Achievement Day

Celebrate Growth, Creativity, and Musical Milestones!

Achievement Day is a fun, supportive event where students can share their music, explore new skills, and be recognized for their progress.

With performance, creative options, and thoughtful feedback—not competition—it's all about growing as a musician and celebrating every step of the journey.

• Event date: Decided by each Local Association

• Location: Decided by Local Associations

• Application deadline: Determined by Local Associations

• State Chair: Jill Ice

Achievement Day is a non-competitive student event run by CSMTA local associations in Colorado, following guidelines created at the state level.

Statewide each year, well over 1000 students are involved with their local Achievement Day event.

Each student performs privately for a listener who evaluates the level of certificate to be earned. Guidelines for certificate levels and music-related options, including written and aural tests, are found in the CSMTA Student Achievement Day Comprehensive Guidelines. These guidelines also explain how students may receive the status of “Super Achiever” by completing additional requirements.

Local Associations may offer additional unique programs during these events including: master classes, project displays, games, T-shirt design, recitals, scavenger hunts, music technology labs, and more!

Documents, practice tests and guidelines

  • The CSMTA Achievement Day Guidelines, Documents and  Practice Materials by CSMTA is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

    Based on a work at http://comusicteachers.net/

    Under this License:

    You are free to: share — to copy, distribute and transmit the work under the following conditions:

    • Attribution — You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).





    • Noncommercial — You may not use this work for commercial purposes.

    • No Derivative Works — You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work.

  • Comprehensive guidelines contain a description, resources and guidelines for the whole event

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Achievement Day is a non-competitive student event run by Local Associations in Colorado, following guidelines created at the State level.

    Most Local Associations in Colorado offer Achievement Day at different times of the year. 

    During Achievement Day, students are asked to perform two pieces in front of an adjudicator who writes comments. Additionally, students are required to complete a minimum of two additional "options." Options include theory, signs & terms, history, scales, arpeggios, chords, sight-reading, written projects, art projects, etc.

    Participating students receive a Certificate of Completion signed by the CSMTA President.

  • The Achievement Day event is offered and run by Local Associations following State guidelines. Contact your Local Association for information on date, deadlines, fees and other requirements.

  • Contact your Local Association for information on dates, deadlines, fees and other requirements.

  • Anyone! If your Local Association offers A-Day, contact them for information. If your Local Association does not offer Achievement Day or if you are not a CSMTA members, contact another Local Association to find out if they allow non-members to participate.

  • All instruments and voice are welcome to participate. The 2012 revisions contain theory and signs & terms tests for grand staff, and treble clef instruments.

  • Download the Comprehensive Guidelines (link above) first. This document contains a detailed description of the event and all the options. This document will help you choose the right options for your students, and determine their level.

    After choosing options and determining levels, if you want your students to do the theory, signs & terms or history options, you need to download one of the practice test sets (links below) and the answer sheets. You are free to use those practice tests however you want, and to photocopy them for all your students.

  • The actual tests given during the event are very similar to the practice tests available below. The actual tests are not publicly available.

  • No. Students are free to enter in one level of repertoire, and a completely different level for the options. Options levels do not themselves need to correspond to each other.

  • Yes, students can enter at the same level as many times as they want.

  • Absolutely. These tests are open to the public.

  • The CSMTA Achievement Day Guidelines, Documents and  Practice Materials by CSMTA is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at http://comusicteachers.com.

    You are free to: share — to copy, distribute and transmit the work

    Under the following conditions:

    • Attribution — You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).





    • Noncommercial — You may not use this work for commercial purposes.

    • No Derivative Works — You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work.

Theory Practice Tests + Answer Sheets