The 5-Minute Piano Report Card Tool

As we approach the end of the teaching year, your schedule is going to get busier and busier.

For the next few months, you’ll continue to teach piano lessons while also preparing for recitals, prepping for exams, and re-registering students.

And then there are piano report cards.

Next to your piano recital, these assessments are your most important end-of-year tasks.

While your final piano recital is a wonderful opportunity to showcase your students’ hard work, they don’t always go as planned.

Because of this, it is important that piano parents receive written reports on student progress, rather than relying solely on nerve-filled performances as assessments of learning.

While piano report cards sound like a ton of work, in today’s post we’re sharing 18 ready-to-use comment templates that will help you complete a student’s report card in under 5 minutes.

How To Complete Your End-Of-Year Piano Report Cards

A few years ago, Andrea and I shared report card templates that teachers could use to create assessments for students when the teaching year was half over.

Teachers raved about the assessments and the feedback received from parents upon receiving their children’s report cards.

We have adapted those original templates so that they now work for end-of-year report cards and are sharing them below. In addition, we have added a “Final Comments” section.

Each category below contains three comments to choose from: a comment for kids who need improvement, a comment for kids working “at level”, and a comment for kids who are exceeding expectations.

To complete a piano student report card in under 5 minutes, choose one comment from each category below, insert the student’s name, type it into an email (or put it on paper if you wish to be more formal) and press send!

Reading Music:

1. (Student’s Name) has worked very hard this year to improve her note reading. As she continues to practice this skill, her ability to name notes will improve and have a positive effect on her fluency. (Student’s Name) is gaining confidence when sight-reading and is learning to use cues in her music to decode notes that she doesn’t immediately recognize.

2. (Student’s Name) has greatly improved her note reading this year. She quickly names notes without difficulty, uses cues in her music to decode notes that she doesn’t immediately recognize, and is improving her intervallic reading to aid in developing fluency. (Student’s Name) has gained a lot of confidence in her note-reading skills and really enjoys the note-reading activities we do in lessons.

3. (Student’s Name) has developed superb note-reading abilities this term. She is now able to approach her pieces with confidence and accuracy, and her sight-reading skills have really blossomed. As (Student’s Name) note reading skills have matured, she has found the confidence to explore new pieces with less assistance than previously required.

Practice Habits:

1. (Student’s Name) has found ways to fit regular home practice time into his schedule. It is lovely to see how confident he is in lessons after a week when he has spent time at the piano at home. Thank you for your support in assisting him to create a practice routine; it makes such a difference to our lesson time when he is feeling prepared!

2. (Student’s Name) settled into a regular practice routine at home and his progress has greatly improved because of this. He is regularly prepared for his lessons and is eager to show me what he has accomplished at home. (Student’s Name) has found effective ways of working through difficulties he encounters when practicing, and consistently uses effective strategies to manage his own learning.

3. (Student’s Name) has consistently maintained a regular practice schedule and is enjoying steady progress as a result. He is always prepared for his lessons, uses effective strategies at home to work through difficulties, and often goes above and beyond expectations for his assigned tasks.

Musicality:

1. (Student’s Name) has developed a nice sense of musicality in her playing and often adds the “extras” that make her pieces pleasing to play and to hear. She works hard to remember to include articulation, phrasing, and dynamics.

2. (Student’s Name) has developed a lovely sense of musicality in her playing. She includes articulation, phrasing, and dynamics each time she plays her pieces and has learned to “tell a story” with the creative choices she makes during each piece. She is interested in a wide variety of musical styles and approaches each one with careful attention to detail.

3. (Student’s Name) has developed a mature sense of musicality in her playing. She reliably includes articulation, phrasing, and dynamics every time she plays her pieces and effectively “tells a story” with the creative choices she makes. She has worked hard to explore a variety of musical styles and is able to adapt her approach to each; resulting in a captivating performance.

Rhythm:

1. (Student’s Name) has a good understanding of rhythmic note values and rest values and is working to incorporate this knowledge into each piece he encounters. He works hard to maintain a steady tempo each time he plays his pieces, and his rhythmic accuracy improves with every lesson.

2. (Student’s Name) has a good understanding of rhythmic note values and rest values and reliably incorporates this knowledge into each piece he encounters. He is able to maintain a steady tempo each time he plays his pieces and is rhythmically accurate.

