The
Case for Authentic Assessment
In the article, Grant Wiggins tells us what authentic assessment is,
why we need it, what it costs, and why it has legitimacy in education today. He succinctly debunks
many of the myths surrounding performance assessment while giving an honest and
critical evaluation.
Wiggins has also developed a useful chart that outlines Key
Differences Between Typical
Tests and Authentic Tasks.
Recommendations
for Teachers Virginia Education Association and the Appalachia Educational Laboratory
These valuable recommendations were made by teachers in Virginia after
they spent six
months developing and implementing alternative assessment activities
in their classrooms.
Selecting
Tasks for Performance Assessment Chicago Public Schools
The best performance assessment tasks are engaging, meaningful activities
that relate to your instructional outcomes and allow your students to demonstrate what
they know and can do. As you decide what tasks to use, consider these criteria adapted
from Herman, Aschbacher, and Winters (1992).
Why Should
Assessment Be Based on a Vision of Learning? M. Kulieke, J. Bakker, C. Collins, T. Fennimore, C. Fine, J. Herman,
B.F. Jones, L. Raack, M.B. Tinzmann
North Central Regional Education Laboratory (NCREL), 1990
This article reviews current research on how students learn and applies
it to classroom-based assessment methods, both traditional and performance-based.
The goal of the authors—to move to a multidimensional assessment
approach—is thorough, compelling, and supported by solid research.
Example are given from several schools that are engaged in innovative
performance assessment.
Dana Center Assessment Methods Charles A. Dana Center
University of Texas at Austin
Something that is often overlooked in discussions about performance
assessment is how the classroom will look and feel different on a daily basis because
of the authentic tasks being performed. This resource provides an overview of five types
of assessment methods that teachers can employ as they are developing new ways to
assess student learning. They include: structured
interviews, performance
tasks, informal
interviews, essays,
and open-ended
science tasks.
Recommended
Readings
These books about performance assessment are recommended by school practitioners.
