Traditional assessments usually mean regurgitating information onto a written test.
However, authentic assessments see if students are able to actually use the information in
a real-world purposeful way.
This allows the students to demonstrate and
preform their knowledge, versus studying
needed answers for the test.
Focuses on real-world
applications
How to create an authentic assessment?
"Working Backwards"
Ask yourself what you want your students to
eventually know or how to do
Ask yourself how can they get there, then develop a
plan to achieve the overall big picture
How does this applies to ESL?
With any student, a traditional test does not fully show the teacher what the student
actually knows. This allows for the student to truly demonstrate their ability and
knowledge.
Authentic assessments are well-rounded and can give the
teacher true insight to the student's knowledge.
These can assess multiple aspects of the student all at once. The student can
be sharing content he/she knows and speaking at the same time. This gives
the teacher an assessment on two different things or more.
Minimizes barriers for Emergent Bilingual students. For example: If a
student cannot read/write in English yet, then maybe he/she can express through oral or physical assessments.
Examples of Authentic Assessments:
Project-Based Learning
Having the student teach the class
Presentations
Roleplaying
Oral Reports
Purpose of Authentic Assesments
Allows teacher to see what the student does know,
versus what he.she does not know
This is a practical way to assess the knowledge a student holds
This gives learning a purpose since the
student sees a real life connection