The New Art and Science of Teaching. Robert J. Marzano
the strategy clearly articulating learning goals deals with the internal structure of a proficiency scale. In essence, a proficiency scale is a continuum of learning goals (also referred to as learning targets).
Other strategies deal with the use of proficiency scales for instructional purposes. For example, consider the strategy implementing routines for using targets and scales. One routine is to refer to learning goals on a daily basis and describe where the learning goals fit within the proficiency scale. A teacher might have the proficiency scale for a particular unit posted on the wall. Before she begins a lesson, she refers back to the scale and points to the precise element of the scale on which the current lesson will focus. She refers to the element of focus as “today’s learning target.” She then asks students to restate the learning target as an “I can” statement.
Some of the strategies deal with making proficiency scales more understandable to students. For example, the strategy creating student-friendly scales involves translating a scale into student-friendly language by having groups of students or the class as a whole rewrite score 2.0, score 3.0, and score 4.0 descriptors.
When the strategies in this element produce the desired effects, teachers will observe the following behaviors in students.
• Students can explain the proficiency scale in their own words.
• Students can explain what learning goal is being addressed in the current lesson.
• Students can describe how the current activity relates to the target goal.
• Students can explain the progression of content on the scale.
Element 2: Tracking Student Progress
With proficiency scales in place, the teacher can help provide each student with a clear sense of where he or she started relative to a topic and where he or she is currently. This is one of the most powerful uses of a proficiency scale because it allows students to see their growth along a continuum of knowledge. To illustrate, consider figure 1.2.
Figure 1.2: Student growth across five assessments on the same topic.
Figure 1.2 depicts an individual student’s progress on one topic for which there is a proficiency scale. The student began with a score of 1.5 but rose to a score of 3.5 over five assessments. Observing their growth on a topic is intrinsically motivating to students simply because people react positively to evidence that they are progressing (Hattie & Timperley, 2007).
Table 1.2 lists a number of strategies and activities that relate to element 2.
Table 1.2: Tracking Student Progress
| Strategy | Description |
| Using formative scores | Using formative scores throughout a unit of instruction helps teachers and students monitor progress and adjust if necessary. This is different from summative scores, which represent a student’s status at the end of a particular point in time. |
| Designing assessments that generate formative scores | To design assessments that generate formative scores for a particular proficiency scale, a teacher develops items or tasks that correspond directly to content in levels 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0 of the scale. |
| Using individual score-level assessments | The teacher uses assessments that evaluate only one level of a scale (for example, only 2.0 content) to measure students’ knowledge or to allow students to progress at their own pace through the levels of a scale. |
| Using different types of assessments | To collect formative scores over time that pertain to a specific proficiency scale, the teacher uses obtrusive assessments (which interrupt the flow of classroom activity), unobtrusive assessments (which do not interrupt classroom activities), or student-generated assessments. |
| Generating summative scores | The teacher makes use of several different approaches to generating summative scores for a specific proficiency scale. Approaches range from using formative scores to assign a summative score to designing a specific assessment to assign a summative score. Where formative scores track students’ progress over time, a summative score indicates an individual student’s status at the end of a specific interval of time such as a grading period. |
| Charting student progress | The student sets a goal relative to a specific scale at the beginning of a unit or grading period and then tracks his or her scores on that scale. At the end of the unit or grading period, the teacher assigns a final, or summative, score to the student for the scale. |
| Charting class progress | The teacher tracks the entire class’ progress by showing what percentage of students scored at a proficient (3.0) level or above for a particular assessment. |
Source: Adapted from Marzano Research, 2016ll.
Some of the strategies in table 1.2 involve making a distinction between the various uses of scores generated from a proficiency scale. To illustrate, consider the strategy using formative scores and the strategy generating summative scores. When using proficiency scales, these terms take on a clear meaning. Specifically, the time the teacher administers an assessment, as opposed to the assessment’s format, determines whether its score is formative or summative. To illustrate, reconsider figure 1.2. The first four scores in the figure are formative. They provide evidence to compute the final score—the summative score. In effect, a teacher can assign a summative score without actually using a specific summative assessment. (For a detailed discussion, see Marzano, 2006, 2010b.)
Some strategies expand the scope of what defines an assessment. Consider the strategy using different types of assessments. It describes three general types of assessments: (1) obtrusive assessments, (2) unobtrusive assessments, and (3) student-generated assessments. As their name implies, obtrusive assessments interrupt the flow of instruction. Teaching stops; assessment occurs. Typically, obtrusive assessments are pencil and paper in nature. Classroom teachers tend to use obtrusive assessments almost exclusively. Unobtrusive assessments do not interrupt the flow of instruction and commonly take the form of observations while students are working. Student-generated assessments are the most unique and potentially powerful form of assessment because students determine how they might demonstrate proficiency on a particular topic. Student-generated assessments help develop student agency because they give some decision-making power to those who are being assessed.
When the strategies in this element produce the desired effects, teachers will observe the following behaviors in students.
• Students can describe how they have progressed on a particular proficiency scale.
• Students periodically update their status on a proficiency scale.
• Students can describe what they need to do to get to the next level of performance.
Element 3: Celebrating Success
Providing scales (element 1) and tracking students’ progress (element 2) on those scales allow for the celebration of two types of success: status and growth. Status refers to a student’s score at a particular moment in time. Growth refers to the difference between the student’s current and first scores on the topic. A student grows when his or her scores on a scale rise