MODULE 1: AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT IN THE CLASSROOM

Assessment of students learning outcome requires the use of variety of

techniques which plays a significant role in effective teaching and learning
process. Assessment shall be used primarily as quality assurance to track
student progress to the attainment of standards and provide a basis for the
profiling of student progress.

In this module pre service teachers will:

 discuss the nature and characteristics of authentic assessment and
related terms;
 differentiate authentic and traditional assessment;
 reflect on the importance and applications of authentic assessment;
and
 make connections between the principles of high-quality assessment.
PRETEST
Choose the letter which corresponds to the correct answer.
1. Which assessment is used to improve the teachers’ instruction,
methods or strategies?
A. Assessment of Learning
B. Assessment as Learning
C. Assessment for Learning
D. Summative Assessment
2. Which learning target measures the student’s mastery in the content?
A. Skills
B. Affects
C. Products
D. Knowledge
3. Which of the following learning targets can measure the student’s
emotional attainment?
A. Skills
B. Affects
C. Products
D. Knowledge
4. Which of the following principles of assessment is employed when the
teachers considered the learning objectives in developing performance
task?
A. Validity
B. Reliability
C. Fairness
D. Balance
5. What do you call when a teacher gets a representative of the class or
group of students to demonstrate performance task ?
 A. Testing
B. Sampling
C. Teaching
D. Modeling
6. Which of the following assessments learners apply knowledge and
skills to everyday issues and problems?
A. Assessment of Learning
B. Assessment as Learning
C. Traditional Assessment
D. Authentic Assessment
7. Which of the following is not an attribute of authentic assessment?
A. Perform a task
B. Direct evidence
C. Teacher structured
D. Activity emulates real life
8. Which of the following uses of authentic assessments is described
when the tasks given to students allow more freedom on how they will
demonstrate what they have learned?
A. Direct measures.
B. Provide multiple paths of demonstration.
C. Capture constructive nature of learning.
D. Integrate teaching, learning and assessment.
9. Which of the following describes traditional assessment?
A. Selecting a response
B. Contrived activity
C. Easily achieved
D. All of the above
10. Which of the following is not an example of authentic assessment?
A. Portfolio
B. Story telling
C. Oral interview
D. Teacher-made test
 Lesson 1: High-Quality Assessment in Retrospect

What do we know about principles of high-quality assessment?

1. Purpose

Assessment for Learning

- enables teachers to use information about knowledge, understanding and
skills to inform their teaching
- teachers provide feedback to students about their learning and how to
improve.
Assessment as Learning
- involves students in the learning process where they monitor their own
progress, ask questions and practice skills
- students us self -assessment and teacher feedback to reflect on their
learning, consolidate their understanding and work towards learning goals
Assessment of Learning
- Assists teachers to use evidence of student learning to assess students’
achievement against learning goals and standards
2. TARGETS- clarity and appropriateness of learning targets
Assessment should be clearly stated and specified and centered on what is truly
important.
"Teaching emphasis should parallel testing emphasis."

LEARNING TARGETS

Knowledge Students’ mastery of the content.

DOMAINS OF LEARNING:
Reasoning Students’ ability to use their
Cognitive knowledge.
Affective
Skills Students’ ability to demonstrate
Psychomotor what they have learned.
Products Students’ ability to create.
Affects Students’ emotional attainments.
 Assessment methods should be able to assess all domains of learning and
hierarchy of objectives.

3. METHODS
Assessment should utilize assessment methods suitable for a particular learning
target.

ASSESSMENT METHODS LEARNING TARGETS

Objective Supply Knowledge
Objective Select Knowledge
Essay Reasoning
Performance-based Skills, products
Oral-question Knowledge, reasoning
Observation Knowledge, skills
Self-report Affects

4 . ACCURACY
Assessment should be valid and reliable. The reliability of an
assessment tool is the extent to which it measures learning consistently
whereas the validity of an assessment tool is the extent to which it measures
what it was designed to measure.

Factors which can affect reliability:

 The length of the assessment – a longer assessment generally produces
more reliable results.
 The suitability of the questions or tasks for the students being
assessed.
 The consistency in test administration – for example, the length of time
given for the assessment, instructions given to students before the
test.
 The design of the marking schedule and moderation of marking
procedures.
  The readiness of students for the assessment – for example, a hot
afternoon or straight after physical activity might not be the best time
for students to be assessed.

There is an important relationship between reliability and validity. An assessment that

has very low reliability will also have low validity. clearly a measurement with very
poor accuracy or consistency is unlikely to be fit for its purpose.

5. SAMPLING

Why should we sample?

Sampling facilitates the assessment process when programs have large

numbers of students and when programs have artifacts that take a long time to
review.   

Sampling Procedures Before evaluating artifacts or data for SLOs, you must:

1. Decide whether you will use a sample or the whole population.

2. Choose an appropriate sample size based on percentage, artifact size and

complexity, and faculty panels.

3. Choose an appropriate sampling method.

Common Types of Sampling

• Simple Random Sampling:  You randomly select a certain number of students

or artifacts.  

• Stratified Sampling:  Students are sorted into homogenous groups and then

a random sample is selected from each group.  This process is useful when
there are groups that may be underrepresented.  

• Systemic Sampling:  You select the nth (e.g., 7th, 9th, 20th) student or
artifact from an organized list.

• Cluster Sampling:  You randomly select clusters or groups (e.g., classes or

sections), and you evaluate the assignments of all the students in those
randomly selected clusters or groups

Explore
 Prepare a recorded video of an interview of the following topics:
1. How can we make authentic assessments reliable?
2. How can we make authentic assessments valid?
3. How does sampling in assessment helps the teacher in attaining objectives?
4. How can we perform assessment for learning in doing authentic assessments?

