Easy to Use Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs)

Type Description Purpose Advantages Disadvantages Suggestions for use

Minute At the end of class students • Assess student • Provides immediate • Overuse may lead • Lecture/discussion
Paper are asked to use index cards or understanding of material. feedback to instructors. students to think of it as courses.
half-sheets of paper to provide • Identify the need for mid- • Allow instructors to perfunctory. • Large classes.
written feedback to the course adjustments. quickly respond to • Difficult to develop clear • Courses that regularly
following questions: • Helps students identify student questions. questions that are easy to present students with
o “What was the most important points. • Quick and easy. answer in a short amount large amounts of
important thing you learned • Very flexible. of time. information.
during this class?” • Instructor response may • Manage student
o “What important question take longer than expectations by making
remains unanswered?” expected. it clear that you may not
• Instructor usually cannot be able to respond to all
respond to all questions questions.
asked.

Muddiest At the end of class students • Identifies what students • Quick and easy to • Students may focus only • Large, lower-division
Point provide written feedback to find least clear about a administer. on what they do not courses.
the question “What was the particular lesson or topic. • Requires little instructor understand. • Manage student
muddiest [least clear] point in • Helps instructor identify preparation. • Students may raise expectations by making
_____?” The question may be which points to emphasize • Identifies student questions that are it clear that you may not
applied to lectures, reading in class. comprehension difficult to answer. be able to respond to all
assignments, discussion, or a difficulties questions.
video/film. Instructors then • Provides shy students an
use the student responses to opportunity to ask
focus the next class meeting. questions.
o “What was the muddiest • Promotes more careful
point in today’s lecture?” listening from students.

One-Sentence Students are asked to • Helps students learn to • Quick and easy way to • May oversimplify • Best for content that has
Summary summarize a large amount of synthesize and summarize assess students’ ability material. clear parameters or is
information into a one-sentence information into “chunks” to organize information • Cannot be used with factual in nature.
summary that answers the that can be recalled more and summarize their material that has multiple • The instructor should be
questions “Who does what to easily. understanding. answers to the core able to successfully
whom, when, where, how and • Students learn to express • Facilitates meaningful questions. complete the exercise
why?” ideas in their own language. leaning through the prior to administering it.
“chunking” of
information and use of
non-technical language.
 Easy to Use Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs)
Type Description Purpose Advantage Disadvantage Suggestions for use
Application After presenting a principle, • Students demonstrate • Quick and easy • Not all concepts have real- • Relevant to all subjects,
Cards theory or procedure, the learning by applying the • Demonstration of real- world applications. but is particularly useful
instructor gives students index concept. world relevance may • Shifts focus from the in the social sciences,
cards and they are asked to • Forces students to connect increase student interest in abstract to the concrete. applied disciplines and
develop at least one real-world past and present the topic/subject. • Students may miss the technical education.
application of what they knowledge. • Promotes higher-order general concept and • Adaptable to a wide
learned. • Helps demonstrate thinking. remember only the variety of class types and
o “According to Newton, ‘To relevance of the material. • Provides instructors with application examples. sizes
every action there is always examples to use in the
opposed an equal reaction.’ future.
Give an application of
Newton’s Third Law from
everyday life.”
Pro and Con Students create a list of pro and • Students demonstrate • Helps to illustrate the • Some issues may have • Any course where
Lists con outcomes to a question or depth of knowledge by complexity of more than two sides so it questions of value are an
situation presented by the identifying two sides of concepts/issues. risks oversimplifying explicit learning objective.
instructor. an issue. • Helps students develop more complex issues. • Particularly useful in
o “After reading analytical skills. • Some students may reject humanities, social science,
Shakespeare’s Hamlet, • Promotes higher-order the idea that there are and public policy courses
imagine you are Hamlet and thinking. two sides to some moral or in applied fields where
list three pros and three cons or ethical issues. multiple solutions to
of murdering your • Possibility for problems are possible.
stepfather, Claudius.” controversy.
Electronic Students respond to instructor • To receive simple and • Allows for quick • Response rates may be • Courses where
Discussion questions via electronic immediate feedback from feedback. low unless students are Blackboard or some
Boards discussion board. students about instruction • Doesn’t use class time. given an incentive to other electronic
o “How could my PowerPoint or other class issues. • Students have the participate. discussion forum is
presentations be improved?” convenience of • Responses are not already in use.
responding anonymous. • Possible to adapt other
asynchronously as their • Requires access to an feedback devices for use
time allows. electronic discussion in this format.
• Allows for discussion of forum (e.g., Blackboard).
issues by multiple • All students enrolled will
individuals and more have access to responses.
detailed responses from
instructor.
 Easy to Use Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs)
Type Description Purpose Advantage Disadvantage Suggestions for use
Directed Students are asked to • Assesses students’ ability • Demonstration of real- • Can take considerable • Relevant to most
Paraphrasing paraphrase part of a lesson for to restate important world relevance may time and effort to assess subjects, but is
a specific audience and concepts in their own increase student interest adequately. particularly useful in the
purpose using their own words. in the topic/subject. • Difficult to set clear applied disciplines and
words. • Develops students’ ability • Promotes higher-order criteria for assessment. technical education.
o “In one or two sentences, to apply course thinking. • Student paraphrasing • Must be used multiple
paraphrase what you have information to real-life • Builds students’ skills may not improve times during the course
learned about hospice care situations. communication skills. without focused, to be useful.
to inform a dying, but still individualized feedback. • Instructors should set
lucid patient of its possible strict time limits for
advantages over hospital completion.
care.”

