Unit 2: Types of Authentic Assessment

Contents
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 1 Types of Authentic Assessment

 1.1 Question 1 - What are some examples of authentic assessment?
 1.2 Question 2 - How is a portfolio an effective authentic assessment opportunity?
 2 Reflection

Types of Authentic Assessment

Target Objectives:
1. Describe the various types of authentic assessment that can be used in the classroom to determine student performance.
2. Understand how a portfolio is effective as an authentic assessment opportunity for students.

Question 1 - What are some examples of authentic assessment?

Authentic assessment can be either a short-term or long-term assignment for students. There is no specific length of time attached to
an authentic assessment learning opportunity. However, "within a complete assessment system, 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.
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.
Authentic Assessment examples:

 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

The following two links will provide you with examples of authentic assessment and learning in the classroom. Please click
on each link and watch the videos. This may provide a clearer understanding of just how diverse authentic assessment can
be, and how it is used at all age levels.
As you watch the videos keep the following questions in mind:

 How does this relate to my classroom?

 Would I be able to incorporate this type of assessment?
 What are key ideas that I can keep and use in my classroom?
 How are the students personally benefiting from this type of assessment?
 Example 1 - Elementary - [1]
Example 2 - Middle School Math (tiered assessment)- [2]

There are many great examples of authentic asseessment provided from Jon Mueller's Authentic Assessment Toolbox (North Central
College). The examples are broken down into grade levels as well as subjects and even more specific topics within subjects. Check
out this website and find the lesson examples that meet your own needs: [3]

Question 2 - How is a portfolio an effective authentic assessment opportunity?

A student portfolio is the one authentic assessment example that is focused on more intently in this mini-course because portofolios
are a collection of students other various authentic learning opportunities and a showcase of student growth over the period of the
course. A student portfolio needs to meet certain criteria in order to be deemed an "authentic" assessment. To put together a lump of
student work from the entire school year is not an authentic assessment.
Ideally, a student portfolio would be considered authentic if the following apply:
1. The student carefully selected their own work and made their own decision of what work they were most proud of to be placed in
their portfolio. It is a showcase for the student, teacher, parents, and school district.
2. Students are asked to reflect upon their own work - why they chose it, why it is important to them, how hard they worked, how it can
be improved upon, etc.
In this situation, because the student chose their own pieces, and reflected upon their own work and personal growth throughout the
course, it makes it more meaningful to them. The following is a great example of an authentic assessment in a 6th grade English
classroom: File:Portfolioassignment.doc
(Note: this portfolio example was created by Susan Johnson and Christopher Michel)

Portfolios do not necessarily need to be evaluated. Most of the work that students choose to be showcased in a portfolio will already
be graded. However, you can choose to create a rubric to evaluate student portfolios taking into consideration their effort, choice of
assignments, development throughout the course, and personal reflection.

Reflection
After completing this unit on types of authentic assessment, answer the following personal reflection question(s):

 Of all of the examples of authentic assessment, which ones would work best for you and the subject and grade level you
currently teach?
 Do you see a portfolio as a useful assessment opportunity? What qualities of authentic assessment does a portfolio portray?
 If you were to use a portfolio assignment in your classroom, would you like to use it to showcase student growth, showcase
student work, or evaluate student work?
 Reflect upon any other questions, ideas, or concerns you had during this unit.

Summary

 "Authentic Assessment: Designing Performance-Based Tasks combines performance tasks that are relevant to
students' lives with the need for accountability. The book explores common language arts expectations and shows teachers
how to choose activities and tasks that will guide students towards achieving important learning outcomes." "Authentic
Assessment: Designing Performance-Based Tasks is organized around three unit themes - making connections with
literature, exploring the universal concept of community, and understanding persuasive techniques in the media. The
performance tasks will appeal to students and enable students to meet key focus goals and expectations." "Designed for the
busy teacher, the book includes reproducible planning sheets, rubrics, and student surveys. Excellent samples of student
work based on performance tasks complement this remarkable book."--BOOK JACKET.
Contents

 1. Planning Authentic Performance Tasks

 2. Developing Assessment and Evaluation Tools
 3. Planning Instructional Activities
 4. Administering the Assessment
 5. Gathering Evidence of Student Learning
 6. Fostering Student Self-Assessment, Reflection, and Goal Setting
 7. Working Towards a Vision for Assessment
 App. Performance-Based Assessment Planning.

What is Authentic Assessment?

On his website, Authentic Assessment Toolbox, Jon Mueller defines authentic assessment as “a form of assessment in which
students are asked to perform real-world tasks that demonstrate meaningful application of essential knowledge and skills." This type
of evaluation checks students’ understanding and knowledge through circumstances that model real-world situations in which those
skills are typically required.

How Do Traditional Assessment and Authentic Assessment Compare?

First, it is important to understand that traditional and authentic assessment are not mutually exclusive means of checking

students’ progress, but should, instead, be used to complement one another. The informed teacher
uses traditional assessment to test the breadth of students’ knowledge, while authentic assessment measures the depth of
understanding and the ability to apply the knowledge.

Authentic assessment is also valuable in teaching students how to evaluate their own performance, which is an important skill in the
world outside the schoolroom. However, because it is often more time-intensive than traditional assessment, it is not appropriate for
every part of the curriculum.




What Are Some Examples of Authentic Assessment?



Types of authentic assessment take many forms, all of which involve higher order levels of thinking.
They are often task-based and analytical. For example, a traditional assignment might ask students to identify and describe the
setting of a story; an authentic assessment of the task would instead have students explain why the author chose to select the
story’s setting and what effect it has on how the story progresses.


In this type of assessment, students might discuss books, write letters, participate in debates or dramatic presentations, or keep
journals. Some specific examples for the core subject areas appear below.

Language Arts


Most types of student writing, including the revision and editing stages, would fit into the authentic assessment model. Some ideas
include writing letters to story characters, creating story maps, planning a business and writing a request for start-up capital, or
writing/delivering speeches in a political campaign. Older students could research a selected topic and write an annotated
bibliography instead of the usual term paper.


Mathematics


Math may lend itself most easily to finding examples of authentic assessment. Primary students can create shape pictures and then
demonstrate understanding by identifying the shapes and colors they used. Hypothetically trading stocks and evaluating the results,
interviewing other people or journaling about the use of fractions in one day, determining how much paint or carpet required to
redecorate a room in the student’s home, or working with a group to teach the vocabulary or concepts of a particular math unit are all
examples of alternative assessment.


Science


Performance assessment has been a part of most science classes since long before researchers recognized its validity. Lab
experiments are excellent opportunities for students to demonstrate knowledge in real-world style situations. Recycling or other
health campaigns are also fun ways to evaluate students’ understanding.


Social Studies


Authentic assessment has also become a regular part of many social science teachers’ repertoire. History teachers may assign
groups to plan the founding of a moon colony, analyzing what would be necessary to make it succeed. A Venn diagram comparing
the Articles of Confederation and the U.S. Constitution is a simple way to determine how well students truly understand the
documents, while writing help wanted ads for members of the branches of government allow assessment of both government
concepts and writing skills. Geography students can show what they know by creating travel brochures for the regions, states, or
countries the class is studying. Older students can show their understanding of both significant court cases and the judicial process
by holding mock court to “argue" the Marbury vs. Madison or Brown vs. Board of Education cases.


There are so many types of authentic assessment that the biggest challenge may be choosing the best one for a particular unit of
study.