Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATS)

Classroom assessment techniques, or CATS, are non-graded, anonymous, in- class activities that can be used as formative assessments to gauge how well students are learning the course material. Some techniques are geared towards assessing recall and understanding, while others assess critical thinking, application, or students’ perception of the learning experience. CATS give you feedback on the teaching and learning experience in real time! Review some popular CATS below:

Brief questionnaire (including open ended and/or multiple choice questions) distributed by the instructor at the start of a course or unit to assess what students already know and understand about a topic. Serving as an ungraded "pretest" and providing a baseline of comprehension, this technique can help demonstrate students' growth over a course/unit, provide students with a preview of the material, and give the instructor a sense of where students are starting from. This technique is best for assessing recall and understanding.
Gauge if/how students are gaining knowledge by asking one or two questions at the end of class for students to identify the most significant things they have learned from a given lecture, discussion, or assignment (e.g. What was the most important thing you learned during this class?). Give students about two minutes at the end of class to write a response on an index card or piece of paper. Collect and review the responses to determine if their take-a-ways match with your learning objectives. This technique is best for assessing recall and understanding.
This technique focuses on point(s) of confusion for the class session, by asking students to jot down the muddiest point(s) (i.e. what was most unclear) of a given lesson or unit. Using student responses, instructors can identify which material most students are struggling to understand, and provide review and support as needed. This technique is best for assessing understanding.
Prepare a handout with a matrix of three columns and several rows. At the top of the first two columns, list two distinct concepts that overlap and may be confused with one another (e.g. hurricanes vs. tornados, Picasso vs. Matisse). In the third column, list the important characteristics of each concept in a random order. Using the handout, have students complete the matrix by listing which characteristics belong to each of the two concepts. Student responses will reveal which characteristics are giving your students the most trouble. This technique is best for assessing understanding.
Ask students to list the pros/cons, costs/benefits, or advantages/disadvantages of completing claims or a controversial issue from a reading or class discussion. Consider limiting the number of pros and cons for the list, and then ask students to make a decision/select a stance. Compile lists and tally frequencies of items to see what was mentioned most often, and what might be missing. This technique is best for assessing analysis and critical thinking.
Opinion and knowledge polls can be used in class for a variety of assessment purposes. Students can agree or disagree with a statement or prompt, or respond to multiple choice and open ended questions. For anonymous polling, tools like clickers can be used in large classes, while Zoom polling can be used in synchronous online classes. Some other live polling tools offer free packages that allow for anonymous polling with smaller groups, with students using their own devices to respond. Less official polls (like thumbs up/down/sideways to express understanding of a concept) can also be conducted in smaller classroom settings. This technique is best for assessing student attitudes, perception and awareness of their learning.
Present a problem to the class students and direct students to write out the task they follow to solve the problem, then ask a few students to share their process with the class. This demonstrates that there a multiple ways to reach a solution to a complex problem, while also assessing students' thought processes. This technique is best for assessing problem solving and critical thinking.
Select a concept or principle your students are learning about and ask students to list on cards one to three applications of the principle from everyday experience, current events, or their knowledge of organizations/systems already discussed in the course. You can collect the cards and share some of the examples aloud. This technique is best for assessing application.

Why use CATS in your class?

Get immediate feedback about the teaching and learning process, allowing you to modify lesson plans or offer additional support accordingly
Assess learning with lower stakes, and less work than traditional assignments and tests
Help students assess and reflect on their own learning
Show students that you care about their learning
Encourage the view that teaching and learning is an ongoing process of inquiry, experimentation, and reflection

CATS often overlap with active learning strategies! In fact many of the activities are the same, the difference is in their purpose - "CATS" are activities delivered to gauge student understading and adjust teaching accordingly, while active learning strategies are for students to practice using content, and thus to faciliatate learning! Learn more about active learning strategies here.