Assessment

Preassessments — Susan Brookhart Classroom Assessment Essentials

Preassessments should be more than quizzes and tests. They can be used to assess student interests, prior knowledge, or skills and abilities. Using a typical multiple choice test or written assessment can set students up with a failure mindset, (I’m not good at this and never will be).

Examples:

Brainstorming

Concept Maps

Discussions

Group Tasks

Skills Checks

Interest Inventories

ETC.

Brainstorming as a Preassessment

Brainstorming as a preassessment can start as a question or prompt for students to find a solution. It could also be an image where they describe a solution to the problem provided in the picture. Brainstorming provides students the opportunity to share their thinking and rationale, so the instructor can clear up any misconceptions.

Examples:

• If you needed to change a tire, what are the steps you would take?
• Walk me through the preparation process to get a patient ready for surgery. Provide any vital checks or sanitation procedures that would need to be completed.
• If you were preparing a recipe, what are the steps you would take in order?

Concept map

Ask students to map relationships among key ideas, list possible steps in a process, or visually conceptualize what would matter in a case before you teach the full model. Keep it ungraded or completion-based. Scan for patterns, not perfection. Why it matters: these activities reveal how students organize knowledge, not just whether they can recall a definition.

Resource link: Cornell CTI: Assessing Prior Knowledge and Addressing Learning Gaps

Diagnostic preassessment: background knowledge probe

Before a new unit or major skill, ask one or two low-stakes questions to learn what students already know, where they feel confident, and where misconceptions may appear. Use a prompt, short Brightspace quiz, concept list, image, scenario, or “what I know / what I wonder” response. Why it matters: preassessment helps faculty start where students are without making the first contact with new content feel like a graded failure.

Resource link: Cornell CTI: Assessing Prior Knowledge and Addressing Learning Gaps

Discussions as a Preassessment

Discussions can be used as a quicker version of a Brainstorm activity. They can answer the same types of questions or prompts, but often require less preparation or time afterwards, because students would not have to write down their thoughts. Instructors could correct misconceptions on the spot. Each student may not answer however, so the instructor may not know every student’s abilities.

Examples:

• If you needed to change a tire, what are the steps you would take?
• Walk me through the preparation process to get a patient ready for surgery. Provide any vital checks or sanitation procedures that would need to be completed.
• If you were preparing a recipe, what are the steps you would take in order?

Formative Assessments — Susan Brookhart Classroom Assessment Essentials

Formative assessments are used to inform teaching and as assessment for learning. Instructors should do this frequently throughout the lessons to correct misconceptions and improve student knowledge. The questions involved in the formative assessment cycle are “Where am I going? Where am I now? Where to next? (or How do I close the gap?). Teachers should ask these questions of themselves, and provide students with these answers during formative assessment.

Examples

Where am I going: providing objectives at the beginning of the lesson/Pre-assessment

Where am I now: questioning, discussion, activities, etc.

Where next: Feedback, peer and self assessment

Formative check-with-response

Use a short check for understanding during or after class, such as a minute paper, muddiest point, poll, exit ticket, or one-question Brightspace quiz. Review the results and tell students what you are changing, clarifying, or reinforcing. Why it matters: formative assessment only helps when faculty close the loop and students see that their evidence of learning informs the next step.

Resource link: Penn State Grove Center: Classroom Assessment Techniques

Assess the outcome, not just the format

Before using an exam, paper, presentation, project, practical, or portfolio, ask: What learning outcome does this assessment actually reveal? Choose the format that gives students the best chance to demonstrate the intended knowledge or skill. Why it matters: assessment alignment improves fairness and helps students see that grades are connected to learning goals rather than hidden preferences.

Resource link: CMU Eberly: Align Assessments, Objectives, and Instructional Strategies

Summative Assessments — Susan Brookhart Classroom Assessment Essentials

Summative assessments are the end of learning and often used for assigning a grade. Many summative assessments are traditional exams, but they do not have to be; they could be projects, papers, presentations, etc.

Make summative assessments usable

For major exams, projects, papers, performances, or presentations, preview the format, criteria, point values, allowed resources, time expectations, and how students should prepare. Afterward, look for patterns in missed items or weak criteria and use those patterns to adjust review, examples, or future instruction. Why it matters: summative assessment should document learning, but it can also show faculty what needs clearer teaching or better practice next time.

Resource link: Yale Poorvu: Formative and Summative Assessments