A progress check is a unit-level formative assessment designed to measure student understanding of topics and skills covered in a specific unit of study.
Understanding Progress Checks
Progress checks serve as crucial tools for gauging student learning throughout a course. They are not typically high-stakes tests but rather assessments intended to provide feedback and identify areas where students may need additional support or practice.
Based on the provided information:
- Purpose: To gauge student understanding of all topics and skills within a unit.
- Level: They are conducted at the unit-level.
- Type: They are formative assessments, meaning they are used to monitor student learning and provide ongoing feedback rather than to evaluate overall achievement at the end of a course.
- Measurement: Knowledge and skills are measured through multiple-choice questions. These questions come with rationales that explain both the correct and incorrect answers, aiding in the learning process.
How Progress Checks Work
Progress checks typically involve students answering questions related to content recently covered in a unit. The design, particularly the inclusion of rationales for answers, emphasizes learning from the assessment itself.
- Identifying Strengths and Weaknesses: By seeing which questions were answered correctly or incorrectly, students and educators can pinpoint areas of strong understanding or concepts that require further review.
- Providing Feedback: The rationales explain why an answer is correct or incorrect, offering valuable insights that help students learn from their mistakes immediately.
- Informing Instruction: Educators can use the collective results of progress checks to adjust their teaching, spending more time on challenging topics or modifying their instructional strategies.
Key Features
| Feature | Description | Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Unit-Level | Focuses on content within a specific unit. | Breaks down learning into manageable parts. |
| Formative | Assesses ongoing understanding, not just final achievement. | Allows for timely intervention and support. |
| Multiple-Choice | Standardized question format. | Easy to administer and score. |
| Includes Rationales | Explains why answers are right or wrong. | Enhances learning from mistakes. |
In essence, a progress check is a structured way to pause during a unit, check what students have learned so far, and use that information to help them learn better going forward.
