Robert Marzzano, Educational Theory

Assessment Theorist Paper

Robert J. Marzano

Robert J. Marzano is an educational assessment theorist and expert. He is known for this development of assessment programs and practices being used nationally in K-12 classrooms. He offers practical ways for educators to translate his theory into practical instructional methods that can be used in any classroom. His theory and philosophy can be found in the 25 books and more than 150 articles he has authored over the years.

As best stated on the Marzano and Associates website (www.marzanoandassociates.com), “classroom assessment is at the heart of classroom culture. It has been shown to be the basis for grading practices and curriculum design.” Marzano believes that when done well, assessment will enhance student achievement.

Marzano’s book Classroom Assessment and Grading the Work lays out his philosophy and thoughts on the subject. He believes, “feedback from classroom assessments should give students a clear picture on their progress on learning goals and how they might improve, feedback on classroom assessments should encourage students to improve, classroom assessment should be formative in nature,” and finally, “formative classroom assessments should be frequent,” (Marzano 2006).

According to this theorist’s philosophy, formative assessment is one of the most important practices successful teachers use. He believes that teachers should, “administer formative assessments while students are learning new information and skills,” and states, “[formative assessment] might be one of the more powerful tools in a teacher’s arsenal,” (Marzano 2007). He also deems, “formative assessment is not only a powerful measurement tool but also a powerful instructional tool because it allows students to observe their own progress,” (Marzano 2007).

Marzano believes that assessment and feedback are important; because of this they must be timely and be specific to the content being learned. Regardless of the type of assessment, making sure that it follows these two components will ensure its best use. “Appropriate and systematic use of formative assessment could drastically improve the achievement of U.S. students,” (Marzano 2003). This theory states it is important for educators follow this systematic and consistent use of productive assessment to ensure that it is being used in the best possible way to help students achieve success.

One way that educators follow consistent formats of assessment is by following state standards. According to Marzano’s philosophy standards play a big role in education, however feels that they sometimes hinder assessment because there is too much content is measured on only one dimension of instruction. Instead of using these reasons to bypass state standards, which can in fact not be bypasses, Marzano suggests that educators take action. They can reconstruct the standards by deciding what is essential and organizing them into necessary categories. “Without reconstructing state standards documents, there is little chance that teachers can use them effectively as the basis for formative classroom assessment,” (Marzano 2006).

Through his research Marzano has discovered that regardless of the type of assessment, standards followed, or feedback being used, it should ultimately accomplish one goal. It should encourage students to improve and want to continue learning. There are three ways that Marzano believes this can happen. “The first involves students tracking their progress on specific measurement topics using graphs. The second engages students in different forms of self-reflection regarding their progress on measurement topics. The third addresses estimating students’ true scores at the end of a grading period,” (Marzano 104). Following these guidelines will help teachers best use the types of assessment they deem necessary for their classroom and group of students.

In addition to his theory on assessment, Marzano also is known for his theory on educating in general. He claims, “an effective teacher enhances student learning more than any other aspect of schooling that can be controlled,” (Marzano 2006). Teachers play an important role in classrooms and their choice for assessment and instructional practice has a great impact on the students they teach.

In our changing world the role of the teacher is a difficult one. “Societal changes are accelerating so rapidly that it is difficult to predict precisely what content to teach students…[teachers] must change [his or her] focus to teaching the skills essential to assessing, organizing and using information,” (Marzano & Arredondo 2002). According to his educational