Submitted by Sandra, Illinois
Idea posted April 11, 2002
My fourth grade classes have about 17 students. It really didn't take too long to do the testing, because once the student missed a single note, s/he had to stop and try again at a later date.
I also watched fingerings as the students were playing, then selected the kids who had been fingering accurately during group time. I would let two or three students play for me as the class was leaving - especially a student who was extremely shy in front of peers.
Occasionally, I would have to tell a student that we were out of time, but I would promise to audition him first at the next class. They never really complained about that.