Low-Stakes Assessments

Low-stakes assessments are forms of evaluation that do not heavily impact students' final grades.  These types of assessments offer opportunities for the students to measure the achievement of the stated learning objectives and the instructor to provide formative feedback about their progress.  According to the Writing Center at Texas A&M University, Low-stakes assignments Links to an external site. fulfill four goals:

1. 1. They provide students with ample practice and fluency in preparation for higher-stakes assignments. Often, low-stakes work serves as a form of prewriting, that is, a method for developing a topic or for thinking up a topic.
   2. They help students engage in and learn the course content. Some studies show students feel more deeply engaged in their learning when they are required to write or speak to others about it.
   3. They give students the opportunity to reflect, both on the course content and on the composing process itself. Reflection aids in thinking through a topic or an argument and leads to growth in critical thinking skills and, in turn, writing or speaking skills.
   4. They can soothe the anxious student or motivate the reluctant student.

Examples of low-stakes assessments:

Active Learning Activities

Active Learning Links to an external site. asks students to engage in the learning process. The activities can occur in the classroom Links to an external site., online Links to an external site., or via video conference Links to an external site..

Scaffolding Assignments

When you scaffold an assignment, you break assessments into more manageable subtasks.  Learn more about scaffolding Links to an external site. at the Center for Educational Innovation at the University at Buffalo.  The Canvas module tool Links to an external site. is a perfect place to scaffold your assignments.

Peer Reviews

Peer reviews allow students to review each other's assignments and leave feedback. Learn more about the peer review process Links to an external site. at Cornell's Center for Teaching Innovation and designing peer assessment Links to an external site. from McGill University.  Canvas assignments allow you to enable and automate student peer review Links to an external site..

Group Discussions

Group discussions make learning more interactive and help students develop skills that cannot be taught in a traditional lecture. Visit Discussion in the Classroom: Why to Do It, How to Do It, and How to Assess It Links to an external site..  The Groups tool Links to an external site. in Canvas helps automate the group process.

• • • Plan and Facilitate Effective Discussions Links to an external site. from ACUE

Reflection Assignments

Reflections Links to an external site. are opportunities for students to improve their critical thinking skills, improve metacognitive ability, and translate thought into action.  Visit UMSL's Center for Teaching and Learning for suggested reflection activities Links to an external site..  In Canvas reflections 

Weekly or Chapter Quizzes

Frequent, low-stakes quizzing helps students with:

• • • retrieval practice Links to an external site.
    • metacognitive monitoring Links to an external site. 
    • transfer of knowledge Links to an external site.

The Canvas quizzes tool Links to an external site. helps automate the process.

Add Questions to a Mediasite Lecture

Mediasite can support a new and engaging feature where video playback is paused until a viewer responds to questions. Learn how to add quiz questions to Mediasite videos Download add quiz questions to Mediasite videos