Dance Teacher Blog: Rubrics for Dance Teachers

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Dance Teacher Blog
Rubrics for Dance Teachers
By Brandy Curry

Remaining objective when grading dance performance is tricky business. You must give an equal opportunity for those dancers not as advanced as other dancers. However, your quiz or assessment must be fair and give students enough feedback so that they may improve whether they are a beginning dancer or an advanced dancer.

I use rubrics for grades K-12, and for all of my quizzes, tests, and of course final examinations.  I even use a rubric for short quizzes on choreography memorization.  I think that participation and memorization are the most important criteria for grading dance.  When my students are are Grades K-3 I adjust the importance of the criteria to attention and follows instructions.  Figure out what your end result is?  Do you want them to improve on vocabulary and terminology, is participation and cooperation your need for assessment?  I enlarge my rubric to 8 x 11 paper or poster size 11x17 and show my students the rubric prior to the test.  When I'm giving a final examination I post it in the classroom a day or two prior to their examination.

RESOURCES FOR RUBRICS
RubiStar 
Teacher Planet

Here is an example of a Rubric you can find at RubiStar.com