What To Look For in Classroom Assessment Tools

Last week I received an email from a colleague asking about an assessment tool that would allow for questions types that include more than multiple choice options.  This colleague has been using Quizizz and has been quite happy with it.  However, as a math teacher, she wants to have other options outside of the A-B-C-D options.  I immediately referred her to Formative.  Over the past year, I have shared a presentation created for the Digital Learning Competencies program that specifically met standard 4 - Data Tools and Assessment.  The presentation "More Rare Than Gold:  Platinum Tools for Data and Assessment" has been shared in many conferences and workshops with some outstanding educators.  In this presentation, I discuss different criteria that I use for assessment and data tools.  These criteria help to guide educators in making decisions about which tools to use.  Before sharing the specific criteria I use, it is important to understand the reason that data is being collected.  Educators must consider the following questions prior to selecting an assessment tool.  Why is collecting this data important and how will it be used to make instructional decisions regarding student learning? Will the tool be used for formative or summative assessment or both?  What types of data need to be collected? 

Once the purpose of the data collection is determined, I then apply my criteria for selecting a tool.   

• "3 Click Rule:"  This rule is my primary criterion in selecting a tool.  Teachers are very busy and anything that we can do to reduce the time needed to perform their duties is needed.  In my experience, a lot of data is collected in the classroom but if the data are not used to make decisions and gain additional insights into student learning, then the collection of data is meaningless.  In order for the data to be useful, teachers must be able to access the data quickly and in ways that trends can be determined.  The "3 Click Rule" states that if it takes more than three mouse clicks to access the data, then time will limit the teacher's ability to use the collected data in a beneficial way.  In other words, if I have to click more than three times to access my data, then I won't use that tool in a beneficial since this it is time consuming.  I only recommend tools that clearly meet the "3 Click Rule."   
• "Free Is the Best:"  The tools used should be free or at least as a free component.  If a tool requires a paid subscription, I usually shy away from recommending it unless a school or district has an allocated budget for support.  My school system has a paid subscription to a very promising data and assessment tool.  However, not all schools or districts are able to allocate funds to support a specific tool.  Also, a lot of teachers often do their own assessment and we won't to limit the amount of money that a teacher has to spend out of his or her own pocket.  Tools that I often recommend include Formative, Socrative, and Plickers.    These tools are either free or have a freemium model where the parts that are free should generally allow teachers to collect and analyze data to make important instructional decisions.
• "Clone/Share Principle:"  The third important criterion that I recommend involves the ability to either clone or share assessments with others.  This criteria is weighted slightly less than the previous two criteria in my model but is very important.  Since time is often a limiting factor for educators, the ability to clone another educators assessment is very much appreciated.  Additionally for teachers who teach common subject, sharing is crucial.
• "Ease of Tool:"  Any tool used to collect data should be easy for students to access and require a minimal amount of time for the teacher to input questions.  I have personally experienced the challenge of students have difficulty going to a complex web address (where it likely they may type in the wrong URL).  Also inputting in questions should be less cumbersome and taxing on the teacher.

With any data and assessment tool, it is important that the selected tool is one that the teacher is comfortable using.  I have presented the criteria that I use in selecting these tools but encourage all educators to develop their own criteria that meets their needs.   Also it is crucial that teachers use the collected data to make instructional decisions that ultimately benefits students and their learning.  Why criteria do you use or considering when selecting a data and assessment tool?  Share your thoughts below.