Assessments tied to
real-world concepts and
activities; not contrived
Instead of traditional multiple choice
tests that are disconnected from
real-world contexts, try an activity
like...
Creating a brochure illustrating and describing trees and flowers for a local
park
Real-world task
Demonstrates knowledge of biological concepts
Allows for modifications for EL students
Use of Repertoire of Knowledge
Rather than containing objectives that only isolate specific skills or sets of
knowledge, authentic assessment encourages a utilization of a
repertoire of knowledge.
Instead of requiring memorization and recall of
specific topics, APPLY a wealth of knowledge areas
with an assessment like...
Role-playing: Interviews with book characters. Have
student pretend to be a character from a
recently-read text and participate in an interview
about his life.
Demonstrates knowledge of character/text
Strengthens and assesses public speaking skills
Strengthens and assesses predictive and critical thinking skills
Product-Based
Often times, correctness is the only criterion used in traditional
assessments. Product-based assessments requires a justification
of answers and complete knowledge of topic. Does not allow for
simply guessing an answer and getting it correct.
Instead of giving a True or False assessment that gives
students a 50/50 chance of guessing a correct answer,
instead try an assessment like...
ABC Math Book: Students create a
children's book with a geometric
shape/concept for each letter of the
alphabet (A for Acute, B for Bisect,
etc.)
Creates a real-world "product"
Requires complete understanding of topic; no guessing
Allows for EL students to show their knowledge in a variety of ways
Preparation
Assessments and activities must be known in advance.
Instead of providing tests with
unknown content or goals,
teachers should provide rubrics or
instruction sheets in advance.
Knowing what to expect accomplishes the following:
EL students can prepare in advance
Lowers the affective filter
Ensures learning objectives and standards are clear
Instead of planning then curriculum then assessments,
plan your assessments first and teach with the test
in mind.
Scoring Complexity: Not always one right answer.
Assessments are created such that there is not always one correct answer. Assessments
include tasks in which a variety of methods may be used to demonstrate knowledge of a
variety of areas.
Instead of creating an assessment in which
there is one correct answer form, instead try....
Creating rubric-based tasks in which scores
can be generated across a variety of scales
For example, in a
language-learning class,
allow the students to
give a presentation
about their family using
a rubric assessing
pronunciation,
grammar usage,
fluency, etc.