References:
Principles and Methods of Assessment: Image (wordpress.com)
BLEPT: The 12 Principles of High-Quality Assessment of Learning for Teachers
Reliability and validity / Concepts / Working with data / Using evidence for learning / Home -
Assessment (tki.org.nz)

Lesson 2: What is Authentic Assessment?

 The term authentic assessment describes the multiple forms of
assessment that reflect student learning, achievement, motivation, and
attitudes on instructionally relevant classroom activities.
Authentic assessment focuses on the use and application of knowledge
in diverse settings. Assessing authentically yields many benefits through
enabling students to contextualize their learning as they apply knowledge and
skills to everyday issues and problems. Authentic assessment, unlike more
traditional academic forms of assessment such as essays and examinations,
involves assessment tasks that engage students in ‘real life’ conditions or
situations, or simulations of these. Such situations require students to interact
in an authentic setting characterized by unpredictability, ambiguity and
complexity.

Why use authentic assessment?

Authentic assessment focuses on the use and application of knowledge

in diverse settings. Assessing authentically yields many benefits through
enabling students to contextualize their learning as they apply knowledge and
skills to everyday issues and problems:
Authentic assessment is generally accepted and favored by students as a
valid approach to assessment which motivates them to engage in deeper and
more productive learning.
 Because it involves addressing ‘ill-structured’, unpredictable
challenges, it helps students rehearse for the complex ambiguities
of working and professional life, and allows them to visualize
themselves as real professionals.
 It requires students to construct unique responses rather than to
select responses from pre-existing options and focuses student
activity on complex higher order reasoning, and independent and
creative thinking.
 It provides opportunities for students to reflect on and assess their
own work and effort, and reveals to them meaningfully in situation
how effectively they are able to apply conceptual learning.
 It responds to the demands of external stakeholders, such as
industry groups and professional bodies, for universities to offer
more relevant experiences that enhance graduate employability
through the development of ‘workreadiness’ capabilities.
  It can provide an opportunity for disrupting the traditional power
balance in assessment by involving external markers to contribute
in giving feedback and/or grading students’ work, and by involving
students more actively in assessing their own and their peers’
efforts.
 Authentic assessment addresses Boud and Falchikov’s (2005) calls
for ‘sustainable assessment’ to equip learners with skills and
competencies needed to succeed in today’s workplace and prepare
students for life-long learning
In general , some of the best uses of authentic assessments ( Mueller, 2010)
1. Authentic assessments are direct measures.
2. Authentic assessments capture constructive nature of learning
3. Authentic assessments integrate teaching, learning and assessments.
4. Authentic assessments provide multiple paths to demonstrations.

Authentic assessment generally accomplishes the following goals:

 Emphasizes what students know, rather than what they do not know
 Requires students to develop responses instead of selecting them from predetermined
options o Directly evaluates holistic projects
 Uses samples of student work collected over an extended period of time
 Stems from clear criteria made known to students and parents
 Elicits higher-order thinking
 Allows for the possibility of multiple human judgments
 Relates more closely to classroom learning
 Teaches students to evaluate their own work
 Considers differences in learning styles, language proficiencies, cultural and educational
backgrounds, and grade level

What are some examples of authentic assessment?

Authentic assessment can be either a short-term or long-term task for students.

It has no specific length of time attached to an authentic assessment learning
opportunity. However, there should be a balance of longer performance assessments
and shorter ones" (Valencia, 1997). According to Lawrence Rudner, authentic
assessment should require that students be active participants in learning and be able
to demonstrate knowledge and skills.

The following is a list of examples of authentic assessment that meet one or

both of these requirements - active participation and/or demonstration of knowledge
and skills.

 Conduction research and writing a report

 Character analysis
 Student debates (individual or group)
  Drawing and writing about a story or chapter
 Experiments - trial and error learning
 Journal entries (reflective writing)
 Discussion partners or groups
 Student self-assessment
 Peer assessment and evaluation
 Presentations
 Projects
 Portfolios
 Tiered learning classrooms

Traditional Assessment vs Authentic Assessments

 Traditional assessment follows selecting a response from learners

whereas authentic assessment engages learners to perform a task on the basis
of the item they are informed. Traditional assessment is contrived but
authentic is in real-life. Traditional assessment says recalling or recognition, it
is teacher structured and indirect evidence is put but authentic one is
construction or application, it is student structured and direct evidence is set.
Here are some of comparisons between the two types of assessments:

Activity

 As you read through this list, keep in mind that some of the examples will work
better for you depending on your grade level and topic area. Make a note of the
examples of assessment that you could use in your own classroom.

Explore
 1. Make research about the comparisons of traditional and authentic
assessments. Indicate the references that you have used to ensure the
veracity of the results. Complete the table summarizing the attributes of
traditional and authentic assessments based from your research. Present
the activity to your class using a video recorded presentation.

Attribute Traditional Assessment Authentic Assessments

Assessment Activity
Nature of Activity
Cognitive Level
Development of Solution
Objectivity of Scoring
Evidence of Mastery

2. Form a group with 5 members and interview at least 3 faculty members

of your institution. Use the following as your guide. Write summary
responses after each question.
a. What is your definition of authentic assessment?
b. What are some of the authentic assessment techniques are you
utilizing in the classroom?

Organize the responses of the teachers and formulate your conclusions

for classroom sharing.

References:
Assessing Authentically | UNSW Teaching Staff Gateway
Microsoft Word - Authentic Assessment for ESL Students 9 14 04 (msdwt.k12.in.us)
Unit 2: Types of Authentic Assessment - KNILT (albany.edu)
Traditional vs. Authentic Assessment Methods | Download Table (researchgate.net)
Assessment of Learning 2 by: Ronan M. Cajigal, MA. Ed., etal.