Classroom Assessment Techniques

Brief questionnaire (including open ended and/or multiple choice questions) distributed by the instructor at the start of a course or unit to assess what students already know and understand about a topic. Serving as an ungraded "pretest" and providing a baseline of comprehension, this technique can help demonstrate students' growth over a course/unit, provide students with a preview of the material, and give the instructor a sense of where students are starting from. This technique is best for assessing recall and understanding.

Gauge if/how students are gaining knowledge by asking one or two questions at the end of class for students to identify the most significant things they have learned from a given lecture, discussion, or assignment (e.g. What was the most important thing you learned during this class?). Give students about two minutes at the end of class to write a response on an index card or piece of paper.  Collect and review the responses to determine if their take-a-ways match with your learning objectives. This technique is best for assessing recall and understanding.

This technique focuses on the point(s) of confusion for the class session, by asking students to jot down the muddiest point(s) (i.e. what was most unclear) of a given lesson or unit. Using student responses, instructors can  identify which material most students are struggling to understand, and provide review and support as needed. This technique is best for assessing understanding.

Prepare a handout with a matrix of three columns and several rows.  At the top of the first two columns, list two distinct concepts that overlap and may be confused with one another (e.g. hurricanes vs. tornados, Picasso vs. Matisse).  In the third column, list the important characteristics of each concept in a random order.  Using the handout, have students complete the matrix by listing which characteristics belong to each of the two concepts.  Student responses will reveal which characteristics are giving your students the most trouble. This technique is best for assessing understanding.

Ask students to list the pros/cons, costs/benefits, or advantages/disadvantages of completing claims or a controversial issue from a reading or class discussion. Consider limiting the number of pros and cons for the list, and then ask students to make a decision/select a stance. Compile lists and tally frequencies of items to see what was mentioned most often, and what might be missing. This technique is best for assessing analysis and critical thinking.

Opinion and knowledge polls can be used in class for a variety of assessment purposes. Students can agree or disagree with a statement or prompt,  or respond to multiple choice and open ended questions. Stony Brook provides Vevox as our campus-wide polling solution.  Less official polls (like thumbs up/down/sideways to express understanding of a concept) can also be conducted in smaller classroom settings. This technique is best for assessing student attitudes, perception and awareness of their learning.

Present a problem to the class students and direct students to write out the task they follow to solve the problem, then ask a few students to share their process with the class. This demonstrates that there are multiple ways to reach a solution to a complex problem, while also assessing students' thought processes. This technique is best for assessing problem solving and critical thinking.

Select a concept or principle your students are learning about and ask students to list on cards one to three applications of the principle from everyday experience, current events, or their knowledge of organizations/systems already discussed in the course.  You can collect the cards and share some of the examples aloud. This technique is best for assessing application.