What Is The Marzano Grading Scale?
“Why would anyone want to change current grading practices? The answer is quite simple: grades are so imprecise that they are almost meaningless.” - Dr. Robert Marzano
Dr. Marzano’s work is rooted in 40 years of educational research. He developed a framework that assesses progress based on these five levels of reliability:
- Safe and Collaborative Culture
- Effective Teaching in Every Classroom
- Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum
- Standards-Referenced Reporting
- Competency-Based Education
Marzano Reference Scale:
Kiddom's gradebook reflects a standards-based approach inspired by Dr. Marzano's work. Our gradebook will not alter your students’ achievement data, but it may adjust how it is categorized based on mastery level.
The Marzano scale is valuable for analyzing student progress over time. It can assist in identifying when students may have encountered difficulty understanding the subject matter and where they may need to focus more. Dr. Marzano advocates for a student-friendly scale so that students can gauge their proficiency with the material. He also posits that using a 100-point scale for grading can be challenging, as it may not accurately reflect the difficulty of an assignment and the student's comprehension of the content. Dr. Marzano suggests that a simple four-point grading system is the most effective way to assess student progress, as it indicates whether the student is developing as expected or exceeding expectations.
Kiddom has embraced Dr. Marzano’s grading style with the aim of providing a clearer sense of mastery for students. Subsequently, teachers can opt to adapt instruction to address students' remediation and enrichment needs, including customizing their daily lessons.
For more information about Dr. Marzano’s research on standards-based grading, visit here.