Thanks for another thoughtful article recounting your journey to provide your students with more and more useful feedback. Sounds like it is a big improvement.
The game changer for me when it comes to assessment is to approach from a completely different position. The best examples to date are the ACTFL Proficiency Scale in world languages (https://cla.umn.edu/language-center/programs/language-testing/actfl-testing/actfl-level-descriptions)and the NCSSFL/ACTFL Can-Do statements (https://www.ncssfl.org/linguafolio-linguagrow/2017-can-do-statements/). Instead of assessing how students do relative to at teacher's or professor's expectations, I've started advocating a Proficiency-based approach. This is actually a huge change and sets the students up for future learning after your course if that's beneficial for them. Let's say you start with a course such as "Cell Biology". Obviously, there would be a wide range of expectations from an introductory course to a graduate course in the topic. You then develop a proficiency scale from Novice Low to Distinguished and figure out specific criteria that would cover content and practice for each level. You might think of Novice Low as someone taking their first course and entering with little background, and Distinguished would be the equivalent of someone with an advanced degree in the area.
Obviously the professor establishes the expectation that in order to get an A in the class, students may need to perform at the Novice High for example in CB 101 and Advanced Mid for CB 401. Along with that you establish a set of "Can Do" statements that accompany each level. Students have a very clear idea of expectations for the course and for the professor. No bait and switch ever. If they can show that they know (in agreed upon ways established ahead of time) and can function at the required level, they get an A. If not, they don't. It could be set up so that Novice High in some categories but Novice Mid in others by the end of the course would be a B or C or whatever you've set up ahead of time. It also lets them know how to progress, should they want to, after completing your course.
This is a really brief view of the switch to proficiency (as opposed to "performance" on tests, quizzes, papers, etc) but I hope it can serve to help you think about some possible next steps in your quest.
Thanks for another thoughtful article recounting your journey to provide your students with more and more useful feedback. Sounds like it is a big improvement.
The game changer for me when it comes to assessment is to approach from a completely different position. The best examples to date are the ACTFL Proficiency Scale in world languages (https://cla.umn.edu/language-center/programs/language-testing/actfl-testing/actfl-level-descriptions)and the NCSSFL/ACTFL Can-Do statements (https://www.ncssfl.org/linguafolio-linguagrow/2017-can-do-statements/). Instead of assessing how students do relative to at teacher's or professor's expectations, I've started advocating a Proficiency-based approach. This is actually a huge change and sets the students up for future learning after your course if that's beneficial for them. Let's say you start with a course such as "Cell Biology". Obviously, there would be a wide range of expectations from an introductory course to a graduate course in the topic. You then develop a proficiency scale from Novice Low to Distinguished and figure out specific criteria that would cover content and practice for each level. You might think of Novice Low as someone taking their first course and entering with little background, and Distinguished would be the equivalent of someone with an advanced degree in the area.
Obviously the professor establishes the expectation that in order to get an A in the class, students may need to perform at the Novice High for example in CB 101 and Advanced Mid for CB 401. Along with that you establish a set of "Can Do" statements that accompany each level. Students have a very clear idea of expectations for the course and for the professor. No bait and switch ever. If they can show that they know (in agreed upon ways established ahead of time) and can function at the required level, they get an A. If not, they don't. It could be set up so that Novice High in some categories but Novice Mid in others by the end of the course would be a B or C or whatever you've set up ahead of time. It also lets them know how to progress, should they want to, after completing your course.
This is a really brief view of the switch to proficiency (as opposed to "performance" on tests, quizzes, papers, etc) but I hope it can serve to help you think about some possible next steps in your quest.