What the "Letter" Means

Grade A

  • A grade of A means that you have met all expectations required of you in class.
  • You have completed all your written and performance assignments to the highest possible level and have completed them on time.
  • You have excelled in all content areas and have showed an extraordinary ability to take risks.
  • You have mastered techniques in all applications.
  • You have also exhibited leadership qualities among your classmates and have continuously gone beyond what is required of you.
  • You exhibit an enormous commitment to the program. 
  • You understand the importance of being a team player. 
  • You approach your work as an artist and are able to execute your art with specificity, creative choice and passion. 
  • You are always fully prepared for class.

Grade B

  • A grade of B means that you have met most of the expectations required of you in class. 
  • You have done above average in all your written and performance assignments and have completed them on time.
  • You have excelled in most content areas and have shown a willingness to take risks.
  • You are beginning to master techniques in most areas of study.
  • You are a strong team player and understand the importance of the ensemble.
  • Though you have done very good work, the program desires you to approach and exhibit your work with a higher level of consistency and excellence.
  • You understand the need for creative choices and specificity in the craft of dancing.
  • You are beginning to apply these concepts actively in performance.
  • You are almost always prepared for class.

Grade C

  • A grade of C means that you have not met most expectations required of you in class.
  • You are capable of bringing more specificity and consistency to all your work.
  • You need to complete your written assignments and hand them in on time.
  • You need to work harder.
  • You lack energy and commitment to the work at hand.
  • You do not yet understand and/or cannot apply techniques into the process and performance of dance performance.
  • Your work is general and lacks focus.
  • You have difficulty working in an ensemble.
  • The program questions whether or not this is the right place for you.
  • You are sometimes, but not often, prepared for class.

Grades D or F

  • A grade of D or F means you have not met almost all (D) or not any (F) of the expectations required of you in class and the faculty recommends you do not return to ECA.

Additional Grading Guidelines

  • A plus or minus will be added to a primary letter grade when appropriate.
  • A plus indicates that you have gone beyond the required criteria listed for a letter grade, but have not yet met all the requirements of the higher letter grade.
  • A minus indicates one of the criteria listed for a letter grade has not yet been met.
  • An A+ indicates that you have surpassed all the criteria for an A letter grade, have exceeded all expectations, have shown an ability to take extraordinary risks and have demonstrated exceptional creative choices through imaginative independent thought.