Overview

The goal of formative assessment is to monitor student learning to provide ongoing feedback that can be used by instructors to improve their teaching and by students to improve their learning. More specifically, formative assessments: 

• help students identify their strengths and weaknesses and target areas that need work 
• help faculty recognize where students are struggling and address problems immediately 

Source: Carnegie Mellon Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence and Educational Innovation

This video featuring Dr. Tammy Heflebower and Dr. Robert Marzano features information about formative assessment and standards-based grading. You'll also learn about how to track student progress, how to make sense of that information, and how to get very clear about your learning targets and the corresponding proficiency scales.