What are Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs)?
Classroom assessment techniques are used to evaluate student progress and help teachers improve their teaching. There are many types of classroom assessment techniques, but they usually fall into one of the following categories:
Process-oriented: These are assessments that focus on how the student arrives at a correct answer, not just whether or not they got it right. For example, if you were testing students on their knowledge of the periodic table in chemistry class, you might ask them to explain what happens when a molecule gains an electron. Or if you're teaching English as a second language, you might ask students to translate an excerpt from Hamlet into their native language and then compare translations. This type of assessment is great because it helps teachers understand where students are struggling so they can adjust their approach appropriately.
Product-oriented: These assessments focus on whether or not students have mastered a specific skill or concept. For example, if you're teaching math and want to assess whether or not your student understands fractions and decimal places, you might give them some problems with mixed numbers (1/4) and some without mixed numbers (4/1). The product-oriented assessment would be simply whether or not they got each question correct.
How can professors improve their classroom assessment techniques?
In order to improve your classroom assessment techniques, you need to think about how you are assessing your students. The main goal of assessment is to help your students become better at what they're doing, so it's important to make sure that the way you assess them is actually helping them become better at what they're doing.
First, make sure that your assessments are timely and relevant. Don't wait until the end of the semester or quarter to give a test—assessments should happen as soon as possible after a learning activity or assignment. This will help ensure that the feedback given has some relevance for the student and helps them understand where they need improvement.
Second, make sure that your assessments are authentic and meaningful. Don't just give easy quizzes with multiple choice answers—instead, ask questions that require more thought. This will help ensure that students are engaged in their learning activities and aren't just memorizing facts (which is likely not what you want).
Finally, make sure that your assessments are formative rather than summative. Summative assessments tend to be used at the end of a course or unit of study and determine whether students have learned enough content over time to be considered successful in their coursework; formative assessments help students learn throughout