Although it isn't feasible, it would be interesting and revealing to go through school having a panel of three teachers, instead of just one, determining a student's grade in each class. After all, teachers differ on expectations and grading scales; a variety of perspectives would likely lead to more accurate assessments of students' work.
When I was in school, each St. Louis high school with an orchestra would take part in an annual festival. Each orchestra would play before a panel of three judges, who were usually college music instructors. None of the judges could see the other judges' grades or comments during the performance. I thought that routine kept things honest and revealed how much of a difference each judge had in his or her expectations and grading scale. This was especially clear to me when my high school orchestra received an A- for intonation from one judge, a B+ from another instructor, and a C from the third judge. The difference between an A- and a B+ can be explained by one judge having slightly higher standards or hearing a few more miscues than another. The gulf between an A- and a C, however, is substantial. It was interesting to me that when determining something as basic as how in tune the orchestra was, one judge heard it as excellent, another judge thought it was close to excellent, and the third judge thought it was only average.
When I heard the tape of our orchestra's performance, I thought our group deserved a B for intonation. I'd like to think I had an accurate read on the performance, as a B was the average of the judges' grades. (Admittedly, our school, unlike others, was helped, in part, by our director accompanying us on piano.)
It might be more intimidating to hear, in each class, "These are your three teachers for the semester--Ms. Adams, Mr. Jones, and Mr. Smith." Still, I think that students' grades would be more accurate under such a system.
