Assessment / Examination

A specific entrance exam for Music teacher training is not allowed at Spanish universities. Candidates are only required to pass the general university entrance examination. As such, it is impossible to test knowledge of music, musical abilities or pedagogical attitudes in advance of the course. Many candidates who obtain a place at university but have never sung or played an instrument. Conversely, in the first semester there are students who simultaneously study one or more instruments at the Conservatory (“Conservatorio de Música”) and some of them even at the Music High School (“Conservatorio Superior de Música”).

Students’ progress is assessed in each field mainly through examinations. Criteria for assessment are developed inside the course separately for every particular seminar. In some cases lectures negotiate with their students the form of the exam, especially in those subjects that are more theoretical but in the most part of the cases the subject determines the form of the exam (written, practical, oral, aural, combined exam etc). Teaching competence is assessed both by lectures and by school teachers.

There is no final examination at the end of the six semester course. A student is considered “competent for teaching”, when he or she has passed every examination set. This means that graduates who find a vacancy can immediately get a job in a private school. Those who wish to work in a public school have to pass a central examination (“oposición”) in one of the Autonomous Communities. These competitive exams or “oposiciones” are usually announced every two years. After a student passes the exam, they must work for one year as a trainee teacher and after an assessment by the local administration they acquire the status of civil servant.