Classroom Assessment Techniques, also referred to as CATs, are strategies educators use to gauge how well students are comprehending key points during a lesson or a course. The techniques are meant to be a type of formative assessment that also allow teachers to make adjustments to a lesson based on students' needs. CATs are most commonly ungraded, unanimous, and are conducted during class time.[1]
Background
The incorporation of classroom assessment techniques is an age-old concept which teachers have been using and practicing for years. Whether a teacher uses a technique learned in training, or simply a strategy conjured up on their own, teachers need to know if their methods are successful and many feel that the desire to understand students' comprehension is instinctive. Despite this innate characteristic among teachers, the first real attempt to document such techniques for teachers didn't appear until 1988, when K. Patricia Cross and Thomas A. Angelo published “Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for Faculty”.
Benefits for teachers
By using feedback attained through CATs, teachers gain insight into which concepts their students understand the best and which ones are most confusing. They can then use this information to decide when there needs to be more instruction, and when the class is ready to move on to the next topic. In this way, teachers are able to meet the needs of their students most effectively. These techniques can also help teachers understand the ways their students learn the best, as well as alert teachers when a certain teaching approach is not working very well. Other benefits include flexibility and timeliness.[2] Many of the techniques, although not all, can be used in a variety of ways. They can be adapted to fit large or small class sizes, or modified depending on what subject matter is being taught; they can be used to assess students' recall or critical thinking skills. Also, CATs require very little time, if any, to be set aside - most of the activities can be conducted during regular instruction time.
Benefits for students
Classroom Assessment Techniques allow students a chance to see how they are progressing over time. Along with that, it shows students that their feedback can make a difference in what and how they learn, which in turn could lead students to take more ownership of their education. Students have reported that they feel more involved in the learning process when these techniques are used in the classroom because it requires them to focus on what they're learning[2] – they become active participants rather than passive learners. The integration of CATs in the classroom can also serve as an example for how learning is an ongoing, highly adaptable process.[1]
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