In this article, RGT Chief Examiner, Merv Young, explains how examiners assess candidates performances in exams.

As guitar teachers, we are all familiar with the exam system as a means of assessing the progress and development of our pupils and ourselves.

The RGT syllabus and handbooks can provide a solid framework upon which we can plan pupils’ lessons over a term or a year.

The exams themselves can help to develop confidence on the instrument as well as building technical and musical skills – in addition to encouraging some friendly competition between pupils.

Looking at the broader academic system, the higher grades (i.e. grades 6 to 8) attract UCAS points towards university admission and RGT also offers a range of performance and teaching diplomas to enable the professional development of both players and teachers.

This is all background information that we’re familiar with. But what goes on behind the scenes of the exam system and how are the exams themselves assessed and monitored to ensure they are accurate, fair and consistent?

For that matter what does the examiner do, exactly, and who assesses and monitors them?

For further reading on the subject, read the article “How RGT Exams are Quality Controlled.”

The RGT Examiner

It is the candidate who passes or doesn’t pass the exam, not the examiner who passes or doesn’t pass the candidate.

In simple terms, the examiner is an observer in the room when the candidate is performing on the day of his or her exam, and will make a record of the candidate’s performance.

Of course, the examiner will conduct the exam and will guide the candidate through the various sections.

(S)He will also ask questions along the way as required by certain sections of the exam.

However, it is the candidate’s performance on the day of the exam that decides the final mark – the examiner is simply there exams to observe, and comment on, what that performance is like and whether it meets the criteria that have been formulated for that particular grade.

It is the examiner’s role to remain impartial and objective and to comment only on what actually happened in the exam room.

You will not find any examiner’s comments on the exam reports that refer to what the examiner would like to have heard, or what could have been done differently in order to improve the performance – that comes under the teacher’s job description.

In short, it is the candidate who passes or doesn’t pass the exam, not the examiner who passes or doesn’t pass the candidate.

RGT uses a positive marking system, so candidates are awarded marks for what they do correctly – as opposed to being penalised for something that is incorrect.

This can become an important point to remember when a pupil emerges from the exam room and is convinced that they haven’t passed because they know they answered one or two questions incorrectly.

Candidates will often only remember what went wrong during an exam and not all the things that went well.

That is where the examiner’s role comes in – to observe the candidate’s performance objectively.

How RGT Exam Marks Are Awarded

Teachers will find it helpful to study the attainment band descriptions printed in the back of each syllabus.

To enable a decision to be made on how many marks to award for a particular section the examiner will refer to the Attainment Band Descriptions that are published in each syllabus.

For instance the following excerpt relates to the Accompaniment section of the Acoustic guitar Grades 1 to 5:

DISTINCTION (85% – 100%):

• A clear ability to cope well with the technical demands of the music: a good level of accuracy, with fluent chord changes. Ability to correctly interpret the time signature and maintain an even tempo and, as the grades progress, to show effective musical instincts via the use of inventive rhythm playing. Secure clarity. Ability to correctly follow signs within the chord chart, such as dynamics and repeats.

MERIT (75% – 84.5%):

• Able to play fluently and generally continuously, and to cope with the technical demands of the piece. An acceptable standard of clarity. As grades progress the beginnings of inventiveness in rhythmic style should become evident.

PASS (65% – 74.5%):

• Fairly accurate, reasonably fluent and continuous, but occasionally hesitant. Clarity of a generally acceptable standard. Limited interpretation and inventiveness.

BELOW PASS – UPPER LEVEL (55% – 64.5%):

• A discontinuity in the performance, accompanied by inaccuracies in chords and lapses in following the chord chart. Clarity and invention very limited. Nevertheless, some signs that technical command is potentially attainable.

BELOW PASS – LOWER LEVEL (below 55%):

• Inaccuracies proportionately greater than correct playing, and a lack of continuity which jeopardises the sense of performance. Lack of clarity and invention.

Although this particular section of the syllabus might not leap off the page as being particularly exciting reading, it is well worth studying as a teacher because it provides an insight into what the examiner will be utilising as part of the assessment process.

As these attainment band descriptions may refer to a number of different grades (the above example covers grades 1 to 5) the examiners are thoroughly trained to be aware of what to expect from the candidate’s performance in each individual section of the exam.

For instance, you might expect a candidate strumming a chord sequence in the Rhythm Playing component of the Grade 1 Electric Guitar exam to play a rhythm such as:

Whereas at Grade 3 or 4 the following strumming pattern might be more appropriate for the level of fluency expected at this grade:

A Grade 3 candidate who performs the rhythm playing section with a strumming pattern more suitable for Grade 1 should expect to have this reflected in the mark awarded for this section.

This is something the examiner will be looking out and listening for, and will comment on in the report if it arises.

Similarly, in the lead playing section, the examiner would not expect a Grade 1 candidate to be playing effective musical phrases with the same degree of fluency and confidence as a candidate performing at Grade 4 or 5.

RGT Exam Consistency

RGT goes to great efforts to ensure that marking is reliable and consistent

By examiners adhering to the assessment criteria and drawing on their training and experience in awareness of the specific requirements of each grade, RGT can ensure that the marking is consistent.

We can confidently state that two different examiners assessing the performance of the same candidate at the same time would award almost exactly the same mark, if not exactly the same mark.

We know this as a fact because we undertake mock exam scenarios at training sessions to monitor this. In addition senior examiners from either the RGT or from LCM Examinations will periodically review the examiners themselves to ensure their marking and assessment remains consistent.

In order to further safeguard this consistency of marking, we monitor and log all the marks awarded at each exam centre, as well as the marks that are awarded by each examiner.

This gives us a record over time of what the average mark is at every exam centre. If a situation arises where an examiner’s average mark at a particular exam centre varies significantly from the historical average at that centre then this will be looked into.

Of course this doesn’t mean at all that anything has gone wrong; by their definition averages must include higher and lower marks.

However, it demonstrates the monitoring that we undertake to ensure the consistency and fairness of marking.

The RGT is very proud of the consistency and accuracy of our examiners’ assessment and marking.

As teachers sending your pupils into the exam room you have every right to expect that they will be assessed fairly, accurately and consistently – and as Chief Examiner I can give you my reassurance that in RGT exams they always will be.

Entering Exams Online

Teachers are encouraged to enter their students for their exams via the RGT website.

Simply log-in to Members Area then click ‘Online Exam Entry’ (left-hand menu) where full instructions are provided.

If your students have entered RGT exams before and listed you as their tutor, then all their details will already be inputted and you need only provide the online entry code from your student’s handbook and a few other details to very quickly complete their entries.

Entering your students online is the quickest way of submitting exam entries, plus you can also view any entries made by students themselves where they have indicated you are their tutor.

You’ll also be able to see a list of all your students’ exam entries, appointment letters and often access a location map showing the exam venue.

Of course, if you still prefer to gather together all your students’ entry forms and send them in by post with a cheque, that is fine.

Do you have any questions about how RGT Exams are marked or assessed? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.