What makes assessment authentic?
"Authentic assessment aims to evaluate students' abilities in 'real-world' contexts" (Pearson Education, 2012). Authentic assessment creates opportunities for students to learn life skills and to experience a more meaningful learning experience.
Authentic Assessment Characteristics/Criteria
1. Assessment is realistic and reflects the way information or skills would be used in the real world (eg: students learn knowledge and conduct assessment tasks which add to their bank of knowledge and can be used in the real world now and later in life).
2. Assessment requires judgment and innovation; solving unstructured problems which have more than one "correct" answer (eg: students answer questions creatively using higher order thinking skills and thinking processes).
3. Assessment asks the student to actually study the subject to complete the assessment tasks (eg: science assessment piece is conducted after numerous lessons on particular science knowledge and skills).
4. Assessment is conducted in similar/same contexts to what the assessment piece if asking (eg: researching the lifecycle of a frog - students complete research and assessment near a pond where frogs live).
5. Assessment demonstrates a wide range of skills that are relating to the complex problem (eg: students are asked to demonstrate more than one skill to complete the assessment. This also caters for different learning styles).
6. Assessment allows for practice, feedback and second chances are given to students who are struggling to meet the mark (eg: students are given examples and chances to practice skills before conducting assessment piece. students are offered ways to demonstrate their understanding to improve their mark to ensure all students succeed).
(Wiggins, 1998).
Examples of authentic assessment strategies include:
-Creative Arts: role plays, oral presentations, performances.
-Planning: mind or concept maps, flow charts.
-ICT Tools: webpages, videos, photos, depiction of freeze frames.
-Creating: model building, creative writing.
-Evaluating: teacher-student feedback, peer feedback, peer teaching.
-Unstructured Tasks: problem solving tasks, open ended questions, formal and informal observation.
(Brady, 2012. p. 45-46).
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The following three questions have been designed to help educators decide whether the assessment task they are providing for their students ensures that it is authentic. This means that by thinking about and answering these questions will determine the authenticity of an assessment piece or any task which students are expected to complete.
Authenticity Questions
1. How does the task utilise a real life or life-like context?
2. Which context reasoning process/es are required to complete this task?
3. What kind of valued purpose is there for this kind of work to help engage students in meaningful learning?
(Lynch, 2010. p. 106)
It is important for educators to ask themselves these types of reflective questions about assessment and tasks before they are given to their students to ensure they are authentic and lead to student success.
Authentic Assessment Characteristics/Criteria
1. Assessment is realistic and reflects the way information or skills would be used in the real world (eg: students learn knowledge and conduct assessment tasks which add to their bank of knowledge and can be used in the real world now and later in life).
2. Assessment requires judgment and innovation; solving unstructured problems which have more than one "correct" answer (eg: students answer questions creatively using higher order thinking skills and thinking processes).
3. Assessment asks the student to actually study the subject to complete the assessment tasks (eg: science assessment piece is conducted after numerous lessons on particular science knowledge and skills).
4. Assessment is conducted in similar/same contexts to what the assessment piece if asking (eg: researching the lifecycle of a frog - students complete research and assessment near a pond where frogs live).
5. Assessment demonstrates a wide range of skills that are relating to the complex problem (eg: students are asked to demonstrate more than one skill to complete the assessment. This also caters for different learning styles).
6. Assessment allows for practice, feedback and second chances are given to students who are struggling to meet the mark (eg: students are given examples and chances to practice skills before conducting assessment piece. students are offered ways to demonstrate their understanding to improve their mark to ensure all students succeed).
(Wiggins, 1998).
Examples of authentic assessment strategies include:
-Creative Arts: role plays, oral presentations, performances.
-Planning: mind or concept maps, flow charts.
-ICT Tools: webpages, videos, photos, depiction of freeze frames.
-Creating: model building, creative writing.
-Evaluating: teacher-student feedback, peer feedback, peer teaching.
-Unstructured Tasks: problem solving tasks, open ended questions, formal and informal observation.
(Brady, 2012. p. 45-46).
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The following three questions have been designed to help educators decide whether the assessment task they are providing for their students ensures that it is authentic. This means that by thinking about and answering these questions will determine the authenticity of an assessment piece or any task which students are expected to complete.
Authenticity Questions
1. How does the task utilise a real life or life-like context?
2. Which context reasoning process/es are required to complete this task?
3. What kind of valued purpose is there for this kind of work to help engage students in meaningful learning?
(Lynch, 2010. p. 106)
It is important for educators to ask themselves these types of reflective questions about assessment and tasks before they are given to their students to ensure they are authentic and lead to student success.