Memory A simple table with rows and • To assess students’ • Quick and easy. • Doesn’t allow students to • Introductory courses that
Matrix columns representing key ability to recall factual • Very helpful for students use their own require the recall of a
concepts and their relationships. information and their who are strong visual categorizing schemes. large amount of
When students fill in the blank skill at organizing it into learners. • Can make complex, categorical information.
cells in the table they provide meaningful relational • Helps students manage dynamic systems appear • Particularly well suited
an easily assessable categories and organize large static or overly for courses in the natural
demonstration of their amounts of information. simplistic. sciences, foreign
understanding. • Can be used by students languages, music, history
o Example: as a study aid. and law.
Spanish Verb Endings • Instructors should start
-ar -er -ir with a simple matrix
Irregular
Regular until students are familiar
with the technique.

Exam Students self-evaluate what • Provide instructors with • Focuses on exams as • May raise questions • Useful in any type of
Evaluations they learned from the test and student reactions to exams learning exercises. about exams that course that requires
assess the quality of the test or to make them more • Demonstrates respect for instructors are exams.
exam in terms of difficulty, effective learning and student perspectives on uncomfortable • Only ask questions about
clarity, appropriateness, or assessment tools. their own learning. addressing. aspects of the exam you
fairness. • Provides feedback on an are willing to change.
o “The last exam used both aspect of the course that • May be incorporated as
multiple choice and essay is central to student the last section of an
questions. Which type of satisfaction. exam.
question allows you to best
demonstrate what you have
learned? Please explain.”

Adapted from Classroom Assessment Techniques (1993) by Angelo, T.A., & Cross, K.P.
 Easy to Use Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs)
Type Description Analyzing the Data and Making Conclusions
Minute At the end of class, students use index cards or Categorize and count responses and note useful comments. Compare minute papers over the
Paper half-sheets of paper to provide written feedback semester to see changes in the clarity and thoughtfulness of student writing.
to the questions:
o “What was the most important thing you
learned during this class?”
o “What important question remains
unanswered?”

Muddiest o At the end of class students provide written Skim approximately half of the answers, noting common types of muddy points. Then
Point feedback to the question, “What was the read all responses and sort them into piles of related muddy points with a separate pile for
muddiest [least clear] point in _____?” unique responses that don’t fit into a category. Count the number of responses in each
pile, noting the most frequently mentioned points. Alternatively, group together muddy
points about facts and principles, points about concepts, and points about skills.

