Classroom Assessment and Grading That Work

In Classroom Assessment and Grading That Work , Robert J. Marzano provides an in-depth exploration of what he calls "one of the most powerful weapons in a teacher's arsenal." An effective standards-based, formative assessment program can help to dramatically enhance student achievement throughout the K-12 system, Marzano says. Drawing from his own and others' extensive research, the author provides comprehensive answers to questions such as these: *What are the characteristics of an effective assessment program? * How can educators use national and state standards documents as a basis for creating a comprehensive, topic-based assessment system? * What types of assessment items and tasks are best suited to measuring student progress in mastering information, mental procedures, and psychomotor procedures? * Why does the traditional point system used for scoring often lead to incorrect conclusions about a student’s actual knowledge? * What types of scoring and final grading systems provide the most accurate portrayal of a student’s progress along a continuum of learning? In addition to providing teachers with all the tools they need to create a better assessment system, Classroom Assessment and Grading That Work makes a compelling case for the potential of such a system to transform the culture of schools and districts, and to propel K–12 education to new levels of effectiveness and efficiency. If you've ever questioned the logic of reducing a student's entire academic performance to a single test score or a vague letter grade, then here's a book that will revolutionize the way you think about assessment and grading. Drawing from years of in-depth research, Robert J. Marzano provides you with guidelines and steps for designing a comprehensive assessment program that ensures assessments and grades lead to timely, accurate feedback on specific, standards-based learning goals. Discover how classroom assessments--from quizzes and projects to term papers and tests--provide your school with the most powerful tool to boost achievement. Learn why point systems and score averaging are ineffective ways to grade students' progress. And get clear advice on how to immediately create better assessments for a single classroom or an entire system: (1) Basic types of subject matter knowledge that need to be measured; (2) A three-step way to condense the huge amount of content in subject-area standards into small groups of measurement topics; (3) Five formats for assessment items and tasks and when to use each; (4) Two accurate ways to estimate a student's true score at the end of a grading period; (5) The ideal grade book for teachers to use to track academic progress; (6) Types of assessments and assessment techniques that encourage students to learn; (7) Report card formats that integrate useful feedback on learning with a traditional letter grade; (8) Best types of computer software for creating and managing formative assessments; and (9) A three-phase approach to changing reporting systems to more accurately reflect student progress in learning Improving the academic achievement of K-12 students has been a central concern of educators in the US since the early 1890s. Virtually every study that has examined the role of the classroom teacher in the process of educating students has come to the same conclusion: an effective teacher enhances student learning more than any other aspect of schooling. This text provides classroom teachers with their most powerful weapon in educating children--understanding a standards-based, formative assessment program that actually makes sense. The author takes practical classroom situations for assessment and turns them into dynamic tools for reporting a student's actual learning 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