Classroom Assessment Grading That Work

Robert J. Marzano distills 35 years of research to bring you expert advice on the best practices for assessing and grading the work done by today's students.

Robert J. Marzano distills 35 years of research to bring you expert advice on the best practices for assessing and grading the work done by today's students.

Learn everything you need to know to implement an integrated system of assessment and grading. The author details the specific benefits of formative assessment and explains how to design and interpret three different types of formative assessments, how to track student progress, and how to assign meaningful grades. Detailed examples bring each concept to life, and chapter exercises reinforce the content.

Research shows that the quality of feedback is one of the most important factors in improving student learning. Elements of Grading addresses problems with the primary source of feedback: grades. Learn several strategies for reforming grading policy, while examining the common arguments against reform. With this practical guide, you can improve grading to meet four essential criteria-accuracy, fairness, specificity, timeliness-and also make the grading process quicker and more efficient. The book does not offer an ultimate answer or perfect system but shows how to begin a constructive, evidence-based conversation about improving grading systems. Dr. Reeves analyzes the main features of the grading systems many schools use today (such as the 100-point system and the policy of giving points for missed work) and evaluates each of them by his four criteria. He challenges and inspires readers in this comprehensive reevaluation of what grades are, why we use them, and whom they benefit.

Classroom Assessment in Action clarifies the multi-faceted roles of measurement and assessment and their applications in a classroom setting. Comprehensive in scope, Shermis and Di Vesta explain basic measurement concepts and show students how to interpret the results of standardized tests. From these basic concepts, the authors then provide clear and ordered discussions of how assessment and instruction is integrated into a functional process to enhance student learning. Guidelines are set forth for constructing various common assessments. Procedures are laid out to evaluate and improve assessments once they are constructed. Ultimately, the authors shed light on the myriad of factors that impact test score interpretation. In today's classroom, technology has become a constant companion, and Classroom Assessment in Action exposes teacher candidates to emerging technologies they might encounter in building their repertoire of assessments, whether it be automated essay scoring or electronic portfolios. Classroom Assessment in Action guides its readers to a complete and thorough understanding of assessment and measurement so that they can confidently work with students and parents in explaining results, whether they are from a high-stakes statewide assessment or the grading philosophy to which they ascribe.

Using clear explanations and cases, this must-have resource shows how formative assessment can improve student learning. Included are lesson plans and ideas for easy implementation.

Robert Marzano provides a thorough discussion of what grades are for, what they should include, and how to compute final scores that accurately reflect student learning.

The moment is right for critical reflection on what has been assumed to be a core part of schooling. In Ungrading, fifteen educators write about their diverse experiences going gradeless. Some contributors are new to the practice and some have been engaging in it for decades. Some are in humanities and social sciences, some in STEM fields. Some are in higher education, but some are the K-12 pioneers who led the way. Based on rigorous and replicated research, this is the first book to show why and how faculty who wish to focus on learning, rather than sorting or judging, might proceed. It includes honest reflection on what makes ungrading challenging, and testimonials about what makes it transformative. CONTRIBUTORS: Aaron Blackwelder Susan D. Blum Arthur Chiaravalli Gary Chu Cathy N. Davidson Laura Gibbs Christina Katopodis Joy Kirr Alfie Kohn Christopher Riesbeck Starr Sackstein Marcus Schultz-Bergin Clarissa Sorensen-Unruh Jesse Stommel John Warner