Systematic collection and analysis of student data can help improve teaching by providing insight into what students know and how they learn. Classroom assessment techniques (CATs) have several advantages: (1) they are formative and provide feedback to teachers while the course is ongoing; (2) they are quick to administer and grade; (3) they can be tailored to each instructor's needs; and (4) they can be anonymous for students while still providing feedback on learning. When designing CATs, teachers should keep them simple, focused on collecting only necessary data, and explain their purpose to students. Assessment should be integrated into teaching and learning to fully benefit instruction.

2. Systematic collecton and analysis of
information to improve educational practice
BASED ON BELIEF that the more you know
about what your students know and how they
learn, the better you can play your learning and
structure your teaching.

3. “ Learning can and
often does take place
without benefit of
teaching-and sometimes
in spite of it- but there
is no such thing as
effective teaching in

4. ADVANTAGE

5. 1. They are formative in nature. Unlike final exams or
major terms papers, CAT’s provide faculty with
feedback on student learning while the
teaching/learning relationship is still intact, so that
faculty can intervene during the semester ( as
opposed to the next semester ) to help students learn
more completely.

6. 2. They are speedy. They often consume just a few
minutes of classroom time to administer, and can be
ready easily and quickly by faculty.
3. They are flexible. They can be tailored to the
unique and specific concerns of the instructor.

7. 4. They can be anonymous for students (although
they need not be).The aim of classroom assessment is
not necessarily to grade individual student work or
to provide the instructor with feedback on their
performance; rather , the aim is to provide instructor
with feedback on student learning.

9. As you design the activity, keep it simple. What
do you want students to do? What kind of
response do you think you will get? Don't ask
for more data that you need; don't ask for more
data than you are willing to use. Read through
the completed questions or tasks you have
written--or better yet have someone else read
them--and check to see that they will in fact
solicit the kinds of information you are looking
for.

10. Introduce the activity by letting students know
why you are using these techniques. How will
the information you collect help them? Even a
simple statement about how such information
makes it easier for you to plan subsequent class
sessions may be enough. Genuine but judicious
explanations of the technique and its purpose
seem to work the best.

11. CONCLUSION

12. Teaching has always been a demanding and
strenuous job. There is often little time energy at the
end of a day for studying the textbooks and technical
reports about assessment. Yet, to take full advantage
of an assessment’s power to inform and direct
instruction, it must become as much a part of
instruction and learning as the textbooks and other
material used in a class. It must become as much a
part of teaching as discussion and class management.