George Brown Polytechnic is located on the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and other Indigenous peoples who have lived here over time. We are grateful to share this land as treaty people who learn, work and live in the community with each other.
Assessing Learning Made Simple
Classroom assessment techniques refer to the tools and strategies used to help professors and students understand what students are learning and how effectively they are learning it (Angelo & Cross, 1993). These classroom assessment techniques can include ungraded /formative assessments as well as graded /summative assessment.
Below are some examples of formative assessment techniques professors can use to help measure their students’ understanding of learning.
- 1. The Minute Paper
- 2. The Muddiest Point
- 3. Concept Mapping
- 4. One-Sentence Summary
- 5. Application Cards
- 6. Peer Review or Feedback
- 7. Polls and Quick Quizzes
1. The Minute Paper
At the end of class, students take one minute to answer two quick questions:
“What was the most important thing you learned today?”
“What question remains unanswered?”
Purpose: Checks for understanding and identifies areas of confusion.
2. The Muddiest Point
Students write down what part of the lesson was most confusing or unclear.
Purpose: Helps instructors pinpoint topics that need clarification.
3. Concept Mapping
Students draw diagrams showing how concepts are related.
Purpose: Reveals how well students understand relationships between ideas.
4. One-Sentence Summary
Students summarize a key concept, lesson, or reading in a single, well-structured sentence.
Purpose: Assesses students’ ability to synthesize and express understanding concisely.
5. Application Cards
Students describe one real-world situation where they could apply what they just learned.
Purpose: Measures transfer of learning and practical understanding.
6. Peer Review or Feedback
Students evaluate one another’s work using a rubric or checklist.
Purpose: Encourages critical thinking and metacognition.
7. Polls and Quick Quizzes
Short, low-stakes quizzes (digital or paper) at the start or end of class.
Purpose: Provides immediate feedback to both students and instructor.
Reference
Angelo, T. A., & Cross, K. P. (1993). Classroom assessment techniques: A handbook for college teachers (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED317097.pdf