The Case Against Testing Young Ballet Students in Your Ballet Curriculum

Q: Why are there no "expectations to advance to the next level" included in the Beginning Division curriculum?

A: In the Beginning Division of the Geeky Ballerina curriculum, all children advance to the next level unless there is a significant developmental delay. This is by design and based on extensive research into early childhood development.

The key principle for the Beginning Division is developing joy in movement. Ballet class should be a place where children experience happiness and success as they explore moving their body in new ways. Introducing "pass/fail" concepts at this young age undermines our foundation of joy, confidence, and creative exploration.

Here's one key research element that guides this approach: The vocabulary, gross motor skills, and spatial concepts in the Beginning Division are based on age-appropriate developmental expectations. All typically-developing students will progress in these skills naturally through quality instruction and time.

My curriculum also addresses the Relative Age Effect (birthday bias). When you have a four-year-old who just turned four and another who's been four for almost a year, they're in very different developmental phases. The older child will have more attention control, better coordination, and more body strength - but this is development, not talent. This advantage can persist for years if we're not intentional about our evaluation approaches.

The Beginning Division handles this through thoughtful age grouping and developmental understanding, but evaluation approaches evolve significantly as students progress through Elementary, Intermediate, and Advanced Divisions. Each level requires different considerations for assessment, individual support, and advancement decisions.

This developmental approach is built into my Beginning Division and guides evaluation decisions throughout all curriculum levels. Each division includes the research-based rationale for age-appropriate progression decisions.

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