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What is classroom assessment? Classroom
assessment is both a teaching approach and a set of
techniques. The approach is that the more you know about
what and how students are learning, the better you can
plan learning activities to structure your teaching. The
techniques are mostly simple, non-graded, anonymous,
in-class activities that give both you and your students
useful feedback on the teaching-learning process.
How is classroom assessment different?
Classroom assessment differs from tests and other
forms of student assessment in that it is aimed at course
improvement, rather than at assigning grades. The primary
goal is to better understand your students' learning and
so to improve your teaching.
How do I use Classroom Assessment Techniques?
- Decide what you want to learn from a classroom
assessment.
- Choose a Classroom Assessment Technique (CAT)
that provides this feedback, is consistent with
your teaching style, and can be easily
implemented in your class.
- Explain the purpose of the activity to students,
then conduct it.
- After class, review the results and decide what
changes, if any, to make.
- Let your students know what you learned from the
CAT and how you will use this information.
Why should I use CATs?
For faculty, more frequent use of CATs can:
- Provide short-term feedback about the day-to-day
learning and teaching process at a time when it
is still possible to make mid-course corrections.
- Provide useful information about student learning
with a much lower investment of time compared to
tests, papers, and other traditional means of
learning assessment.
- Help to foster good rapport with students and
increase the efficacy of teaching and learning.
- Encourage the view that teaching is a formative
process that evolves over time with feedback.
For students, more frequent use of CATs can:
- Help them become better monitors of their own
learning.
- Help break down feelings of anonymity, especially
in larger courses.
- Point out the need to alter study skills.
- Provide concrete evidence that the instructor
cares about learning.
Selected CATs for getting feedback on student
learning and response to teaching[1]
| Name: |
Description: |
What to do with the
data: |
Time required: |
| Minute paper[2] |
During the last few
minutes of the class period, ask students to
answer on a half-sheet of paper: "What is
the most important point you learned
today?"; and, "What point remains least
clear to you?". The purpose is to elicit
data about students' comprehension of a
particular class session. |
Review responses and
note any useful comments. During the next class
periods emphasize the issues illuminated by your
students' comments. |
Prep: Low
In class: Low
Analysis: Low |
| Chain Notes |
Students pass around
an envelope on which the teacher has written one
question about the class. When the envelope
reaches a student he/she spends a moment to
respond to the question and then places the
response in the envelope. |
Go through the
student responses and determine the best criteria
for categorizing the data with the goal of
detecting response patterns. Discussing the
patterns of responses with students can lead to
better teaching and learning. |
Prep: Low
In class: Low
Analysis: Low |
| Memory
matrix |
Students fill in
cells of a two-dimensional diagram for which
instructor has provided labels. For example, in a
music course, labels might consist of periods
(Baroque, Classical) by countries (Germany,
France, Britain); students enter composers in
cells to demonstrate their ability to remember
and classify key concepts. |
Tally the numbers of
correct and incorrect responses in each cell.
Analyze differences both between and among the
cells. Look for patterns among the incorrect
responses and decide what might be the cause(s). |
Prep: Med
In class: Med
Analysis: Med |
| Directed
paraphrasing |
Ask students to
write a layman’s "translation" of
something they have just learned -- geared to a
specified individual or audience -- to assess
their ability to comprehend and transfer
concepts. |
Categorize student
responses according to characteristics you feel
are important. Analyze the responses both within
and across categories, noting ways you could
address student needs. |
Prep: Low
In class: Med
Analysis: Med |
| One-sentence
summary |
Students summarize
knowledge of a topic by constructing a single
sentence that answers the questions "Who
does what to whom, when, where, how, and
why?" The purpose is to require students to
select only the defining features of an idea. |
Evaluate the quality
of each summary quickly and holistically. Note
whether students have identified the essential
concepts of the class topic and their
interrelationships. Share your observations with
your students. |
Prep: Low
In class: Med
Analysis: Med |
| Exam
Evaluations |
Select a type of
test that you are likely to give more than once
or that has a significant impact on student
performance. Create a few questions that evaluate
the quality of the test. Add these questions to
the exam or administer a separate, follow-up
evaluation. |
Try to distinguish
student comments that address the fairness of
your grading from those that address the fairness
of the test as an assessment instrument. Respond
to the general ideas represented by student
comments. |
Prep: Low
In class: Low
Analysis: Med |
| Application
cards |
After teaching about
an important theory, principle, or procedure, ask
students to write down at least one real-world
application for what they have just learned to
determine how well they can transfer their
learning. |
Quickly read once
through the applications and categorize them
according to their quality. Pick out a broad
range of examples and present them to the class. |
Prep: Low
In class: Low
Analysis: Med |
| Student-
generated test questions |
Allow students to
write test questions and model answers for
specified topics, in a format consistent with
course exams. This will give students the
opportunity to evaluate the course topics,
reflect on what they understand, and what are
good test items. |
Make a rough tally
of the questions your students propose and the
topics that they cover. Evaluate the questions
and use the goods ones as prompts for discussion.
You may also want to revise the questions and use
them on the upcoming exam. |
Prep: Med
In class: High
Analysis: High(may be homework)
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[1] Details on these and others available from
Angelo & Cross, Classroom Assessment techniques,
1993.
[2] The Bureau of Evaluative Studies and Testing
(BEST) can administer the Minute Paper electronically.
Published Resources:
Angelo, T.A. & Cross, P.K. (1993). Classroom
Assessment Techniques (2nd ed.). San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass.
Davis, B.G. (1993). Tools for Teaching. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
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