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Homework as Assessment

The biggest mistake college students often make is convincing themselves they know the material when they do not. It's easy to feel like you know something well - it's important to know for sure BEFORE the exam. That's why treating homework as an assessment (a test of your understanding) is so effective. It can highlight misunderstandings you might have while the stakes are still low.

Process, not Product

In solving homework problems, it's important to remember that you are learning a process (the approach to problem-solving) and not creating a product (the correct answer). You want to be able to look at new problems and have a mental model of how to approach solving them - not a memorized set of steps that may or may not work in a new setting.

How to Treat Homework as an Assessment

Step 1: Decide on an amount of time you will spend on a problem.

Choose an amount of time that will allow you a reasonable opportunity to make progress on the problem without getting too frustrated. This will vary greatly depending on the nature of the problem - it could be 5 minutes, it could be an hour.

Step 2: Try to solve the problem as if it were a test question - do not consult your notes, classmates, or course materials.

Spend the time you decided on in Step 1 making an honest effort to solve the problem on your own. Allow yourself to struggle. If you are having difficulty, ask yourself these questions:

  • What information is provided to me in the problem?
  • Have I seen a problem like this before? How did I start to solve that one?
  • Are there some key equations I have forgotten?
  • How is this problem related to what we have discussed in class?

Step 3: Assess your understanding

How did it go? Were you able to solve the problem? If so, great! You can move on to the next task. If not, why not? Be honest with yourself here.

Step 4: Take action

After you have reached your goal for this study session, decide what your next steps are. Do you have a series of questions to take to office hours? Will you work with friends to learn the material? Do you need to review your notes and improve you recall and understanding of the material? Make a plan for what to do next - and then do it!

Information on this site has been adapted from learning strategies presented by the Louisiana State University Center for Academic Success, Catalyze Your Success at the University of Washington Department of Chemistry, and the book "Teach Students How to Learn" by Saundra Yancy McGuire, Stylus Publishing (2021).