Authentic Assessment in the Classroom: Methods and Benefits

Introduction to Authentic Assessment

By authentic assessment, we mean all the different forms of assessments and evaluations that reflect students' achievement, learning, attitudes, and motivation across all instructionally applicable classroom work. In this era of accountability, different assessment methods are being introduced in classrooms as ways of determining the quality of student work. Student assessments require students to engage in assignments that necessitate the application of skills and knowledge in real-life conditions. These alternative techniques use real-world frameworks and challenges — including audiences for the demonstration of strategies and concepts that students have learned — to measure understanding. Authentic assessments, grounded in classroom lessons, address groups of learning objectives and educational goals.

These practices place greater emphasis on problem solving, comprehension, critical thinking, metacognition and reasoning, self-reflection, and personal skills compared with conventional assessment techniques. Concluding student products — for example, those submitted for end-of-term assessments — include exhibitions, portfolios, investigations, performances, journals, experiments, presentations, and several other open-ended formats that allow for more than one correct answer. Students' different learning styles, multiple intelligences, and varying levels of development are all emphasized within this framework (Luongo-Orlando, 2003).

Performance-Based Learning and Assessment

Learning and assessment based on performance is a genuine instructional and evaluation method in which students apply skills and knowledge through realistic demonstrations or original products that demonstrate learning. Performance-based assessment takes today's learning methods — which often involve real-world challenges — and directs them toward the creation and use of concepts, work habits, and strategies. These approaches reveal the understanding that students have built through classroom lessons and provide situations in which authentic assessment is put into practice.

During a unit of study, exemplary learning experiences are made available to students; these experiences are often designed to develop the skill level and knowledge base required for evaluation. Throughout the performance assignment, learners are required to carry out a task, create a product, or produce a response that displays their abilities in various composite ways. For instance, they may prepare oral presentations, experiments, exhibitions, or projects. Performance assessments present an original format for evaluating students' understanding (Luongo-Orlando, 2003).

Limitations of Conventional Assessment Methods

For many years, conventional assessment methods and standardized examinations have been used in schools as a way of measuring student progress. Restricting such techniques to pencil-and-paper examinations or multiple-choice tests has further enhanced the appeal of alternative assessments. Most conventional examinations continue to rely heavily on accurate recall and theoretical understanding. These techniques do not precisely measure problem-solving, critical thinking, and reasoning skills; they also fail to identify work habits, sense of responsibility, and ability to cooperate.

The limitations of standardized examinations and other conventional assessment procedures have also made it difficult to assess the abilities of students who do not thrive in mainstream educational settings. In many cases, traditional methods of assessment have distracted these students and prevented them from learning adequately. Additionally, conventional examinations may be presented in ways that seem irrelevant and isolating to certain students, making it difficult for them to accurately demonstrate what they have been taught.

To help motivate students and to create independent learners who understand and use important learning skills, concepts, and work habits, teachers are adopting authentic assessment practices in their classrooms. These alternative assessments include a range of presentation formats and activities that provide in-depth information on student progress. Performance assignments allow students to reveal a richer level of application and understanding of learning skills and processes within a much broader context than conventional examinations permit. The authentic assessment approach provides a practical framework for demonstrating the strategies and concepts learned, and its close alignment with classroom lessons creates a meaningful context for evaluation tied directly to the learning goals of the course outline (Luongo-Orlando, 2003).

Authentic vs. Typical Examination

Authentic assessment stands in direct contrast to typical examination. Janesick (2006) identifies the following characteristics of typical examinations:

1. Normally requires just one accurate response.
2. Is usually disconnected from the student's individual environment.
3. Is usually constructed by an administrator outside the student's immediate learning context.
4. The areas from which questions are drawn may be areas in which the examiner does not have adequate knowledge.
5. Is usually simplified for ease of scoring.
6. Offers a one-time, one-shot score.

Several educators have found this approach to student evaluation and examination unsatisfying, which has given rise to new ways of viewing and defining assessment.

The following table summarizes the key differences between typical examinations and authentic assignments:

Table 1: Comparing Typical Examination with Authentic Assignment

Typical Examination → Authentic Assignment

Requires an accurate answer → Requires a quality product or performance

Is disengaged from the student's environment → Is associated with the student's environment

Is made simple → Is multilayered and multifaceted

Is one-shot → Is ongoing with numerous assignments

Provides a single score → Provides composite feedback, recurring repeatedly; as the student self-adjusts, performance is enhanced

Searches for only one stage of thinking → Searches for higher-order abilities with an expression of knowledge

References

Frey, B. B., Schmitt, V. L., & Allen, J. P. (2012). Defining authentic classroom assessment. Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 17(2), 2.

Herrington, J., & Oliver, R. (2000). An instructional design framework for authentic learning environments. Educational Technology Research and Development, 48(3), 23–48.

Janesick, V. J. (2006). Authentic assessment: Primer. New York: Lang.

Luongo-Orlando, K. (2003). Authentic assessment: Designing performance-based tasks for achieving language arts outcomes. Markham, Ont: Pembroke Publishers.

Scott, J. (2000). Authentic assessment tools. In JW Schell, B. McAlister, J. Scott, & M. Hoepfl, Using authentic assessment in vocational education. Information Series, (381), 40–55.