Get answers to your most challenging questions about implementing effective assessment and grading practices. How do we use assessments to increase hope, efficacy, and achievement? Is reassessment important? Can we change grading practices when stakeholders don’t want us to? All of these questions, and dozens more, are answered concisely, making it easy to build strong assessment and grading practices quickly. K–12 teachers and administrators will: Understand the six tenets of assessment and grading Gain confidence in effective assessment and grading practices Access concise answers to common questions about assessment and grading Help implement schoolwide best practices through effective collaboration Contents: Introduction Chapter 1: Hope, Efficacy, and Achievement Chapter 2: A Culture of Learning Chapter 3: Assessment Purpose Chapter 4: Communication Chapter 5: Accurate Interpretation Chapter 6: Assessment Architecture Chapter 7: Instructional Agility Chapter 8: Student Investment Table of Contents by Topic Glossary of Terms A Comprehensive Resource List From STAC References and Resources Index

When implemented effectively, competency-based education (CBE) promotes high levels of learning for every student. Further, the practices and structures of a professional learning community (PLC) support this work. Explore a variety of perspectives and examples from educators who have shifted to CBE with great results. The book details how to do the work by reevaluating and revamping traditional policies, structures, and procedures, including assessment and instruction practices. Individualized learning educators will: Discover how to make the transition to competency-based education to promote learning for all students. Learn the role PLC practices and structures play in establishing competency-based classrooms and schools. Study real-world experiences and insights from educators from various schools and districts that have transitioned to competency-based systems. Reflect with end-of-chapter questions to enhance their understanding of the material. Receive reproducible templates they can easily use and adapt to fit their needs. Contents: Introduction Chapter 1: Seven Principles for Competency-Based Learning in the Classroom Chapter 2: PLC, Collaborative Teaming, and Competency-Based Learning Chapter 3: Competencies, Essential Standards, and Learning Targets Chapter 4: Meaningful, Balanced Assessment Chapter 5: Structures and Systems to Support Classroom Instruction Chapter 6: Structures for Feedback Chapter 7: The Design Rubric Epilogue Appendix References and Resources Index

Let evidence and integrity guide your grading practice If you want to ask a polarizing question in education, ask someone their thoughts on grading. Few topics have elicited more interest or opinions, even though grading practices have remained relatively unchanged for years. But opinions are not evidence. The time has come to get it right with a fresh approach grounded in research and the principles of integrity. Grading With Integrity introduces a measured approach to grading reform based on honesty, transparency, accuracy, and equity with recommendations backed by clear and trustworthy evidence. Addressing the many "whys’’ involved, this thoughtfully organized book addresses central questions related to grading and reporting student learning, covering: An historical overview of grading and reporting practices A discussion of standards-based and competency-based grading Recommendations for reporting non academic learning goals separately from academic achievement, to accurately reflect students′ performance Suggestions for reporting growth and improvement, using specific assessments and other reporting tools An infallible argument for grading with integrity This book is a must-read for K-12 classroom teachers and administrators who are looking to implement better and more defensible grading and reporting policies and practices. Let evidence and integrity be your guide to enhancing students’ best interests and learning success.

Teachers often will come to the conclusion that teacher talk and worksheets won’t cut it if getting students deeply engaged in their own learning is the goal. Indeed, students need to move beyond pretending to listen; they can—and should—develop essential competencies that include academic discourse with classmates, fielding and asking open-ended questions, seeking and providing peer feedback, identifying failure as a necessary accelerant to improvement, and finding joy in learning. Having coached and observed in hundreds of K-12 classrooms over three decades, Nash has met some incredible teachers whose students truly don’t want to miss anything. You’ll meet teachers like that in this book as you discover ways to work the room in a collaborative, engaging, and joyful environment.

Updated with new research and insights, the second edition of this foundational guide to the how of differentiation provides the thoughtful strategies teachers need to create and maintain classrooms where each student is recognized and respected and every student thrives. One of the most powerful lessons a teacher must learn is that classroom management is not about control; it's about delivering the support and facilitating the routines that will make the classroom work for each student, and thus, set all students free to be successful learners. In Leading and Managing a Differentiated Classroom, Carol Ann Tomlinson and Marcia B. Imbeau explore the central priorities and mindsets of differentiation and provide practical guidelines for making effective student-centered, academically responsive instruction a reality. Their classroom management approach is based on three critical understandings: 1. When students are engaged, they have no motivation to misbehave. 2. When students understand that their teacher sees them as worthwhile people with significant potential, it opens doors to learning. 3. The classroom can't work for anybody until it works for everybody. Written for K–12 teachers and instructional leaders, this book is packed with strategies for structuring and pacing lessons, organizing learning spaces and materials, starting and stopping class with purpose, setting up and managing routines, and shifting gears if something isn't going well. It also gives teachers the guidance they need to help students, colleagues, and parents understand the goals of differentiated instruction and contribute to its success. Along with examples of recommended practice drawn from real-life classrooms at a variety of grade levels, you will find answers to frequently asked questions and specific advice for balancing content requirements and the needs of learners. You'll gain confidence as a leader for and in your differentiated classroom and be better prepared to teach in a way that's more efficient and rewarding for you and more effective for every student in your care.

While much research has revealed which assessment practices have the most positive impact on student achievement and instruction, out-of-date, unproductive practices, which students find disengaging and disheartening, still persist. Discover how to use the power of assessment to instill hope, efficacy, and achievement in your students. With this research-based resource, you'll explore six essential tenets of assessment--assessment purpose, communication of assessment results, accurate interpretation, assessment architecture, instructional agility, and student investment--that will help deepen your understanding of assessment to not only meet standards but also enhance students' academic success and self-fulfillment. Benefits Interpret the research-based tenets of assessment that are necessary to maximize all students' learning. Gain advice and strategies for immediately acting on the six essential assessment tenets, including how to communicate assessment results to give feedback that produces constructive responses. Discover why it is vital that assessment practices build students' and teachers' hope, efficacy, and achievement. Consider scenarios that illustrate traditional, outmoded assessment practices and revised scenarios that feature practices that better reflect modern assessment needs. Reflect on questions related to the content of each chapter and study next steps that teaching teams can take. Contents Introduction Chapter 1: Hope, Efficacy, and Achievement Chapter 2: Assessment Purpose Chapter 3: Communication of Assessment Results Chapter 4: Accurate Interpretation Chapter 5: Assessment Architecture Chapter 6: Instructional Agility Chapter 7: Student Investment References Index

This is an easy to use guide on assessment for learning, answering common questions about 21st century standards and grading considerations.

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.

"An exploration of moving away from traditional letter or number grades as an assessment and as a result producing more thoughtful students whose learning is more authentic"--