Making Standards Useful In The Classroom

✍ Scribed by Robert J. Marzano, Mark W. Haystead

• Year: 2008
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 306
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Has the standards movement in the United States led to improved classroom instruction and effective assessment? In too many cases, the answer is no. As authors Robert J. Marzano and Mark W. Haystead explain, two major reasons account for this situation: state and national standards documents typically identify far more content than teachers can actually teach during a school year, and the standards are not written in a manner that supports effective instruction and assessment. In Making Standards Useful in the Classroom, Marzano and Haystead present a way to convert standards documents into a format that teachers can actually use to guide instruction and to create meaningful formative assessments. In Part I of this practical guide, teachers, administrators, and curriculum specialists will find answers to questions such as these: * What are the steps to follow in unpacking and rewriting standards so they are useful for classroom teachers? What is a measurement topic and what kind of content should it include? * How can measurement topics be organized into a coherent system for learning and assessment? Why is averaging a flawed method for calculating grades?* What is the best way to assess learning and determine a grade that accurately represents students growth in knowledge and skill? Part II of the book consists of scoring scales with sample measurement topics for language arts, math, science, and social studies for kindergarten through 8th grade, and sample measurement topics for life skills for kindergarten through 12th grade. Using the samples as a guide, districts and schools can create their own systems for translating standards into useful components of effective instruction and formative assessment that truly drive student learning.

✦ Table of Contents

Contents......Page 8
1—Standards in Education......Page 12
2—Unpacking Standards and
Designing Measurement Topics......Page 21
3—A Scale Format for
Measurement Topics......Page 37
4—A Formative Assessment System
Using Measurement Topics......Page 45
5—Grades and Report Cards
Using Measurement Topics......Page 53
Language Arts......Page 65
Writing......Page 66
Language......Page 84
Reading......Page 97
Listening and Speaking......Page 113
Mathematics......Page 125
Numbers and Operations......Page 126
Algebra......Page 142
Geometry......Page 152
Measurement......Page 164
Data Analysis and Probability......Page 173
Science......Page 187
Earth and Space Sciences......Page 188
Life Sciences......Page 201
Physical Sciences......Page 219
Nature of Science......Page 233
Social Studies......Page 243
Citizenship, Government, and Democracy......Page 244
Culture and Cultural Diversity......Page 257
Economics......Page 262
History......Page 272
Geography......Page 281
Life Skills......Page 287
Participation......Page 288
Work Completion......Page 291
Behavior......Page 294
Working in Groups......Page 297
References......Page 300
About the Authors......Page 302