Module 5: Assessment Strategies in Science skill in a practical setting.

Exit tickets make this easy to

administer and review student answers.

3. Use quizzes
22 Simple Assessment Strategies & Tips You Can Use
Every Day
Give a short quiz at the end of class to check for
comprehension.

4. Ask students to summarize

1. An open-ended question that gets them Have students summarize or paraphrase important concepts
writing/talking and lessons. This can be done orally, visually, or otherwise.

Avoid yes/no questions and phrases like “Does this make 5. Hand signals
sense?” In response to these questions, students usually
answer ‘yes.’ So, of course, it’s surprising when several Hand signals can be used to rate or indicate students’
students later admit that they’re lost. understanding of content. Students can show anywhere
from five fingers to signal maximum understanding to one
To help students grasp ideas in class, ask open- finger to signal minimal understanding. This strategy
ended questions that require students that get students requires engagement by all students and allows the teacher
writing/talking. They can reveal more than you would’ve to check for understanding within a large group.
thought to ask directly.
6. Response cards
2. Ask students to reflect
Index cards, signs, whiteboards, magnetic boards, or other
During the last five minutes of class ask students to reflect items are simultaneously held up by all students in class to
on the lesson and write down what they’ve learned. Then, indicate their response to a question or problem presented
ask them to consider how they would apply this concept or by the teacher. Using response devices, the teacher can

1
easily note the responses of individual students while questions; and practice phrasing, pacing, and reading
teaching the whole group. dialogue.

7. Four corners 10. One question quiz

A quick and easy snapshot of student understanding, Four Ask a single focused question with a specific goal that can
Corners provides an opportunity for student movement be answered within a minute or two. You can quickly scan
while permitting the teacher to monitor and assess the written responses to assess student understanding.
understanding.
11. Socratic seminar
The teacher poses a question or makes a statement.
Students then move to the appropriate corner of the Students ask questions of one another about an essential
classroom to indicate their response to the prompt. For question, topic, or selected text. The questions initiate a
example, the corner choices might include “I strongly conversation that continues with a series of responses and
agree,” “I strongly disagree,” “I agree somewhat,” and “I’m additional questions. Students learn to formulate questions
not sure.” that address issues to facilitate their own discussion and
arrive at a new understanding.
8. Think-pair-share
12. 3-2-1
Students take a few minutes to think about the question or
prompt. Next, they pair with a designated partner to Students consider what they have learned by responding to
compare thoughts before sharing with the whole class. the following prompt at the end of the lesson: 3) things they
learned from your lesson; 2) things they want to know more
9. Choral reading about; and 1) questions they have. The prompt stimulates
student reflection on the lesson and helps to process the
Students mark text to identify a particular concept and
learning.
chime in, reading the marked text aloud in unison with the
teacher. This strategy helps students develop fluency;
differentiate between the reading of statements and 13. Ticket out the door

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Students write in response to a specific prompt for a short 16. Misconception check
period of time. Teachers collect their responses as a “ticket
out the door” to check for students’ understanding of a Present students with common or predictable
concept taught. This exercise quickly generates multiple misconceptions about a concept you’re covering. Ask them
ideas that could be turned into longer pieces of writing at a whether they agree or disagree and to explain why.
later time.

17. Analogy prompt

14. Journal reflections

Teaching with analogies can be powerful. Periodically,

Students write their reflections on a lesson, such as what present students with an analogy prompt: “the concept
they learned, what caused them difficulty, strategies they being covered is like ____ because ____.”
found helpful, or other lesson-related topics. Students can
reflect on and process lessons. By reading student work–
18. Practice frequency
especially —types of learning journals that help students
think—teachers can identify class and individual
misconceptions and successes. (See also Check for understanding at least three times a lesson,
minimum.
15. Formative pencil–paper assessment
19. Use variety
Students respond individually to short, pencil–paper
formative assessments of skills and knowledge taught in the Teachers should use enough different individual and whole
lesson. Teachers may elect to have students self-correct. The group techniques to check understanding that they
teacher collects assessment results to monitor individual accurately know what all students know. More than likely,
student progress and to inform future instruction. this means during a single class the same technique should
not be repeated.
Both student and teacher can quickly assess whether the
student acquired the intended knowledge and skills. This is 20. Make it useful
a formative assessment, so a grade is not the intended
purpose.

3
The true test is whether or not you can adjust your course References:
or continue as planned based on the information received in
each check. Do you need to stop and start over? Pull a few This post was written by Saga Briggins and was first
students aside for three minutes to re-teach? Or move on? published by on opencolleges.edu.au; 20 Simple Assessment
Strategies You Can Use Every Day
21. Peer instruction

Perhaps the most accurate way to check for understanding

is to have one student try to teach another student what Prepared by: Aliabe Ruth L. Lapidez
she’s learned. If she can do that successfully, it’s clear she
understood your lesson.
Marygrace Pagara

22. “Separate what you do and don’t understand”

Norife Lozada

Whether making a t-chart, drawing a concept map, or using

Rolando Lozano
some other means, have the students not simply list what
they think they know, but what they don’t know as well. This
won’t be as simple as it sounds–we’re usually not aware of Robert Condolon
what we don’t know.
Janeth Gulle
They’ll also often know more or less than they can identify
themselves, which makes this strategy a bit crude. But that’s Kim Benjamin Gaviola
okay–the goal isn’t for them to be precise and complete in
their self-evaluation the goal is for you to gain insight as to
what they do and don’t know.

And seeing what they can even begin to articulate on their

own is an excellent starting point here.