Understanding and Developing an Authentic Assessment

An authentic assessment has been defined by educationalist Grant Wiggins as “…engaging and worthy problems or questions of importance, in which students must use knowledge to fashion performances effectively and creatively. The tasks are either replicas of or analogous to the kinds of problems faced by adult citizens and consumers or professionals in the field.”

Simply put, it is a form of assessment where the student is required to perform ‘real-life tasks’ that would demonstrate that he or she has grasped the knowledge or developed the skill. It is a form of assessment that helps gauge the students’ practical application of theoretical learnings to everyday problems.

Difference between Traditional and Authentic Assessments

Traditional assessments (TA) are generally multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blanks, true-false, matching type problems. They require that the child recalls information that he or she has learnt to complete the assessment. The skill that is being tested here is not so much the understanding of the subject matter but the memory power of the child. The focus of most TAs is on developing productive citizens by imparting knowledge. The curriculum is the driving force behind the assessment and dictates the content on what the student is tested. TAs are concerned with the ‘what’ aspect of things. It emphasizes competition.

Authentic assessments (AA) are a lot more practical and require more hands-on involvement. Science experiments, social-science research, writing stories and reports, grappling with literature and math problems that have real-life applications are some examples. AAs encourage students to think, more than just memorize. In this method, unlike TAs, the assessments direct the curriculum. The focus here is on developing productive citizens who are equipped to handle problems and not just walk around with book knowledge. AAs bother about ‘how’ knowledge. It emphasizes cooperation.

TAs and AAs are, therefore, very different. But teachers do not need to choose between the two systems of assessment. A number of educationists believe that the best form of assessments is to find a balanced mix between a traditional and authentic assessment that best meets your needs.

Developing authentic assessments

Authentic assessments are reverse backward planning models of instructions. Assessments in this method are developed to meet standards and activities are used to guide students towards the desired performance.

• Identify standards

The first step is the identification of performance standards. It is essential that the standards have real-world application.

• Develop learning objectives

Learning objectives are identifiable measurable components of the broader standards that have been set.

• Identify target performance

One needs to identify the skills or performances that match the learning objective. Most AAs promote higher order cognitive skills.

• Develop performance criteria

Criteria must be developed to differentiate between the different levels of mastery. This should be communicated to the students clearly.

• Create scoring rubric

Developing a detailed scoring rubric lets the students know how grading is done. It helps in ensuring a fair grading procedure.

• Design instructional activities

Instructions that are developed should be able to guide students effectively to do the assessment.

What are some authentic assessment ideas that you have used?

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