The Value of Unobtrusive Assessment
Christina Erickson - Applied Arts Division
Robert Marzano identifies 3 types of assessments: obtrusive, unobtrusive and student-generated. The one that many of us are most unfamiliar with using is unobtrusive assessment. During unobtrusive assessments students are not aware they are being assessed and feedback can be provided instantly. This assessment takes place as a teacher observation, completion of a task, or a checklist of skills.
Using unobtrusive assessment is easiest with learning targets that are tied to a skill that can be demonstrated by a student. This includes procedural content, a student’s current level of performance of a skill. This type of assessment provides the teacher with information about how the student is currently doing in the learning of a skill.
If you want to use this type of assessment with more thinking based skills, you will need to question the student in order to ascertain their level of comprehension. However, with an observable skill, I move around the room assessing the desired learning target and not disrupting the learning and work of the students.
It also allows me the opportunity to provide instant feedback to students. In a step-by-step process, if the second step is incorrect, it will end in a poor final product. Therefore, it is my goal to assess students in their progress and provide feedback and corrections so their final product meets with high professional standards.
How can this type of assessment work in your classroom? All content areas can use unobtrusive assessment with just a little bit of effort and creativity. Here are a few ideas that might get you started:
World Languages: The teacher observes a casual conversation between 2 students about their weekend. One student has mastered this skill while the other hasn’t. The teacher assesses this as one student meeting the learning target while the other student can receive feedback on their progress.
Physical Welfare: The teacher observes a student following the rules of volleyball and demonstrating positive sportsmanship. The teacher assesses this skill in the moment as meeting their sportsmanship learning target.
Social Studies: The teacher observes a political debate between 2 students demonstrating they understand the differences between political parties. This becomes the proficiency evidence that is entered into the gradebook.
Language Arts: A teacher observes a student writing a haiku poem and reads it over their shoulder, although it is not turned in, it is clear that the student has mastered this skill.
Art: A teacher observes a student correctly rehearsing a piece of music before the assessment. Once the day of the assessment arrives, the student does not perform the piece correctly, however the next day the teacher hears them performing the piece correctly once again. This would be an unobtrusive assessment of the student showing mastery of the skills of the music piece.
Science: A teacher observes several lab groups, focusing on if they are following the correct procedures for a lab. The next lab, the teacher focuses on the rest of the lab groups not observed the previous lab. The data the teacher records this proficiency evidence is entered into Infinite Campus.
Applied Arts: In the foods lab, students are focusing on correct measuring techniques. Over the course of 3 labs, all students will be unobtrusively assessed and provided feedback on their mastery of this learning target.
Math: A teacher converses with a student while working on a calculus problem from their homework.
It is the same learning target that was assessed on the recent quiz; the student however did not show mastery at that point. It is now clear that the student has mastered the process to correctly solve the problem.
In using unobtrusive assessment, it can be difficult to assess ALL students in the same class period therefore is important to find a method of keeping track of student progress. I started out by printing a seating chart and making notes on student progress as I moved around the room assessing students. I had a seating chart printed for each learning target, so I could see which students.
I had already assessed on the target and which ones I still needed to observe. I then enter that data and comments into Infinite Campus for the students to check their progress. Then my colleague Sara Lohrmann started using an app called LessonNote. Using this app has streamlined the process, has saved quite a bit of paper and keeps a digital copy of the unobtrusive assessment.
Of course there is no perfect assessment, but by using unobtrusive assessment throughout a course of instruction you can create a unique formative assessment environment and hopefully gain a complete picture of a student’s growth as a result of their learning.
Using unobtrusive assessment is easiest with learning targets that are tied to a skill that can be demonstrated by a student. This includes procedural content, a student’s current level of performance of a skill. This type of assessment provides the teacher with information about how the student is currently doing in the learning of a skill.
If you want to use this type of assessment with more thinking based skills, you will need to question the student in order to ascertain their level of comprehension. However, with an observable skill, I move around the room assessing the desired learning target and not disrupting the learning and work of the students.
It also allows me the opportunity to provide instant feedback to students. In a step-by-step process, if the second step is incorrect, it will end in a poor final product. Therefore, it is my goal to assess students in their progress and provide feedback and corrections so their final product meets with high professional standards.
How can this type of assessment work in your classroom? All content areas can use unobtrusive assessment with just a little bit of effort and creativity. Here are a few ideas that might get you started:
World Languages: The teacher observes a casual conversation between 2 students about their weekend. One student has mastered this skill while the other hasn’t. The teacher assesses this as one student meeting the learning target while the other student can receive feedback on their progress.
Physical Welfare: The teacher observes a student following the rules of volleyball and demonstrating positive sportsmanship. The teacher assesses this skill in the moment as meeting their sportsmanship learning target.
Social Studies: The teacher observes a political debate between 2 students demonstrating they understand the differences between political parties. This becomes the proficiency evidence that is entered into the gradebook.
Language Arts: A teacher observes a student writing a haiku poem and reads it over their shoulder, although it is not turned in, it is clear that the student has mastered this skill.
Art: A teacher observes a student correctly rehearsing a piece of music before the assessment. Once the day of the assessment arrives, the student does not perform the piece correctly, however the next day the teacher hears them performing the piece correctly once again. This would be an unobtrusive assessment of the student showing mastery of the skills of the music piece.
Science: A teacher observes several lab groups, focusing on if they are following the correct procedures for a lab. The next lab, the teacher focuses on the rest of the lab groups not observed the previous lab. The data the teacher records this proficiency evidence is entered into Infinite Campus.
Applied Arts: In the foods lab, students are focusing on correct measuring techniques. Over the course of 3 labs, all students will be unobtrusively assessed and provided feedback on their mastery of this learning target.
Math: A teacher converses with a student while working on a calculus problem from their homework.
It is the same learning target that was assessed on the recent quiz; the student however did not show mastery at that point. It is now clear that the student has mastered the process to correctly solve the problem.
In using unobtrusive assessment, it can be difficult to assess ALL students in the same class period therefore is important to find a method of keeping track of student progress. I started out by printing a seating chart and making notes on student progress as I moved around the room assessing students. I had a seating chart printed for each learning target, so I could see which students.
I had already assessed on the target and which ones I still needed to observe. I then enter that data and comments into Infinite Campus for the students to check their progress. Then my colleague Sara Lohrmann started using an app called LessonNote. Using this app has streamlined the process, has saved quite a bit of paper and keeps a digital copy of the unobtrusive assessment.
Of course there is no perfect assessment, but by using unobtrusive assessment throughout a course of instruction you can create a unique formative assessment environment and hopefully gain a complete picture of a student’s growth as a result of their learning.