3. (Student’s Name) has a superb understanding of rhythmic note values and rest values and reliably incorporates this knowledge into each piece he encounters with minimal assistance. He maintains a steady tempo each time he plays his pieces and is rhythmically accurate.

Piano Technique

1. (Student’s Name) has worked hard to find a natural hand shape on the piano and has made great strides in developing finger strength. She remembers to use the correct posture when playing the piano both in lessons and at home.

2. (Student’s Name) has developed a natural hand shape on the piano and her finger strength and flexibility have greatly improved. She always remembers to use the correct posture when playing the piano both in lessons and at home. She pays attention to detail in her pieces and is quick to make adjustments when asked.

3. (Student’s Name) has developed a beautiful, natural hand shape on the piano and her finger strength and flexibility are top-notch. She has a lovely posture on the piano and she plays with a great deal of maturity. She is able to self-assess when it comes to her playing and can identify areas that need more practice.

Music Theory:

1. (Student’s Name) has learned a wide variety of theory concepts this term and is usually able to apply this theory knowledge when it comes time to work on his repertoire. He is enthusiastic about learning new things and loves to use game-based learning to practice these concepts. Continued practice at home will provide him with the repetition he needs to solidify his understanding.

2. (Student’s Name) has learned a wide variety of theory concepts this term and applies this knowledge when it comes time to work on his repertoire. He is enthusiastic about learning new things and loves to use game-based learning to practice these concepts. (Student’s Name) learns new concepts quickly and his commitment to practicing these concepts at home has resulted in an excellent understanding of the theory at his level.

3. (Student’s Name) has learned a wide variety of theory concepts this year and easily applies this knowledge when it comes time to work on his repertoire. He is enthusiastic about learning new things and loves to use game-based learning to practice these concepts. (Student’s Name) easily grasps upper-level theory concepts and is able to learn new pieces more quickly as a result.

Final Comments:

1. (Student’s Name) has been an absolute delight to teach this year. She navigated online lessons with grace and has developed some high-level learning strategies as a result. (Student’s Name) quickly learned to take ownership over her own materials and home practice this year; she became much more organized and was able to set goals and achieve them. (Student’s Name) progress has been impressive – she’s brought a large amount of repertoire to performance standard and is adding wonderful expression to her playing. Her technique has really improved this year due to her diligent practice. Well done, (Student’s Name)!

2. (Student’s Name) has been a “star student” this year. His note reading and rhythm skills have improved in leaps and bounds and he is becoming a very confident pianist. (Student’s Name) listens carefully in lessons, asks relevant questions, welcomes challenges, and practices effectively. He was able to accomplish a great deal this year and I’ve really enjoyed watching his musicality blossom. Wonderful work this year, (Student’s Name)!

3. (Student’s Name) has had a very successful year of piano lessons! Her excitement as she moves beyond beginning repertoire is a delight to witness. She takes her lessons and her practice very seriously, but also has a wonderful sense of humor. She loves to play piano games, learns new concepts quickly, and applies this new knowledge to her music consistently. (Student’s Name) progress has been consistent all year. Continued practice during the summer months will ensure that all of the gains she’s made are retained. Congratulations, (Student’s Name)!

Order Your Summer Workbooks Now!

Summer will sneak up on you, and when it does you will want to make sure you are sending your students off with workbooks that will keep their skills sharp.

Andrea and Trevor Dow’s Piano Student Workbooks are wonderful for summer learning. The short, daily activities will ensure that practice can be squeezed in around swimming and sandcastle building

You can view all of our workbooks here, or click on a cover below to check out a few.

1. Andrea And Trevor Dow’s Timed Note Reading Tests For Piano

“I have personally taught over 10,000 individual lessons from beginners to advanced students and this single resource is a game-changer to help everyone quickly grasp the complexities of staff reading.” ~Amazon Review

Buy Timed Tests, Book 1.

Buy Timed Tests, Book 2.

2. Andrea And Trevor Dow’s Technical Exercises For Note Reading Success

“This book is a game-changer for piano teachers. It is not just full of technical exercises, but it has carefully sequenced note reading exercises designed to boost students’ confidence in music literacy. Self-motivating check-off pages and bonus activities throughout the book make this not only helpful for teachers but fun for students.” ~Amazon Review

Buy Technical Exercises, Book 1.

Buy Technical Exercises, Book 2.