Classroom Assessment Techniques (CAT) – Quick Reference Guide
Plan
Implement
Respond
Goals of CATs:
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Learner-Centered
Teacher-Directed
Mutually Beneficial
Formative
Context-Specific
Ongoing
Rooted in good teaching practice
Questions to ask as you plan, implement, and respond:
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When should I administer a CAT?
How often should I administer a CAT?
What are some ways I can expand on the CAT?
Should I rotate through several CATs in a single class?
Should I ask students to respond anonymously or with their names?
The following chart presents 7 of the most commonly used and easy to implement CATs. These may be implemented as
is or expanded upon and modified as necessary for your classroom and content area.
Source: Angelo, T.A. & Cross, K.P. (1993). Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers (2nd
Ed.). Jossey-Bass: San Francisco.
Classroom Assessment Techniques (CAT) – Quick Reference Guide
CAT
Description
Possible Application
Pros / Cons
Pros:
A history professor presents a thorough lecture on the failings of Easy to prepare and fast to administer
the 5 Presidents that led up to the Civil War. After the lecture, the Immediate and easy response about a specific topic
This CAT asks for a quick and
professor passes out index cards and then writes the following
Good for all sizes of classes
question on the board: “What was the reason these presidents
Demonstrates respect for what the student may
were so ineffective at preventing the Civil War?” Students write
actually be learning
easy response, after the
Minute Paper
presentation of material, to the
questions: What was the most
their responses and hand in the index cards as they leave class.
important thing you learned,
The professor reads the responses and finds that many of the
Cons:
students incorrectly believe President Lincoln began the Civil
Can easily be overused, or used poorly
War and clarifies this point at the next lecture.
Sometimes difficult to interpret
and what questions remain?
Pros:
Quick, simple, and easy to administer
Like a minute paper, this CAT
A research methods professor presents material on research
Allows students a safe way to identify something that
asks students to identify any
ethics, historically and in modern research. After the
confuses them
part of the presentation that
presentation, the professor asks students to write down what
Teacher sees the material through the student’s eyes
Muddiest Point they didn’t understand or that
they felt was the muddiest point of the presentation and hand it
was confusing with the question in. The professor reads the responses and finds that many didn’t Cons:
"what was the muddiest point
understand the role of the IRB. At the next class, the professor
May be difficult for students to communicate in writing
from today's class?"
further clarifies the role of the IRB.
what they don't understand.
Focusing on what students DON’T understand could
make them remember the wrong information
Classroom Assessment Techniques (CAT) – Quick Reference Guide
Pros:
Quick and easy way to assess student's ability to
This CAT asks students to
A chemistry professor explains the steps to anaylzing crime-
summarize succinctly and coherently
scene evidence. After reading the assigned chapter describing
Helps students paraphrase in their own words
the same process, the students are asked to summarize each
Provides a memorable framework that is quick and
step in one sentence. The professor reads the sentences and
easy to recall
process a large amount of
information into a concise,
One-Sentence complete, and creative
Summary
summary by formulating a
randomly picks 3-5 to read aloud to illustrate the different
sentence that addresses
summary approaches. The professor clarifies the steps one more Cons:
Who/What does what to
time in greater detail.
Some material may not be easily summarized in one
what/whom, when, where, why,
sentence
and how?
Potential for oversimplifying the material
Pros:
Emphasizes comprehension and communication
simultaneously
A political science professor asks students to write a 5-sentence
Identifies for the teacher how well students are
memo about the impact of changing the political boundaries prior
Similar to the One-
understanding concepts/information
to an upcoming election that would be presented to a legislative
Directed
Paraphrasing
Sentence Summary, this CAT
Promotes an understanding of the wider
subcommittee. The professor sorts the memos by levels of
asks students to paraphrase a
relevance and potential of their work
accuracy, suitability to intended audience, and effectiveness in
portion of a lesson for a specific
fulfilling the purpose. The professor identifies and
Cons:
purpose and audience.
summarizes the strong and weak points of the paraphrases and
Requires strict enforcement of length for consistency
presents the summary to the students.
and greater ease in comparisons
Due to the qualitative comparisons, this CAT requires
a little more time to properly close the feedback loop
Classroom Assessment Techniques (CAT) – Quick Reference Guide
Pros:
- Increases motivation and engagement by applying
theoretical concepts to things they know in the real
world
A Physics professor spends a class period illustrating Newton's
Provides a quick and easy way to assess how well
Third Law of Motion. After the lesson, he hands out index cards
students understand a concept
to the students and asks them to apply Newton's Third Law of
Builds a database of relevant examples to be used by
Motion to something they see in the everyday world. The next
faculty continuously
This CAT asks students to
Application
Cards
apply what they have recently
learned to something in the real
class period, the professor selects 3 of the best applications and
world.
2 marginal/unacceptable applications and discusses the material Cons:
further as necessary.
Without proper follow-up, students may only
remember a poor application rather than a correct
application
Not all fields have easily applicable material to the real
world
Pros:
At the beginning of class, a Journalism professor displays a
Encourages participation by all students due to the
Powerpoint slide with a set of questions asking students their
anonymity of the polling
level of agreement/disagreement with certain techniques of
Provides information quickly for same-day feedback
"ambush journalism." Using their iClickers, students respond to
Encourages lively discussion and debate on issues
This CAT builds on traditional
Classroom
Opinion Poll
student polling on
classroom/content issues
the questions. The professor then proceeds to lecture about
through an honest and
ambush journalism. In the remaining half of the class, the
Cons:
anonymous technique.
professor tallies the votes and engages the class in a discussion Results could be unexpected and opposite from
on the pros and cons of ambush journalism.
known evidence, creating misguided learning
Some students may not respond honestly
Classroom Assessment Techniques (CAT) – Quick Reference Guide
Pros:
Promotes deep comprehension of reading material
An English professor presents a selection from a Shakespeare
Encourages students to take responsibility for their
play to the students. After reading the selection, the students are own responses
Word Journal
This CAT asks students to
asked to summarize it in a single word. Then they are asked to
Facilitates broadening skills in memory, summary, and
comprehend, summarize, and
write a short paragraph explaining why they chose the word they communicating
defend their understanding of a did. The professor does the same. After reading through the
particular text/reading.
summaries, the professor selects 3-4 different approaches to the Cons:
selection and engages in a discussion as to why they may or
Can be time-consuming depending upon the length of
may not be a good "fit".
the required reading
Due to the importance of the discussion, it can be
difficult to ensure anonymity