Formative Assessment & Standards-Based Grading. Robert J. Marzano
information to be used as feedback to modify teaching and learning activities. (1998b, p. 2)
Interestingly, this definition is almost identical to the definition of formative assessment they offered in their more technical discussion of their findings, “Assessment and Classroom Learning,” which was also published in 1998. As stated previously, their definition of formative assessment was:
Formative assessment … is to be interpreted as all of those activities undertaken by teachers and/or by their students which provide information to be used as feedback to modify the teaching and learning activities in which they are engaged. (1998a, pp. 7–8)
The similarities in definitions for the general construct of assessment and the more specific construct of formative assessment highlight the need for clearer distinctions. Examining types of assessment in contrast to uses of assessment helps provide these distinctions.
Types of Classroom Assessments
According to table 2.1, there are three types of assessments a teacher might use in the classroom: obtrusive assessments, unobtrusive assessments, and student-generated assessments. Each can and should be used in a comprehensive system of formative assessment.
Table 2.1 Distinctions Regarding Classroom Assessments
| Types of Classroom Assessment |
| Obtrusive |
| Unobtrusive |
| Student generated |
| Uses of Classroom Assessment |
| Formative scores |
| Summative scores |
| Instructional feedback |
Obtrusive Assessments
Obtrusive assessments interrupt the normal flow of activity in the classroom. Instruction does not occur during obtrusive assessments. Instead, instruction stops while students “take the assessment” (hence the term obtrusive).
Obtrusive assessments can take many forms. Probably the most common form is the paper/pencil test. For example, as a form of obtrusive assessment, a science teacher schedules a quiz to assess students’ understanding of the concept of mutualism, or a language arts teacher provides a five-item short-answer test designed to assess the students’ comprehension of a reading passage.
Demonstrations and performances can also be forms of obtrusive assessments. For example, as a form of obtrusive assessment, a dance teacher asks students to perform a dance step they have been practicing during the week, a physical education teacher focusing on basketball asks students to demonstrate the proper execution of a free throw, or a science teacher asks students to demonstrate how the cell membrane is selectively permeable by designing and explaining a model. Obtrusive assessments can also be oral. For example, as a form of obtrusive assessment, a social studies teacher asks an individual student to explain the defining characteristics of a constitutional democracy. In all of these examples, instruction stops while assessment occurs. The following examples depict obtrusive assessments in a variety of subject areas.
Language arts: To assess the students’ ability to write a persuasive paper, the teacher assigns students the task of identifying a claim about a topic of their choice and supporting that claim with appropriate facts and qualifiers. Students begin the task in class and turn it in the next day.
Mathematics: To assess the students’ ability to make reasonable estimations of weight, students are given four objects each. They must consider the weight of each object and write down estimations they consider to be reasonable using the units of measure studied in class. They must also write brief justifications for their answers. At the end of class, the students turn in their assessments.
Science: To assess the students’ understanding of the systems of the human body, the teacher provides them with a blank outline of a human body. He asks them to graphically locate the heart, the lungs, the liver, and the stomach. They are also asked to write down the system associated with each organ and provide brief explanations of that system’s major purpose.
Social studies: To assess the students’ knowledge of United States geography, the teacher provides a blank map of the country. Students must write in the names of as many states as they can in the time allotted.
Physical education: To assess the students’ ability to hit a golf ball, the teacher asks each student to demonstrate a golf swing using a driver. After hitting the ball, each student is asked to evaluate his or her own swing and name one thing he or she could have done to make it better. After analyzing the swing, the student is asked to demonstrate again, this time thinking in advance about what he or she needs to improve on.
Art: To assess the students’ ability to draw using perspective, the teacher presents them with three-dimensional objects such as cylinders, prisms, and cubes. They are asked to choose one object and use the relevant elements of perspective to draw it as realistically as possible within the allotted time.
Technology: To assess the students’ ability to use PowerPoint, the teacher assigns students the task of creating a brief PowerPoint presentation designed to teach their classmates about one of their hobbies. Students begin the task in class and are asked to finish the projects at home in preparation for in-class presentations the next day.
Unobtrusive Assessments
In contrast to obtrusive assessments, unobtrusive assessments do not interrupt the flow of instruction. In fact, students might not even be aware that they are being assessed during an unobtrusive assessment.
Unobtrusive assessments are most easily applied to content that is procedural, or content that involves learning a skill, strategy, or process. For example, a physical education teacher observes a student on the playground executing an overhand throw and notes that he or she performs the skill quite well; during independent work in the laboratory, a science teacher notes that a particular student is not following the correct procedure for combining chemicals safely. Each of these situations provides the teacher with information about the student’s current status regarding a specific skill, strategy, or process, but in neither case is the student aware that such information has been obtained by the teacher. The following examples briefly depict unobtrusive assessments that might be employed in various subject areas.
Language arts: A teacher observes a student writing a haiku poem of his or her own design. The teacher considers this an unobtrusive assessment of the student’s ability to write this type of poem.
Mathematics: A teacher observes a student working a division problem from a homework assignment on the board. The student works through the problem correctly, and the teacher considers this an unobtrusive assessment of the student’s ability to perform the process of division.
Science: A teacher observes a student performing the steps of a scientific procedure and taking notes in a lab book. The teacher considers this an unobtrusive assessment of the student’s ability to perform and document a scientific experiment.
Social studies: A teacher observes a student identifying on a map of the city where his or her house is located. The teacher considers this an unobtrusive assessment of the student’s ability to read a map.
Physical education: A teacher observes a student stopping a soccer ball with his or her feet and then kicking it to a teammate during a game played in class. The teacher considers this an unobtrusive assessment of the student’s ability to stop a ball and kick it with accuracy.
Art: A teacher observes a student acting a part in a role-playing exercise and considers this an unobtrusive assessment of the student’s ability to create and maintain a character.
Technology: A teacher observes