Learning Outcome #12: Use Multiple and Authentic Forms of Assessment to Analyze Teaching and Student Learning and to Plan Curriculum and Instruction to Meet the Needs of Individual Students.
It is important for teachers to assess students' work so that they can assess their own teaching: are the teaching strategies effective? Are students learning the objectives set forth as the foundation of the lesson? Authentic assessment also allows the teacher to see if the students are able to apply what they have been learning to real life situations and problems. Application demonstrates a higher order of thinking and transferability of the material that has been taught. According to Kincheloe, Slattery, and Steinberg, assessment is "not an isolated process designed to alienate the student from knowledge; it is- or should be- an extension of the learning process" (261-262).
Wiggins clarifies what an authentic assessment should incorporate: (1) Authentic assessments require students to be effective performers with acquired knowledge; this can be demonstrated through scaffolded assignments in which the students first use their reading comprehension skills to answer questions and move up Bloom's taxonomy until they are answering questions using critical thinking and practical application skills to answer authentic questions. (2)Authentic assessments present the student with the full array of tasks that mirror the priorities and challenges found in the best instructional activities: conducting research; writing, revising and discussing papers; providing an engaging oral analysis of a recent political event; collaborating with others on a debate, etc.; Socratic seminars could be helpful here because students need to understand the material and contribute more than just their opinion to the discussion. Having group discussions may enlighten students who have not thought about an issue in a way that is being addressed by another student. (3) Authentic assessments attend to whether the student can craft polished, thorough and justifiable answers, performances or products; students need to write down an answer to a question and justify why they chose that response through textual evidence. (4) Authentic assessment achieves validity and reliability by emphasizing and standardizing the appropriate criteria for scoring such (varied) products; students need to know that there is not always one "right" answer. By allowing students to justify their actions, teachers are empowering students and allowing them to use higher-order thinking skills. (5) "Test validity" should depend in part upon whether the test simulates real-world "tests" of ability; tests need to be authentic in that they are testing real world skills and abilities. (6) Authentic tasks involve "ill-structured" challenges and roles that help students rehearse for the complex ambiguities of the "game" of adult and professional life. Students need to use their newly acquired knowledge (and activate prior knowledge) to apply these skills to challenging real world problems that do not have straight-forward answers.
Demonstrated Proficiencies:
Wiggins clarifies what an authentic assessment should incorporate: (1) Authentic assessments require students to be effective performers with acquired knowledge; this can be demonstrated through scaffolded assignments in which the students first use their reading comprehension skills to answer questions and move up Bloom's taxonomy until they are answering questions using critical thinking and practical application skills to answer authentic questions. (2)Authentic assessments present the student with the full array of tasks that mirror the priorities and challenges found in the best instructional activities: conducting research; writing, revising and discussing papers; providing an engaging oral analysis of a recent political event; collaborating with others on a debate, etc.; Socratic seminars could be helpful here because students need to understand the material and contribute more than just their opinion to the discussion. Having group discussions may enlighten students who have not thought about an issue in a way that is being addressed by another student. (3) Authentic assessments attend to whether the student can craft polished, thorough and justifiable answers, performances or products; students need to write down an answer to a question and justify why they chose that response through textual evidence. (4) Authentic assessment achieves validity and reliability by emphasizing and standardizing the appropriate criteria for scoring such (varied) products; students need to know that there is not always one "right" answer. By allowing students to justify their actions, teachers are empowering students and allowing them to use higher-order thinking skills. (5) "Test validity" should depend in part upon whether the test simulates real-world "tests" of ability; tests need to be authentic in that they are testing real world skills and abilities. (6) Authentic tasks involve "ill-structured" challenges and roles that help students rehearse for the complex ambiguities of the "game" of adult and professional life. Students need to use their newly acquired knowledge (and activate prior knowledge) to apply these skills to challenging real world problems that do not have straight-forward answers.
Demonstrated Proficiencies:
Rubrics:
Presentations on Looking for Alaska
Rubric for Compare/Contrast Paper
Student Evaluations for each other during Presentations
Presentations on Looking for Alaska
Rubric for Compare/Contrast Paper
Student Evaluations for each other during Presentations
Lesson Plans: