National Music Certificate Program.(Pedagogy Friday: Exploring Evaluation and Assessment)

Amy Rose Immerman and Sheila Vail from Cincinnati, Ohio, gave a comprehensive overview of the National Music Certificate Program (NMCP). This Certificate Program has been in effect in the United States for several years and is based on the curriculum of The Royal Conservatory of Music. The program consists of 11 grades of music evaluation in mostly piano and theory subjects, although the evaluation of other instruments may be arranged. Successful candidates receive internationally recognized certificates for levels achieved up to Grade 10 and the Associateship of the Conservatory of Toronto (ARCT) Diploma for Grade 11.

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Examinations take place two times per year at more than 80 pre-designated Examination Centers. The National Music Certificate Program has a website, www.nationalmusiccertificate.org, where interested teachers, parents and music students can browse for further information on the materials available and register for examinations.

For those not already familiar with the program formerly called Royal American Conservatory Examinations (RACE), this session introduced a very exciting program that offers great benefits and growth opportunities for both teachers and students. Both clinicians have been offering these certificates to their students since the inception of RACE/NMCP and openly shared their knowledge and ideas to help others take advantage of this wonderful opportunity now available throughout the United States.

This session provided a wealth of information that included the structure of the program and the details of participation from both the teacher's and student's perspective. It included the values and benefits of the program, a complete overview, the exam components, and how to get started. It also reviewed "Practices and Procedures" and an actual Grade 5 "Mock Exam" with sample commentary, typical of what students would receive from an examiner.

The Values and Benefits--Students

Students can flourish in this gently progressing curriculum and enjoy a clearly published path that always commends success. NMCP provides a well-paced, structured curriculum that balances skills and repertoire. It includes a varied selection of repertoire and styles and offers clear benchmarks of progress through periodic examination. One of the most impressive aspects of this program is that it uses professionally trained adjudicators referred to as "examiners." The result is a clear experience of success and accomplishment for both teachers and students.