Easy Ways to Assess Student Learning

Do you know that you should assess student learning multiple times every day? Do you have a teachers’ bag of tricks for everyday assessments?

We’re not talking about giving quizzes or tests or grading big assignments. We’re certainly not talking about standardized assessments or finding out if students have mastered standards.

We are definitely NOT talking about grading.

We’re talking about finding out what students understand in the moment. These are formative assessments, the type of assessments that inform your instruction. For many teachers, these types of assessments are a natural part of every lesson. They don’t take a lot of planning but can have a big impact on instruction.

Formative assessments let you see what your students are learning, and if what they are learning is what you intended them to learn. You can then adjust the next steps based on what you learn during a formative assessment.

Here are some quick, easy ways to assess student learning. How many are part of your repertoire?

Thumbs up- thumbs sideways, thumbs down

Ask students to give a thumbs up if they are following you and understand, thumbs sideways if they understand some things but are unclear about others, and a thumbs down if they are confused or lost. This strategy works best when students trust you and will tell you their real opinions. It is a good idea to remind them that you aren’t judging them, you’re looking to see if they understand or need something retaught. Follow up with questioning to find our which parts they are confused about.

White board responses

Give students individual white boards and a marker. Throughout the lesson, ask a question and have students hold up their response. A quick glance tells you who is right or wrong. If they are looking at and copying from someone else, chances are they don’t know the answer. Use it as an opportunity to review when many students have the wrong answer. This technique can also give you an idea of individual students who may need extra help.

Stoplight

Give each student a green, yellow, and red card to keep on their desk. Ask them to hold up the green card if they understand and are ready to move on, the yellow card if they have some questions or confusion or the red card if they need to help. If you see a lot of yellow or red cards, stop and clarify before moving on. This is essentially the same as the thumbs-up strategy, but it can add some novelty if thumbs-up gets old. It is also good for students who prefer tactile learning, and will often engage students are easily off task.

Exit slips

At the end of class, ask students to answer a question or two or give a quick summary of what they learned. They hand it in as they leave the room. Use the responses to help you plan for the next day’s lesson.

Draw it!

Give students a couple of minutes to quickly draw or create a visual of something they learned. Then have them turn and share with a neighbor. Share several drawings as a class and discuss them.

Headlines

Have students summarize a lesson by writing a headline that sums up the lesson. Remind them that headlines should be intriguing and interesting and grab reader’s attention. Share a few with the class.

Alternatively, give students a few more characters and have them write the Twitter version.

Beach Ball Review

Get a plastic beach ball and a Sharpie. Write several non-content-based questions such as the following:

Tell one thing you learned today.

Connect something we did today to something you learned in the past.

Give an example of how you could use something we talked about today.

Ask the class a question about today’s lesson.

Make a prediction about what we will learn tomorrow.

Choose another person and ask them a question about today’s lesson.

Ask the teacher a question about today’s lesson.

What do you think the most important part about today’s lesson is?

Ask students to stand in a circle and toss out the ball. If you catch the ball, respond to the prompt nearest your thumb.

Super Summary

Set a timer for two minutes. Ask students to write a summary of the day’s lesson including as many things as they can in two minutes. The one with the most words wins.

Learning Logs

Students keep a notebook and write down things that learned and questions that they have. You can quickly review the books, drawing emoji responses 😊or writing notes to students. This takes a bit of time, but it can be a vehicle for a bit of one-on-one instruction for a struggling student or a way to enrich a student who could use a challenge.

3-2-1

Using white boards, a sheet paper, or a 3-2-1 half-sheet handout, have students write:

3 things to remember from today’s lesson:

2 connections I can make to something I already know:

1 question I still have:

Review their answers before teaching the next lesson.

We hope you will try a couple of new easy ways to assess student learning!

If you would like a printable 3-2-1 handout, fill out the form below and we will send it to your e-mail! It’s a quick, easy way to assess student learning!