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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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