Assessment for

student success
Based on Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for Faculty
by Thomas Angelo and Patricia Cross

Presented by: Effie Russell

Professor of English
Atlantic Cape Community College
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 What is assessment?

o Institutional Assessment
o Program Assessment
o Summative Assessment
o Formative Assessment
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“Learning can and often does take
place without the benefit of
teaching—and sometimes even in
spite of it– but there is no such thing
as effective teaching in the absence
of learning. Teaching without
learning is just talking” (Cross &
Angelo 3).

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Classroom Assessment is:
Learner centered (help students change their study habits or develop
their metacognitive thinking)
Teacher directed (respects the autonomy, academic freedom, and
professional judgment of college faculty)
Mutually beneficial (to both students and faculty)
Formative (almost never graded and often anonymous)
Context-specific (“You need the right tool to do the job right.”)
Ongoing (“the communications loop connecting faculty to students”)
Rooted in good teaching practice (make good teaching more
systematic, more flexible, and more effective)

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 Seven Basic Assumptions of Classroom Assessment:
1. The quality of student learning is directly related to the
quality of teaching.
2. Effective teachers set clear goals and objectives then
require clear feedback on how well they are achieving
those goals.
3. To improve learning, students need appropriate and
focused feedback early and often.
4. Institutional and program assessment rarely ask the kinds
of questions that are meaningful and useful to individual
classroom teachers.

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5. Classroom assessment does not require specialized
training. It does require dedicated teachers in all
disciplines who are willing to take a few risks.
6. Faculty who collaborate with their colleagues and involve
students enhance learning and personal satisfaction.
7. Systematic inquiry and intellectual challenge are powerful
sources of motivation, growth, and renewal for college
teachers.

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 How Do I Start?
Remember: quizzes, tests, exams, lab
reports, term papers, and homework are
used for “summative” evaluation and
assessment to assign individual grades
usually after the subject has been taught.

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Formative classroom assessment is
used to find out how students are
learning while the subject is being
taught (formative assessment).

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Does that mean I have to do both? YES.
But the second part is so rewarding that
you won’t want to stop.

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 Start Small
1. Planning: choose one or two types of
assessment in one or two sections.
the Minute Paper (CAT 6)
the Muddiest Point (CAT 7)
the One-Sentence Summary (CAT 13)

Begin with a course that you feel comfortable and confident

in teaching. Don’t start with something brand-new.

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2. Implementing: let students know
beforehand what you are going to do.
Let students know how much time;
allow enough time.

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3. Responding: at the beginning of the
next class, let students know what you
have learned and what adjustments
you are going to make to your teaching.
The feedback (immediately) is critical
to classroom assessment.

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Each CAT in the book follows a format:
1. An estimate of the ease of use.
2. A concise description
3. A definition of the purpose

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4. Suggestions for use
5. Actual examples of how faculty in
a variety of disciplines have used
the CAT
6. A short list of teaching goals that
might be assessed

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7. Step-by-step procedures for
designing and implementing
8. Practical advice on how to
analyze the data
9. Pros, Cons, Caveats

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 My Experience:
I began using this book about 1992. I
xeroxed all the CAT’s that had relevance
in my area.
I kept those on my desk as a Bible.

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I was tentative and afraid, but brave.
(And I really believed what Cross
and Angelo had written.)

I started with one course. I used the

Minute Paper.

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Then I used the Chain Notes idea with my
developmental students in the computer
lab.

With each “baby step” I found that I

really looked forward to going to class
more and more. Instead of getting
“burned out,” I was learning more about
the process of learning…what a thrill.
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Each Sunday night, instead of planning what
“I” was going to be doing in class each day, I
began to plan what the students were going to
be doing in class each day. HINT: listening,
staring off into space, sleeping, doodling on the
desks do not count as activity. And then I
anticipated what I would learn from them
about my teaching and their learning.

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I learned a lot about voice, and student
readiness, and the value of student
collaboration, and clear specific instructions
for group work, and the importance of
student feedback on group work.

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Time?: At this point I spend
approximately 15 – 20 minutes
evaluating and responding per 30
student class. We have 10 assessments
per semester. Every class (from ENGL
070 to ENGL 205) participates in
assessment. It has become as common as
breathing for me.

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Sometimes I don’t open the Cross/Angelo book
during the entire semester. As I drive in my
car, I keep a notepad handy because now I
create CAT’s of my own…to fit the particular
class, to assess prior learning, to assess cultural
differences. The ideas are endless.

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Each week we participate in an exercise (I
don’t call this assessment). Each one is worth
10 points. If a student is absent, he/she may
not make up the 10 points. They do get the
assignment. Many do the assignment even
though they will get no credit for it. At the end
of the semester, these points become the “class
participation” grade. There are no
correct/incorrect answers to the assessment
(well… let me explain).
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I ALWAYS participate with students. I write
when they are writing. I am a part of the
“community of learners”; therefore, I
participate too. I share and trade papers with
my classmates.

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The classroom climate should
become cooperative and
collaborative, not competitive.

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When I do lecture, I throw in a few “quick
quizzes” to find out if they are
daydreaming, paying attention, “getting
it.”

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I use them in my online class.

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What are my
conclusions?

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Retention has improved: students have an
investment in their learning.They appreciate
being listened to and taken seriously.
Grades have improved: mostly A’s and B’s in
my classes.

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We become a “community of learners” with
responsibilities to one another.
The extrinsic rewards become less
important than the intrinsic rewards as the
semester progresses.

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Plagiarism is not a huge problem. (Students
develop a “voice.”)Students develop both
metacognitive and critical thinking skills.
Classes are much more interesting for me and,
I am sure, for my students.

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Getting started involves courage and an ability to
take some risks.

Peer support is important. If you want to “try out”

some ideas, just stop by and talk. I am a huge
proponent of this approach.

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 The Book Please…
pp. 109-114
p.116 Bloom’s Taxonomy
p.126 ff. #2 Focused Listing
p.148 ff. #6 The Minute Paper
p.154 ff. #7 The Muddiest Point
p.188 ff. #14 The Word Journal
p.236 ff. #24 Application Cards
p.322 ff. #41 Chain Notes
p.348 ff. #47 Group Work Evaluations

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