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Formative Assessment & Standards-Based Grading
Robert J. Marzano
The following tips from this book are designed to assist you in applying the latest research in tangible ways in your classroom, your school or your district. Below each tip, you will find the book excerpt on which the tip is based. Click on the book title above to learn more about this resource.
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By definition, formative assessment is intimately tied to the formal and informal processes in classrooms.
It is important to keep two things in mind when considering the practice of formative assessment. The first is that, by definition, formative assessment is intimately tied to the formal and informal processes in classrooms. The second thing to keep in mind is that while there is a good deal of agreement about its potential as a tool to enhance student achievement, the specifics of formative assessment are somewhat elusive.
Marzano, R. (2010). Formative Assessment & Standards-Based Grading
(p. 9). Bloomington, IN: Marzano Research Laboratory.
While one might characterize the work on learning progressions as relatively new and therefore relatively untested, it is related to a well-established and heavily researched area of curriculum design--learning goals.
While one might characterize the work on learning progressions as relatively new and therefore relatively untested, it is related to a well-established and heavily researched area of curriculum design—learning goals. One might think of learning progressions as a series of related learning goals that culminate in the attainment of a more complex learning goal. Learning progressions can also be used to track student progress.
Marzano, R. (2010). Formative Assessment & Standards-Based Grading
(p. 11). Bloomington, IN: Marzano Research Laboratory.
At the classroom level, any discussion of assessment ultimately ends up in a discussion of grading.
At the classroom level, any discussion of assessment ultimately ends up in a discussion of grading. Not only are teachers responsible for evaluating a student’s level of knowledge or skill at one point in time through classroom assessments, they are also responsible for translating all of the information from assessments into an overall evaluation of a student’s performance over some fixed period of time (usually a quarter, trimester, or semester).This overall evaluation is in the form of some type of overall grade commonly referred to as an “omnibus grade.” Unfortunately, grades add a whole new layer of error to the assessment process.
Marzano, R. (2010). Formative Assessment & Standards-Based Grading (p. 15). Bloomington, IN: Marzano Research Laboratory.
Grading that references student achievement to specific topics within each subject area is growing in popularity.
Grading that references student achievement to specific topics within each subject area is growing in popularity. This is called standards-based grading, and many consider this method to be the most appropriate method of grading. Where there is interest in this system, however, there is also quite a bit of poor practice on top of considerable confusion about its defining characteristics.
Marzano, R. (2010). Formative Assessment & Standards-Based Grading (p. 17). Bloomington, IN: Marzano Research Laboratory.
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