AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT

AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT

Simply testing an isolated skill or a retained fact does not effectively measure a student's capabilities.

 To accurately evaluate what a student has learned, an assessment method must examine his or her collective abilities.

The term authentic assessment describes the multiple forms of assessment that reflect student learning, achievement, motivation, and attitudes on instructionally relevant classroom activities.

Often, traditional types of assessments (i.e., essays, multiple choice, fill-in the- blank, etc.) are heavily language dependent.

 These content assessments quickly become English proficiency tests rather than a measure of what students know.

Some students frequently have difficulty expressing their mastery of content unless they have a certain level of English proficiency.

Following the example above, if a student is struggling with sequential vocabulary, they may not be able to write an essay on the water cycle.

However, if given the opportunity to do a hands-on type of assessment through experimentation or pictures, the same student may be able to demonstrate knowledge of that content, confirming for the teacher their knowledge of science, not their limitations in English.

While some authentic forms of assessment can be time-consuming, they are worth the effort when working with students who often have high anxiety levels under traditional testing situations and who may simply need additional time to complete a test or task.

AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT GENERALLY ACCOMPLISHES THE FOLLOWING GOALS:  

*Emphasizes what students know, rather than what they do not know.

*Requires students to develop responses instead of selecting them from predetermined options.

* Directly evaluates holistic projects.

* Uses samples of student work collected over an extended period of time.

*Stems from clear criteria made known to students and parents. Elicits higher-order thinking.

* Allows for the possibility of multiple human judgments.

* Relates more closely to classroom learning.

* Teaches students to evaluate their own work.

* Considers differences in learning styles, language proficiencies, cultural and educational backgrounds, and grade levels.

….Consequently, we must embrace the differences that all children bring with them in order to educate each of them according to his/her own needs.

"Fairness" does not exist when assessment is uniform, standardized, impersonal, and absolute.

 Rather, it exists when assessment is appropriate.

Therefore, assessment is fair when it is personalized, natural, and flexible, when it can be modified to pinpoint specific abilities and function at the relevant level of difficulty, and when it promotes a rapport between teachers and students.

There are several challenges to using authentic assessment methods.

They include managing its time-intensive nature, ensuring curricular validity, and minimizing evaluator bias.

Despite these challenges, efforts must be made to appropriately assess all  students and to welcome the possibility of assessment strategies that can empower students to take control of their own learning and to become independent thinkers and users of the English language.