One-Sentence Students summarize a large amount of Draw slash marks with a pencil between key elements of the sentence, separating answers
Summary information in one sentence that answers the to the various questions (Who? Does What? etc.). You can also have students draw slash
questions, “Who does what to whom, when, marks themselves after completing sentences. Evaluate each sentence component by
where, how, and why?” writing a zero (incorrect or inadequate), a check mark (adequate), or a plus (more than
adequate) above that element. Make a response table for the entire class with the questions
as column headings and the marks—zero, check, and plus—as row headings. Write totals
in the cells and note overall strengths and weaknesses. For example, are students better at
answering who and what than how and why questions?

Application After hearing a principle, theory, or procedure, Quickly read through the index cards, marking each example of a real-world application with an
Cards students write at least one real-world application abbreviation such as G, A, M, or U, for “great,” “acceptable,” “marginal,” or “unacceptable.” Choose
of what they learned on an index card. three to five of the best examples and one or two marginal or unacceptable examples to share with the
o “According to Newton, ‘To every action class, altering poor ones enough to hide the identity of the people who wrote them.
there is always opposed an equal reaction.’
Give an application of Newton’s Third Law
to everyday life.”

Pro and Con Students list advantages and disadvantages of a Count how frequently a specific advantage or disadvantage was listed by students, noting the ones most
Lists decision or situation the instructor proposes. often mentioned. Compare student answers with your own to see if they have left out points you
o “After reading Shakespeare’s Hamlet, imagine expected them to mention or included points you considered unessential. Notice the balance of pros to
you are Hamlet and list three pros and three cons to determine if you need to focus more on one or the other.
cons of murdering your stepfather, Claudius.”
 Easy to Use Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs)
Type Description Analyzing the data and making conclusions
Electronic Using their own words, students respond to Summarize answers and group them by theme. Notice concerns that are not directly relevant to your
Discussion instructor questions via electronic discussion questions, because they may represent important or strong reactions to your teaching.
Boards board.
o “How could my PowerPoint presentations be
improved?”
Directed Students paraphrase part of a lesson for a One approach is to separate responses into four piles: “confused,” “minimal,” “adequate,” and
Paraphrasing specific audience and purpose. “excellent,” based on 1) how accurate the paraphrase is, 2) how well it has been geared for the intended
o “In one or two sentences, paraphrase what audience, and 3) how well it has accomplished the assigned purpose. A different approach is to circle
you have learned about hospice care to the clearest and most confusing points in each paraphrase, using different-colored pens, and then identify
inform a dying, but still lucid patient of its patterns of clarity and confusion for the class.
possible advantages over hospital care.”

Memory Students fill in the blank cells of a table to To discover what students know well, tabulate correct responses for each cell for the class and compare
Matrix demonstrate their understanding of key concepts. that with totals for other cells, noting large differences. Focus on incorrect or marginal items and look
for patterns in the kinds of errors. Results may indicate that you need to better organize some
o Example: information you present or spend more time teaching some categories of information.
Spanish Verb Endings
-ar -er -ir
Irregular
Regular

Exam Students self-evaluate what they learned from the Pay close attention to the content of student comments describing what they are learning from the test.
Evaluations test and assess the test’s difficulty, clarity, Try to separate comments that address the fairness of your grading from those that concern the
appropriateness, or fairness. effectiveness of the test as a learning instrument. If you ask students what type of test they prefer, tally
o “The last exam used both multiple choice and their preferences, but consider the reasons students provide for their preferences when determining the
essay questions. Which type of question merit of making a change.
allows you to best demonstrate what you have
learned? Please explain.”

Adapted from Classroom Assessment Techniques (1993) by Angelo, T.A., & Cross, K.P.