Formative Classroom Assessment Techniques

(CATs)Ursula Waln, Director of Student Learning Assessment

Central New Mexico Community College

A Comprehensive, Authoritative Resource

• Angelo, T. A., & Cross, K. P. (1993). Classroom assessment techniques: A handbook for college teachers (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.• Describes 50 commonly used classroom assessment techniques (CATs) • Emphasizes the importance of having clear learning goals• Promotes planned, intentional use to gauge student progress• Encourages discussing results with the students

• To promote learning• To teach students to monitor their own learning progress

• Encourages the use of insights gained to redirect instruction

• Examples of CATs are briefly described in the following 10 slides.

Prior Knowledge, Recall & Understanding

• Background Knowledge Probe• Having students respond to a short questionnaire/test, typically at

the beginning of a course, unit, or new topic

• Focused Listening• Having students write down key words or concepts following a

lesson, then using those later to provide clarification

• Misconception/Preconception Check • Having students write answers to questions designed to uncover

prior knowledge or beliefs that may impede learning

• Empty Outlines • Providing students with an empty or partially completed outline and

having them fill it in

• Memory Matrix • Giving students a table with column and row headings and having

them fill in the intersecting cells with relevant details, match the categories, etc.

• Minute Paper• Giving students one minute to answer some variation on the

questions “What was the most important thing you learned during this class?” and “What important question remains unanswered?”

• Muddiest Point• Asking students to jot down answers to the question “What was the

muddiest point in _______?”

Skill in Analysis & Critical Thinking

• Categorizing Grid• Giving students a table with row headings and having students

match by category and write in corresponding items from a separate list

• Defining Features Matrix• Giving students a table with column and row headings and having

them enter + or – to indicate whether or not the column heading corresponds to the row heading

• Pro and Con Grid• Having students list pros and cons side-by-side

• Content, Form, and Function Outlines• Having students outline the what, how, and why related to a

concept

• Analytic Memos• Having students write a one- or two-page analysis of a problem or

issue as if they were writing to an employer, client, stakeholder, politician, etc.

Skill in Synthesis & Creative Thinking

• One-Sentence Summary• Having students write one sentence that tells who does what to

whom, when, where, how, and why (symbolized as WDWWWWHW)

• Word Journal• After students read a text, having them write a single word that

best summarizes the text and then write a couple of paragraphs explaining why they chose that word

• Approximate Analogies• Having students complete the analogy A is to B as ___ is to ___, with

A and B provided

• Concept Maps• Having students illustrate relationships between concepts by

creating a visual layout bubbles and arrows connecting words and/or phrases

• Invented Dialogues• Having students use actual quotes or compose representative

quotes to create a dialogue between differing characters/personas

• Annotated Portfolios• Having students create portfolios presenting a limited number of

works related to the specific course, a narrative, and maybe supporting documentation

Skill in Problem Solving

• Problem Recognition Tasks• Presenting students with a few examples of common problem types and

then asking them to identify the particular type of problem each represents

• What’s the Principle?• Presenting students with a few examples of common problem types and

then asking them to state the principle that best applies to each problem

• Documented Problem Solutions• Having students not only show their work, but also explain next to it in

writing how they worked the problem out (“show and tell”)

• Audio- and Videotaped Protocols• Recording students in the act of working out solutions to problems and

then studying it with the student(s)

Skill in Application & Performance

• Directed Paraphrasing• Having students paraphrase part of a lesson for a specific audience

and purpose

• Application Cards• Handing out an index card (or slip of scratch paper) and having

students write down at least one ‘real-world’ application for what they have learned

• Student-Generated Test Questions• Having students anticipate possible test questions and write them

out

• Human Tableau or Class Modeling• Having students create “living” scenes, do enactments, or model

processes

• Paper or Project Prospectus• Having students create a brief, structured plan for a paper or

project, anticipating and identifying the elements to be developed

Awareness of Attitudes & Values

• Directed Paraphrasing• Having students paraphrase part of a lesson for a specific audience

and purpose

• Application Cards• Handing out an index card (or slip of scratch paper) and having

students write down at least one ‘real-world’ application for what they have learned

• Profiles of Admirable Individuals• Having students write a brief, focused profile of an individual – in a

field related to the course – whose values, skills, or actions they admire

• Everyday Ethical Dilemmas• Presenting students with a case study that poses an ethical

dilemma – related to the course – and having them write anonymous responses

• Course-Related Self-Confidence Surveys• Having students write responses to a few questions aimed at

measuring their self-confidence in relation to a specific skill or ability

Self-Awareness as Learners

• Focused Autobiographical Sketches• Having students write one to two pages about a single, successful

learning experience in their past relevant to the learning in the course

• Interest/Knowledge/Skills Checklists• Giving students a checklist of the course topics and/or skills and having

them rate their level of interest, skill, and/or knowledge for each

• Goal Ranking and Matching• Having students write down a few goals they hope to achieve – in

relation to the course/ program – and rank those goals; then comparing student goals to instructor/program goals to help students better understand what the course/program is about

• Self-Assessment of Ways of Learning• Presenting students with different approaches to learning and

asking students to identify which approaches they think work best for them

Course-Related Study Skills & Behaviors

• Productive Study-Time Logs• Having students record how much time they spend studying, when

they study, and/or how productively they study

• Punctuated Lectures• Stopping periodically during lectures and having students reflect

upon and then write briefly about their listening behavior just prior and how it helped or hindered their learning

• Process Analysis• Having student keep a record of the step they take in carrying out

an assignment and then reflect on how well their approach worked

• Diagnostic Learning Logs• Having student keep a record of points covered that they

understood and those they didn’t understand as well as homework problems they completed successfully and those they had trouble with; then having them reflect on their strengths and weaknesses as learners and generate possible remedies

Reactions to Instruction

• Chain Notes• Handing out note cards (or slips of scratch paper) in advance (for

responses) and then passing around an envelope with a specific question for each student to answer at the moment in time when the envelope reaches them (e.g., “Immediately before this reached you, what were you paying attention to?” or “What exactly were you doing during the minute or so before this reached you?”)

• Electronic Mail Feedback• Posing a question to students about the teaching and allowing students

to respond anonymously via the instructor’s electronic mailbox

• Teacher-Designed Feedback Forms• Having students respond anonymously to 3 to 7 questions in multiple-

choice, Likert scale, or short-answer formats to get course-specific feedback

• Group Instructional Feedback Technique• Having someone else (other than the instructor) poll students on

what works, what doesn’t, and what could be done to improve the course

• Classroom Assessment Quality Circles• Involving groups of students in conducting structured, ongoing

assessment of course materials, activities, and assignments and suggesting ways to improve student learning

Reactions to Class Activities & Materials

• RSQC2• Periodically having students do one or all of the following in writing:

Recall, Summarize, Question, Comment, and Connect

• Group-Work Evaluations• Having students answer questions to evaluate team dynamics and

learning experiences following cooperative learning activities

• Reading Rating Sheets• Having students rate their own reading behaviors and/or the

interest, relevance, etc., of a reading assignment

• Assignment Assessments• Having students rate the value of an assignment to them as

learners

• Exam Evaluations• Having students provide feedback that reflects on the degree to

which an exam (and preparing for it) helped them to learn the material, how fair they think the exam is as an assessment of their learning, etc.