Is your student ready for their dance exam?
From assessing student readiness to planning filming day, this practical guide supports Rambert Grades Trained Teachers through every stage of the examination process.
Dance exams should celebrate a student's development, recognise their progress, and provide an opportunity to demonstrate their learning with confidence. Understanding when a student is ready to take their examination is one of the most important decisions a teacher can make.
When preparing to register your students for exams, take a moment to reflect on their journey and ask yourself these key questions:
What has their process been like throughout learning the material?
Consider how the student has engaged with the learning process over time. Have they trained consistently, responded to feedback, and shown commitment to developing their skills? Students who approach their training with curiosity, resilience and a willingness to improve are often well prepared for an examination.
It's also important to think about progression. Examinations are not simply about gaining a qualification; they mark a student's readiness to move on to the next stage of their learning.
Are they meeting the intention of each exercise?
Each exercise within the syllabus has a specific purpose. Consider whether the student is simply reproducing the choreography, or whether they understand and communicate the intention behind the movement.
Every student may do this differently, and Rambert Grades examinations are designed to celebrate that individuality.
Are they embodying the material fully, with genuine understanding?
Examiners are looking for more than accurate replication of movement. Students should demonstrate ownership of the material, showing focus, intention and an understanding of what they are communicating through their dancing.
Consider how you can support students to move beyond remembering steps and towards engaging meaningfully with the work.
Do they meet the assessment criteria set out for their level?
The assessment criteria provide a clear framework for what is expected at each stage of the syllabus and can help you make an informed decision about readiness.
Remember that examinations are designed to support progression, rather than perfection. Every student is different, and confidence develops over time.
A Holistic View of Readiness
Ultimately, examination readiness is about the whole student. Technical ability is important, but so too are confidence, understanding, engagement and enjoyment.
Rather than viewing the examination as the end of a process, consider it an exciting milestone that celebrates progress and marks a student's readiness to begin the next grade.
Tools you can refer to
You can also return to the relevant specification for your students' grade, which outlines the grade descriptors and benchmarks for each level:
• Creative Movers Specification: Download PDF
• Pre-Primary and Primary Specification: Download PDF
• Level 1 Specification: Download PDF
• Level 2 Specification: Download PDF
• Level 3 Specification: Download PDF
Pre-assessing your students using the levels of attainment in the Teacher’s Handbook can also be very helpful.
Our online library of syllabus videos is available in the members area. Do bear in mind that the students in these films are pre-professional, so please be mindful not to compare with your own students.
