Go to Collaborative Learning Go to FLAG Home Go to Search
Go to Learning Through Technology Go to Site Map
Go to Who We Are
Go to College Level One Home
Go to Introduction Go to Assessment Primer Go to Matching CATs to Goals Go to Classroom Assessment Techniques Go To Tools Go to Resources


Go to CATs overview
Go to Attitude survey
Go to ConcepTests
Go to Concept mapping
Go to Conceptual diagnostic tests
Go to Interviews
Go to Mathematical thinking
Go to Performance assessment
Go to Portfolios
Go to Scoring rubrics
Go to Student assessment of learning gains (SALG)
Go to Weekly reports


Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs) - Overview

The Classroom Assessment Techniques -- CATs (Angelo and Cross, 1993) within the FLAG are succinct, self-contained, self-instructional, web-based modules that introduce a broadly applicable technique for use in college or university STEM courses. Each CAT has been written by a college or university instructor who currently uses the technique, and has been reviewed by the FLAG Editorial Board for accuracy and consistency with current professional standards of assessment. In most cases, the technique has an extensive history of research to support claims of reliability and validity. The CATs are linked to a set of discipline-specific "tools" that can be downloaded for immediate use.

Each CAT is composed of a set of common features:


  • Focus Questions: Overview of strategy; general requirements and limitations of implementation.
  • Description: Succint but thorough introduction.
  • Purposes: Indications of appropriate usage.
  • Limitations: Contra-indications and potential problems.
  • Teaching Goals: List of course goals addressed by the strategy.
  • Suggestions for Use: Friendly "Tips" from an experienced user.
  • Step-by-Step: Explicit directions for implementation.
  • Variations: Alternative uses and elaborations.
  • Analysis: Making sense of the data; uses in evaluation.
  • Pros and Cons: Advantages and disadvantages.
  • Theory and Research: Conceptual and empirical foundations.
  • Links: URLs or email addresses of CAT authors for direct contact by users.
  • Sources: Books, papers, related web-sites.
  • Author's Story: Personalized description of author and how (s)he came to use strategy.


Go to top of page.


Introduction || Assessment Primer || Matching Goals to CATs || CATs || Tools || Resources
Search || Who We Are || Site Map || Meet the CL-1 Team || WebMaster || Copyright || Download
College Level One (CL-1) Home || Collaborative Learning || FLAG || Learning Through Technology || NISE