I don’t have time for low stakes assessment, especially on the quarter system.

Assessment of stated learning goals makes teaching more explicit and transparent, and will make it are more effective and efficient.¹ When students understand what is expected of them, they are better prepared to successfully meet course goals.

While planning for a class session, Svinicki (2008) suggests that “one way of condensing content is to concentrate primarily on that critical skill of problem set up with only occasional prods to the support mechanics.” The conceptual understanding of a problem can often be a major raod block for students. By prioritizing class time to assess the understanding of a problem, we ensure that the student has the foundational knowledge needed to apply the mechanics.

To be efficient with classroom assessment techniques, choose a small set of techniques and use them throughout the quarter. Svinicki (2008) states that by doing this you will not only save yourself planning time, but you will also not use valuable time teaching new assessment processes to students.² It’s important to note that many forms of classroom assessment only take a few minutes. Angelo and Cross offer a number of techniques that take only 5-10 minutes of class time and are simple to implement. “By starting with CATS that require very little planning or preparation, you risk very little of your own – and your students’ – time and energy” (1993, p. 28).³

Remember, covering material does not necessarily lead to student learning!

¹Some faculty think that the more we are explicit about and transparent about expectations, the more we structure the assessments as opposed to students assessing on their own, we are assuming too much responsibility for student learning you’re pushing the responsibility for learning more on to students, forcing them to own their learning.

²For more tips on time management in the classroom see:
Svinicki, M. (2008). So Much Content, So Little Time. Retreived from http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/teachlearn/
resources/guides/content/index.html

³ Angelo, T. A., & Cross, K. P. (1993). Classroom assessment techniques: A handbook for college teachers. The Jossey-Bass higher and adult education series. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Available in the Office for Teaching, Learning and Assessment Library.