OTLC Olivet Teaching and Learing Center

Resource Library

Assessment Instruments

"Assessment is most effective when it reflects an understanding of learning as multidimensional, integrated, and revealed in performance over time." — American Association of Higher Education

The following includes numerous ways that faculty can collect assessment information to inform teaching and learning with a goal to improve student learning:

Classroom assessment

Formative Assessment is part of the instructional process and provides information needed to adjust teaching and learning practices with the goal of improving student learning. Formative assessment is best done early to mid-term to allow for changes within the course. Below are a few techniques that have been found useful by Olivet faculty.

Instant Feedback

Minute papers

Set aside a few minutes at the end of class to assess student understanding on a topic. Questions you might ask students to answer are: "What is the most important thing you learning today's class?" or "What questions do you have about the material covered in today's class?"

Jigsaw

Divide the class into small groups of 5-6 students. Each student will take a "piece" of the problem, research it, and bring it together with their jigsaw group and present to the class. The Jigsaw can assist you in assessing student content knowledge, the learning process, and group skills.

Think-Pair-Share

Give your students a question or problem to solve and ask them to spend 2-5 minutes alone (think), discuss their ideas with the student sitting next to them (pair) and then share their ideas with the class (share). Think-Pair-Share can be useful in assessing student content knowledge and the learning process.

Active learning response (ex. Clickers)

Poll students and ask them to respond on true/false or multiple-choice questions with a Personal Response System (aka Clickers). Polls provide instructors with instant feedback regarding how well the class understands the topic. If the results indicate confusion, ask your students to turn to the person next to them, discuss the question, and then vote again.

Non-graded quizzes

Give your students a non-graded quiz as they can provide great feedback on student learning. They are non-threatening, so students tend to like them. Non-graded quizzes can be given in a variety of formats (paper & pencil, Catalyst WebQ, etc.).

Student-Generated Exam Questions

Ask students (either alone, in pairs, or in groups) to generate potential exam questions. Discuss the questions as well as the answers with the class to help you assess student learning and manage student expectations for the exam.

In-Depth Feedback

Small Group Instructional Diagnosis (SGID)

Asking a colleague to perform a SGID can provide an instructor with valuable information about students' experiences in and perceptions of the course, that in turn allow for a mid-quarter adjustment. The SGID requires that students be anonymous so that students are more open in their responses. The best time to do a SGID is during weeks 3, 4, and 5 of the quarter to allow for a mid-quarter course adjustment.

Questionnaire on class exercises and assignments

Asking students to complete a questionnaire on class exercises and assignments can provide an instructor with valuable information about students' experiences and perceptions of a course.

Student self-assessment

Giving students the opportunity to do a self-assessment of their knowledge or skills gives them the opportunity to actively participate in the assessment of their learning skills. It also opens up door for further conversations on learning.

Summative Assessment can be given periodically to determine what students know and do not know and can also be used to assign grades.

Instant Feedback

Real time quizzes on Blackboard

Blackboard provides instant feedback to faculty concerning student learning.

Active learning response (ex. Clickers)

Poll students and ask them to respond on true/false or multiple-choice questions with a Personal Response System (aka Clickers). Polls provide instructors with instant feedback regarding how well the class understands the topic. If the results indicate confusion, ask your students to turn to the person next to them, discuss the question, and then vote again.

In-depth Feedback

Papers

Assigning a writing assignment provides an opportunity for student learning and critical thinking as well as for assessing student learning. Instructors should break longer writing assignments into smaller parts to allow for revision and feedback.

Homework graded

Asking students to complete graded homework provides a teacher with the opportunity to assess student learning outside of the classroom. Graded homework supports students in subjects that require daily study time to best learn the course content.

Regularly scheduled or unscheduled quizzes

Giving students regularly scheduled or unscheduled quizzes can assist faculty with assessing student learning. It also provides an opportunity to improve student learning, as students are required to keep up with the course material on a regular basis.

Pre and post-tests

Administer a pre-test to gauge your student's prior knowledge of the subject and a post-test to assess the student learning that occurred in your course.

Bubble sheets

Giving students a test with optical mark forms is a quick method for multiple-choice or true-false questions, or surveys that provide students with a set of fixed responses. The Office of Educational Assessment at Olivet provides scanning and scoring services for the Olivet.

Point recapture on exams

Give students an opportunity to earn back a portion of the points they missed if can give the correct answer and/or provide their rationale for the correct answer.

Course evaluations

Follow the links below to view specific course evaluation sample forms:

Links

Links to other higher education websites with resources on assessment

• Classroom Assessment Technique Examples
• 9 Principles of Good Practice for Assessing Student Learning
• Liberal Educations and America's Promise (LEAP): Essential Learning Outcomes