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.

• Provides detailed information on · the functions of assessment; · how to construct, administer, and interpret the results of teacher-developed assessment techniques; and · how to interpret the results of externally developed instruments such as standardized tests. • Both traditional and newer, alternative assessment techniques are covered. • Advantages and disadvantages of each assessment technique are discussed. • A companion website helps both instructors and students obtain additional information on topics of special interest to them. • Numerous examples of the principles and procedures make it easy for students to understand the material. • The highly practical nature of this book stems from the focus on how assessment intertwines with other everyday activities in classrooms. • Measurement theory and computational procedures that are unlikely to be used by classroom teachers are de-emphasized, producing a textbook that provides comprehensive coverage without being unnecessarily technical.

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.

Making Classroom Assessments Reliable and Valid by Robert J. Marzano will convince you that classroom assessments should become the primary method for formally measuring student learning over other types of assessment in education. Read about the key advantages of classroom assessments over interim, end-of-course, and state assessments in how to assess student learning and measure growth over time. Marzano also addresses the validity and reliability of classroom assessments and how to improve those metrics before bringing them to their rightful place in K-12 assessments. This book outlines how to revamp validity and reliability to match technical advances made in classroom assessment, instead of matching large-scale assessment's traditional standards. Using this book, teachers, schools, and districts can design classroom assessments that are equally if not more reliable and valid than traditional large-scale assessments. How this book will convince you to use classroom assessments: Consider the history of large-scale assessments in US education and the purpose of standardized testing. Inspect the importance of and future role of classroom assessment. Explore the three mathematical models of reliability, as well as the three major types of validity. Understand the principles of assessment for learning and the importance of measuring students' individual and comparative growth. Use the provided formulas to create classroom assessments that match traditional interim or end-of-year assessments in reliability and validity. Contents: Introduction: The Role of Classroom Assessment Chapter 1: Discussing the Classroom Assessment Paradigm for Validity Chapter 2: Designing and Scoring Parallel Assessments Chapter 3: Discussing the Classroom Assessment Paradigm for Reliability Chapter 4: Measuring Growth for Groups of Students Chapter 5: Transforming the System Using the New Classroom Assessment Paradigms Appendix