What Went Wrong at the SCTMA Pre-College Auditions? (Music Teachers National Association)

South Carolina piano teachers noticed a change in the way music performance evaluations were conducted during the 23-24 Music Teachers National Association season in the State Pre-College auditions for South Carolina. And they were not happy.

I received texts and emails from other piano teachers after last season's State evaluations for piano students. I tried to determine:  What was happening? Why were we not seeing evaluations or ratings? Typically, teachers would receive their student assessments within a week of the event. But there was no communication from the state level for weeks. The district director could not find any answers either. Was it worth it to continue in this organization's events? 

Judges typically give very thorough evaluations that touch on many elements which help the teacher and encourage the student to improve their playing going forward. For the upper levels we found this to be generally true - when the evaluations did finally arrive. It seemed that the upper level judges were honestly evaluating students and also scouting for students who might attend their music college in the future.  These upper level judges also took extra time to talk with the students during their evaluations.

However, the lower level evaluation sheets were sparse. Sheets came back without any actual evaluations only single statements like, "Great Job, enjoyed your playing!" "You looked so professional, thanks for playing." These types of comments are nice to end an assessment with, but they are not evaluations and, they don't help anyone. The teachers began to question the competency of the judges being hired for the lower levels. These vague evaluations were also a concern for some of the parents who drove their children long distances for the state event.

There were issues with reported grades that were emailed to teachers, verses the actual grades received on the evaluation forms. Initially, this past season, teachers were only given the rating grade for their students without being able to see the evaluations. This has never happened before and there was concern that the evaluations had been lost. When the evaluations finally arrived weeks later, teachers found that the ratings were not consistent with the actual rating given by the judges. Imagine having to tell children they didn't actually receive the mark that had been reported.

Despite the disappointment of the 23-24 season we hope for the best as we enter this 24-25 season. I am satisfied that our district director brought these issues to light with the state, and possibly, national organization. And I trust that our concerns have been ironed out. MTNA has always been a well respected organization for music teachers and students and we are all hoping this past season is a one-off that South Carolina won't see again.