Grading music objectively

[And I]

Hi,

Can anyone speak to how college level music professors grade student musicians? I mean sure, tests with right and wrong answers... But are students graded as players versus their potential in the eyes of the professor? Versus some objective set of measures? Some combination of these? Or am I just way off? I'm asking out of pure curiosity; I'm not a student.

Thanks

 

[AGCurry]

If the student is in a performance class, grades are, and should be, based primarily on performance. Potential is irrelevant. I'm sure effort is taken into account, particularly if performance suffers from a lack thereof. A student with more talent may "beat" the less-talented student regardless of effort. It's like athletics... not "fair," exactly, but it is what it is.

In classes like harmony and theory, grading is usually done through tests and homework projects, where there's a greater degree of objectivity.