music performances
		Following conducting cues appropriately
		Understanding musical terms
		Music composition
		Historical and cultural connections
		Monitoring practice

Grade Definitions
		"A" Student :: Consistently demonstrates accurate and complete knowledge of content and skills specified above; applies that knowledge to solve problems in a variety of settings.
		"B+" Student :: Regularly demonstrates accurate knowledge of content and skills specified above, with minor needed improvement; applies that knowledge to solve problems in a variety of settings.
		"B" Student :: Demonstrates knowledge of content and skills specified above, with some improvement needed in accuracy and/or consistency in performance; applies that knowledge to solve problems in a variety of settings.
		"C+" Student :: Demonstrates knowledge of basic content and skills specified above, but requires additional practice and instructional experiences to refine skills necessary to solve a variety of problems.
		"C" Student :: Demonstrates knowledge of basic content and skills specified above, but requires additional practice and instructional experiences to acquire skills necessary to solve a variety of problems.
		"D+" Student :: Needs additional practice and instructional experiences to acquire the knowledge of and basic content and skills specified above necessary to solve problems. As a final mark, this grade is not necessarily sufficient to meet the prerequisite requirements for the next level in a sequence of courses.
		"D" Student :: Needs significant practice and instructional experiences to acquire the knowledge of basic content and skills specified above necessary to solve problems. As a final mark, this grade is not necessarily sufficient to meet the prerequisite requirements for the next level in a sequence of courses
		"F" Student :: Has not demonstrated the basic knowledge of content and/or skills specified above and requires additional practice and instructional experiences in order to succeed.

Practice Reports
	Students and parents should be aware that practice reports are due to the band teacher on a weekly basis. "Work habits" grades will be determined by the number of practice reports received.

Final Grades
	Final grades are not cumulative, but reflect the student's progress in areas of knowledge and abilities at the end of the school year.

Band Seating
	Students are seated according to their musical and technical proficiency on their instrument. This is done to insure proper blend and balance throughout the ensemble. Seat placement is relative to the abilities of those in the group. (This placement may be referred to as what "chair" a student has, such as, 1st chair, 2nd chair, etc.) Each student is responsible for his or her own performance.

Participation
	Regular participation is a vital part of our program. Participation is a commitment that each individual must make to his/her self and to the organization. Each student is expected to participate in all daily rehearsals, extra rehearsals, and performances. Failure to do so will affect a student's grade.