Teacher-Tested Apps to Assess Student Learning

Assessing student learning is a constant challenge for all educators. Creating assessments and finding ways to provide students the feedback they need in the short amount of time we have in a day is a daunting task. 

While we all love those old-school easy graders, it's time to take grading papers into the 21st century! Here's some teacher tested and teacher approved apps that can help you streamline your student assessments!

1. Socrative

Socrative is a fantastic app for both teachers and students. This is an app that is quick and easy to access. A great app to use for classroom discussions and quick checks for student understanding. A freebie that doesn't require student log-ins to access. Give it a go!

2. QuickKey

This is an app for quick quiz grading. Students take a quiz and you can snap a photo of it using your iPad or phone. The app automatically grades it and gives you full reports on how your class performed. 

 3. Showbie 

Showbie is an app that turns your entire classroom into a fully paperless, automated green-machine! It gives you the ability to assess student work, provide feedback, and collect/grade assessments from your tablet. It's a free app for teachers and an incredibly engaging tool for students!

4. Running Record Calculator

There are tons of apps out there for reading assessments but none quite as impressive as the Running Record Calculator. This app allows you to take full anecdotal notes of a student's reading. At the end, it'll ask you to type in an email address. It sends to your computer a FULL report of the student's reading including: rate, errors and self-corrections, the location of those errors, and a recording of the student actually reading. It allows you to easily differentiate different types of miscues and self-corrections. Did I mention it's free? 

 5. IXL

IXL is a great service for remediation and supporting students in math and reading. Activities, practice, and quizzes that are aligned with your state standards. The free version allows students to work for set periods of time and the full version gives you access to EVERYTHING. The site has a limitless number of activities for students of all ages and ability levels. 

6. Google Classroom 

My love for Google Classroom is well stated. Create classes, assign and collect assignments, provide comments and feedback to students, give students the opportunity to incorporate feedback on their assignments, all streamlined through Google Classroom with Google Apps. A free app accessible to anyone with a GAFE account.

7. Common Core Quest

Common Core Quest is a great resource for teachers who are looking for free Common Core materials. This site includes lessons and resources for teachers, as well as quizzes and assessment tools for students. Upload your own or use some of the thousands of pre-made assessments aligned with the Common Core Standards. 

Good luck! Get out there and make grading happen!