Assessment vs. Grading

In my opinion, the main goal of assessment is to determine how well the students are understanding the material. From this assessment, we can determine whether there is a need for reteaching and which students require a different approach to the material. On the other hand, I believe that grading is meant to be an evaluation of how much the student has learned or how well they have performed. 
These two ideas link when an assessment is actually a reflection of how well the student is performing. Often, I give a lot of informal assessments throughout the learning cycle. This include quick quizzes and exit tickets as well as other methods of informal assessments. Because I teach math, which I believe requires a lot of practice, all of my classwork and homework are graded on completion. Students know that they will get credit, even if the answers are wrong, but these assignments allow them to practice for their exams, which will be graded on accuracy. Because my department recognizes the difference between assessment and grading, we have devised a grading breakdown: 
40%- Tests and Quizzes
30%- Classwork and Projects
30%- Homework
This breakdown has become very controversial within our district. It is designed to take some of the pressure off of tests and quizzes so that students can demonstrate their knowledge in different ways. However, some people believe that it is not an effective method of evaluating students. In classes like mine, a student can do all the homework and classwork for a completion grade, and get a 50% on each test and quiz and still get a B- in the class. Some teachers have found that these students are not prepared to move on to the next course. I am curious to hear all of your opinions on this breakdown :)

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