Students' Knowledge and Faculty Members' Expectations: The Case for Classroom Assessment

Faculty members' expectations of students' knowledge and the reality of what students know are often dramatically different. Faculty members usually teach courses, especially upper-division ones, under the assumption that students have learned certain material either in high school or in lower-division classes. Far too often this assumption is not warranted. Many students who enter upper-division classes become lost quickly and either drop or fail the course unless the faculty member recognizes the problem. It is the authors' intention to demonstrate the usefulness of classroom assessment in reducing the problem of underprepared students. The authors recommend that faculty members use classroom assessment techniques very early in the semester to determine the stock of knowledge students bring with them into the course. With that information, the faculty member can make the determination on what, if any, material to reteach, whom to work with individually, and whom to recommend to drop the course to avoid a low or failing grade. Moreover, efforts can then be made within departments to bring expectations in alignment with reality with respect to students' knowledge.