University College of the North
Academic Development
November, 2013
Classroom Assessment Techniques – Tip Sheet
Teaching Without Learning is Just Talking
Published 20 years ago, Angelo & Cross’ Classroom Assessment Techniques A Handbook for
College Instructors continues to be a valuable resource for college and university instructors. In
the book, Angelo and Cross emphasise the importance of formative assessment in the teaching
and learning process. Assessment should not just be used at the end of the learning period
(summative assessment). Rather, assessment activities should be embedded into instructional
design and delivery. Research has shown that the effective and strategic use of formative
assessment can enable instructors and students to improve the quality of learning in the
classroom. This tip sheet provides some about assessment and a few of Angelo & Cross’ easily
implemented classroom assessment techniques. A copy of Classroom Assessment Techniques A
Handbook for College Instructors is available through UCN’s library service.
Formative Assessment – is a planned process in
which assessment-elicited evidence of student
status is used to adjust their current learning
tactics. In other words, formative assessment is
a deliberately constructed activity in which
teachers or students use assessment-based
evidence to adjust what they are currently
doing.
Simply put, formative assessment is used to
gauge whether or not the students are grasping
the content and skills being taught in class.
Key Attributes of Formative Assessment:
 A planned process
 Assessment-elicited evidence
 Teacher instructional adjustments

Student learning tactic adjustment
(Popham, J.(2008). Transformative Assessment. Alexandria, VA:
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development)
What Are the BIG IDEAS About
Assessment?
Based on the work of Damian Cooper
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Assessment serves different
purposes at different times
Assessment must be planned,
purposeful and accurate
Assessment and instruction are
inseparable
For assessment to be helpful to
students, it must consist of
descriptive feedback
Assessment is a collaborative
process
When formative assessment is
used, marks are not assigned.
Marks are assigned on summative
assessment tasks.
Classroom Assessment Techniques
Minute Paper
Angelo, T. & Cross, P. (1993). Classroom assessment techniques A handbook for college teachers
2nd edition. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.
Minute Paper (page 148)
Description
 Quick and simple way to collect feedback on student learning
 Instructor stops class two or three minutes early and asks students to respond to “What
was the most important thing you learned during this class?” or “What was important
question remains unanswered?”
 Student write responses and hand them in.
Purpose
 Provide manageable amounts of timely and useful information with minimal invest of time
and energy
 Faculty can quickly assess how well students are learning what is being taught and ensures
that students’ questions will be raised
 More than more recall: Students must evaluate what they are learning
Procedure
 Decide when to administer the Minute Paper. To focus on understanding of a class, the last
few minutes may be the best time. To focus on a homework assignment, the first few
minutes of class may be more appropriate.
 Plan to allow class time to discuss the results of the minute papers
 Names can be left off of paper
 Let students how much time they have and the type of answers you want (words, phrases,
or short sentences)
Categorizing Grid
Categorizing Grid (page 160)
Description
 Students are given a grid with two or three important categories along with a scrambled
list of subordinate terms, images, equations, etc
 Learners are given a very limited time to sort the subordinate terms into the correct
categories on the grid
Purpose
 Allows the instructor to quickly assess whether the students understand “what goes with
what”
 Encourages students to be explicit the implicit rules they are using to categorize
information
 Explicit sorting will improve storage and retrieval of information
Procedure
 Select two or three related categories that are particularly useful for organizing
information presented in class. Make a list of several good examples of items in each
category. Ensure that the items belong to only one of the categories
 Make and distribute or have students create their own grids
 Distribute or project the list of items. Give a limited time for student to categorize
 Debrief about logic and relationships in each of the categories.
Word Journal
Word Journal (page 188)
Description
 Word Journal prompts a two-part response.
 First students summarize a short text in a single word.
 Second, the student writes a paragraph or more to explain why he/she chose that word.
Purpose
 Focuses on students’ ability to read carefully and deeply
 Assesses skill and creativity at summarizing what has been read
 Assesses skill at explaining and defending
 Practice with this technique helps students to develop the ability to write highly
condensed abstracts and to chunk large piece of information
Procedure
 Select the text for students to read
 Decide what aspect of the text you want them to focus on
 Let students know that they will have to first summarize the text in one word, then
develop a rationale for the choice.
 Tell the students that the choice of a specific word is less important than the quality of the
explanation for that choice. Give them ideas about what their explanations should
contain. Also, the summary word must be connected to their understanding and/or
interpretation of the text.
Classroom Opinion Polls
Classroom Opinion Polls (page 258)
Description
 Anonymously, students share their opinion on course-related issues
Purpose
 Helps faculty discover student opinions about course-related issues
 The opinions that students hold can distort or block the instructional message
 Many opinions are half-formed and unarticulated and sometimes even unrecognized by
the learners – that only intensifies their power to interfere with learning
 By uncovering opinions on specific issues, instructors can better gauge how to begin
teaching and where roadblocks are likely to be
Procedure
 Identify questions or issues about which students may have opinions that could affect
their learning
 Choose one or two issues for your Classroom Opinion Poll. Design the poll question and
response choices.
 Distribute polls to students and have them respond anonymously
 Tabulate results
For more detailed descriptions, sample applications, and ideas to extend and adapt the techniques, refer
to the book.
This tip sheet is distributed on behalf of the Academic Specialist. For additional information or other tips related to teaching at UCN, contact:
Ann Barbour-Stevenson abarbour-stevenson@ucn.ca or 204-627-8634