Why aren’t tests, quizzes, and essays considered acceptable CAT activities?
All of the above examples do gauge student learning; however, the primary purpose of these activities is not to improve student learning. Rather, it’s to assign a grade based on student performance or mastery. Naturally, teachers do use results from tests, quizzes and other graded assignments to make instructional improvements to their courses; however, these changes may not take place until the next time the teacher covers that material with another group of students. Similarly, teachers may re-cover material when the majority of students perform poorly on a test or quiz, but most teachers do not have time to do so every time students perform poorly on a graded assignment. By their nature, tests, quizzes, and major assignments are designed to cover a significant amount of content (several chapters, units, etc.). Conversely, CATs are designed to provide a snapshot of student learning following a lecture, reading assignment, or other brief learning activity.
