Thank you, T. H. for your legitimate concerns regarding the Marzano site. I'm a busy science teacher, and programmer on the side. I'm also new to the forums, so please forgive my inappropriate 'just google' response earlier.
What I've found most helpful is in the Marzano's 2000 book in my original post. Please know that my remarks should in no way be interpretted to be a marketing appeal. What Dr. Marzano has done in most of his work is not new research but a meta-analysis of the past twenty five years of educational research on teaching strategies, and assessment (i.e. bringing many studies together and summarizing them in ways that are helpful to the practitioner in the classroom.)
Let me briefly summarize for you: A student's grade should, if anything, provide feedback on 1) their mastery of the core concepts of a course, and 2) progress of their learning. All assessment should be assessed in light of those learning goals.
Perhaps an analogy will help on this point. One key skill in basketball is the ability to make foul shots. Experience tells us that a novice player might get only two or three shots out of ten, while a proficient player might sink seven or eight shots in the hoop. In other words, persistence and practice are rewarded by increasing levels of achievement. So it is in the classroom. Progress and achievement are the key features in learning. A grade should therefore provide students feedback on both.
This is how it works out in my classroom:
First, ALL assessments are judged using a scoring rubric, with adaptations where appropriate. The teacher rates student performance against the target learning goals for each unit. This is NOT the same as determining what the percent a student responded correctly on an assessment. Assessment questions and problems vary in their challenge. Some course challenges can only be met by highly skilled students, while others can be achieved by most students. Consider the rubric below:
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Score
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% Eq.
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Description
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Advanced
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4
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100
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Made inferences, and demonstrates depth of understanding beyond what is directly taught. Applied target concepts and skills.
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|
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3.67
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95
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Mastery of Proficient content; high partial success at Advanced content
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|
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3.33
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90
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Mastery of Proficient content; some partial success at Advanced content
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Proficient
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3
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85
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Target learning goal ; more challenging content
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|
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2.67
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80
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Mastery of Basic content; high partial success at Proficient content
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|
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2.33
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75
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Mastery of Basic content; some partial success at Proficient content
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Basic
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2
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70
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Basic content mastered
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|
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1.67
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65
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High partial success of Basic content; major errors/omissions at Proficient content
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|
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1.33
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60
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Some partial success of Basic content; major errors/omissions at Proficient content
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Below Basic
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1
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55
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Basic content mastered with some assistance
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|
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0.5
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48
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With help, partial success at Basic content; no success at Proficient content
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|
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0
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0
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Even with help, no success
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The target learning goals are communicated at the beginning of each unit, and drive all learning activities. Numerous assessments afford students opportunities to improve and demonstrate their success. Additionally, students should search for opportunities related to learning goals to demonstrate advanced competencies on their own initiative. Remember that a student’s success in learning increases with practice.
The second key difference in grading students is determining a marking quarter grade.
In a typical marking quarter, there are three units or broad topics planned. Each unit has a set of goals and learning line, as in the illustration above. By the end of a unit, it is anticipated that ALL students will achieve high proficiency of the learning goals. Therefore, the grade for the unit will reflect their degree of mastery, which is closer to the top of the learning line. It will NOT be determined by the average of the unit assessments, since that is a rather poor indicator of their actual success.
The MS TREND function works well to show the actual progress a student has made over a series of similar assessments on a concept or skill.
Perhaps this is not the best forum for this discussion. Perhaps the grading module forum would be more appropriate. BUT, any quiz could be assessed using the 4 point rubric above.
Thank you for your courteous consideration. The literature is available through many outlets for those who seek to go to the research.
