How I Streamlined Sight-Singing Homework Using Sight Reading Factory’s Auto-Assessment

With Sight Reading Factory’s Auto-Assessment Feature, assigning sight-singing homework has never been easier. I’ve developed a workflow that not only sets students up for success but also dramatically reduces my grading time. For a class of 50+ students, I can now grade in under five minutes! This system gives students room for massive growth while keeping my workload manageable.

While I’ve written about my approach before, I’ve made updates to align with the latest features from Sight Reading Factory (SRF). These updates make things smoother for both students and teachers alike!

Syncing with Google Classroom or Your School’s Student Management System

If your school uses Google Classroom or another student management system, SRF’s grade book can sync directly with it. Once your Google Classroom students are synced with SRF, they’ll appear automatically in your SRF classroom. If you’ve provided SRF codes for your students, syncing is just one click away.

At my school, we use Infinite Campus, which connects to Google Classroom. Here’s how it works:

  1. Students complete their Sight Reading Factory assignments.
  2. I hit the sync button, and the assignments are transferred to Google Classroom.
  3. From Google Classroom, I hit the sync button again to transfer the grades into Infinite Campus.

For those using Schoology or Canvas, you won’t need the extra step with Google Classroom, as SRF connects directly with those platforms.

My Simple Approach to Creating Assignments

I create one sight-reading assignment that works for all of my choral classes (7-8 Chorus, 9-10 Treble Choir, and 9-12 Mixed Choir). The assignment allows students to choose their sight-singing level while keeping the tempo set at 60 bpm and providing specific time signatures and key signatures.

Sight Reading Factory also offers many state’s sight-singing levels and will offer further customization in terms of key signatures and time signatures based on those built-in levels.

After creating this one assignment, I duplicate it to make eight total assignments per quarter, each due on a Friday. This gives students plenty of time and opportunity to improve.

Unlimited Attempts = Growth

Students are given unlimited attempts to complete their assignments, allowing them the freedom to improve at their own pace. With the ability to choose their difficulty level and attempt the task as many times as needed, they have a tremendous opportunity for growth.

Now, here’s the kicker: If a student completes 10 attempts, they automatically receive a perfect score, regardless of their actual performance. This motivates students to keep trying and even push themselves to try a more challenging level.

For those who complete fewer than 10 attempts, their grade is tied to the Auto-Assessment feature, which I set to Lenient mode. This gives students a fair chance, even if they struggle.

Save 10% of ALL SIGHT READING FACTORY SUBSCRIPTIONS with checkout code: choralclarity

Grading System

My grading policy is designed to be both lenient and supportive:

  • If students score 76% or higher, they get 100%.
  • If they score 51% to 75%, they receive a 75%.
  • For scores between 26% and 50%, they earn 50%.
  • For scores between 1% and 25%, they get 25%.
  • Late assignments lose 10 points.

 

Speeding Up the Grading Process

Grading sight-singing homework is now incredibly fast with this streamlined approach. Here’s how I do it:

  1. Sync Assignments: On the day grades are due, I sync all the assignments from SRF to Google Classroom, then sync them from Google Classroom to Infinite Campus (or your school’s LMS like Schoology or Canvas).
  2. Review Transferred Grades: Without listening to the assignments, I check the grades that have been synced to Infinite Campus. This gives me an overview of the students’ raw scores before any adjustments.
  3. Adjust Top Scores: For students who scored 76% or higher, I automatically bump their grades to 100%. This step takes about 30 seconds.
  4. Account for 10+ Attempts: Next, I look at SRF’s class view, which shows how many attempts each student has made. If a student has completed 10 or more attempts, I raise their score to 100%. SRF conveniently displays this information on a single screen, so this step takes about a minute.
  5. Round Up Remaining Scores: Finally, I round all remaining scores up to the nearest benchmark: 25%, 50%, or 75%, depending on the students’ original scores. This takes another 30 seconds or so.

In total, this process takes just a couple of minutes, even for a large class, allowing me to focus more on instruction and less on grading.

Save 10% of ALL SIGHT READING FACTORY SUBSCRIPTIONS with checkout code: choralclarity

Do I Listen to Every Assignment?

I only listen to assignments if there’s a specific reason to check in on a student’s progress. The purpose of this homework is growth, not perfection. With unlimited attempts, a self-chosen difficulty level, and the Auto-Assessment feature providing instant feedback, students are getting the guidance they need.

Star-Spangled Banner (SAB –  Unaccompanied) – Easy to learn, download now, full sound, rehearsal tracks available!

Star-Spangled Banner (SSA – Unaccompanied) – Easy to learn, download now, full sound, rehearsal track available!

Final Thoughts

For those concerned about grading based on effort or students potentially gaming the system, remember: it’s just homework. The goal is to support our curriculum and foster growth, not to catch students making mistakes. By focusing on effort and improvement, we can encourage our students to challenge themselves and improve their sight-singing skills in a stress-free way.

 

One final note: Choral Clarity is proud to be an affiliate of Sight Reading Factory. If you decide to purchase a subscription—whether it’s for yourself or for your entire student body—using the code “ChoralClarity,” you’ll receive a 10% discount. Plus, your purchase helps support Choral Clarity at no additional cost to you!