Alternative Assessment to Pop Quiz

I think one good alternative method assessment to pop quiz can be journal entry. Speaking of literacy, instructors can utilize this type of assignment to assess the students' level of critical thinking and reflection on the readings more thoroughly. Moreover, because the students have more time relatively and the text itself to refer to, they are really encouraged to think deeply about what they read. For example, the journal entry may ask students to assess the implications of the author's theory, to analyze his/her argument, to compare it to other arguments, and etc. I think this method is beneficial to the teacher as well because he/she can see just how much the student understands the text and not just how much he/she remembers it.