In Spain the system is a complete mess.  There are constant exams, from
age 5.  The exams are all calculated and correlated and remembered by the
Central System, and the whole thing produces musicians who can do-re-mi up
hill and down but can't draw a sweet sound during a 4-octave scale.  The
Spanish musicians who are really successful are the ones who leave the
country to study, as many many do in Amsterdam, London, Vienna or
whereever, anyplace but here.

The exams are constant.  A student of mine is seemingly endlessly in exams
for his high school as well as the "conservatory" he attends.  All children
here who study music are enrolled in a municipal or regional music school
or conservatory (here conservatory is for kids from age 5 through college)
and they all study sightsinging, history, theory, secondary instruments,
chambermusic, a tremendous amount of course work for a 12-year-old with the
result that they almost never have any time to actually practice their
instruement.

The notable exception to this is the Reina Sofia Conservatory in Madrid.
It operates outside the system, has no exams, and turns out fine, polished,
mature musicians.  There is a fascinating article about Reina Sofia that
appeared a year or so ago in the Strad, written by violist and Madrid
resident John Krakenberger.  It's posted on his site at

   http://www.geocities.com/krakenberger.

As to the specifics of the exams, they are similar in makeup to what Dr.
Rosevear described, with tests three times a year in all subjects, uniform
throughout the country.  This continues until the end of a four-year
college conservatory program.

David Runnion
Mallorca, Spain