Talking about Achievement
By Shirlee Whitcomb

It’s tough to talk about achievement when the students lack training and/or when their achievement is marginal or non-existent. It’s also a challenge to make sure your commentary is of scoring significance. Below are some suggested ways in which you migh discuss achievement on your tapes. Of course, commentary can be done in many alternative ways. These are merely possible examples.

1. The guard is significantly weak, training is not apparent = Achievement is impaired due to an apparent lack of training. Or, Achievement would definitely grow if training and accuracy were demonstrated more. Or, Achievement issues suggest a concern about the students’ general compatibility to the program.
2. The guard is inconsistent in terms of the training and excellence from member to member = There is an inconsistent degree of achievement; some performers are fairly strong and others definitely not up to that level.
3. The guard shows moderate training but seems to be suffering from “errors” = Achievement from a training perspective is moderate and growing; work on individual errors to enrich this area.
4. Portions of the show are well achieved while other portions are still weak = There are sporadic moments of achievement that show real promise; work for a consistent demonstration of skills throughout. Your training should support this development.
5. Vocabulary/Composition surpasses the student’s ability to achieve = Students are struggling to achieve the material you have written. Training is recognizable up to a point but doesn’t yet seem to support the vocabulary/composition.
6. The guard seems to be right on target in performing what they have been given = Good achievement overall, performers’ training definitely seems to be compatable to the vocabulary/composition.
7. The guard, while technically sound, is lacking in expressive qualities = While achievement is impressive at a technical level, the students seem to lack the awareness of expressive opportunities. Overall achievement will be enriched when they demonstrate expressive qualities.
8. The guard is excellent and surpasses the written vocabulary/composition = Impressive and consistent achievement throughout supports strong training both technically and expressively. Full achievement offers you the opportunity to enrich the vocabulary should that be appropriate.

These are only examples of how you might verbalize observations pertaining to achievement. They are positive in nature and offer solutions while giving qualifying significance relative to scoring. It might help if you added to this list enhancing your own verbal skills in discussing achievement.