Authentic Assessment What is it Authentic assessment is

Authentic Assessment What is it? “Authentic assessment is a performance-based assessment that requires a student to go beyond basic recall and demonstrate his/her knowledge and understanding through a product, performance, or exhibition. ” -Grant Wiggins

Types of Authentic Assessment · Open-ended or extended response exercises are questions or other prompts that require students to explore a topic orally or in writing. · Extended tasks are assignments that require sustained attention in a single work area & are carried out over several hours or longer. · Portfolios are selected collections of a variety of performance-based work. A portfolio might include a student's "best pieces" & the student's evaluation of the strengths & weaknesses of several pieces. The portfolio may also contain some "works in progress" that illustrate the improvements the student has made over time.

Criteria for An Authentic Assessment The task… • is essential; meaningful • is authentic; found in the real world • is rich; involves a variety of higher thinking skills Knowledge Comprehension Application Analysis Synthesis Evaluation

What thinking skills are involved?

Criteria for An Authentic Assessment (continuing, ) The task… • is engaging & student-centered • is active; learning is by discovery • is feasible for all students • is open-ended; supports a variety of responses and/or may support more than one solution process • has clear & tangible criteria/standards to meet; process & product measured (scoring guides)

Structuring the Task 1. Give the students a role. 2. Use direction words so that they are thinking on a variety of levels. 3. Ensure that the task is something done by an adult in the real-world. 4. Ensure that the student can complete the task in an unique way. 5. Tell the students who the audience is (if you can find a real audience, it’s truly authentic). 6. Give the students a “deadline” and stick to it. 7. List all requirements for the project.

Example Task • Task: You work for the U. S. government in the Office of War Information, and you have been assigned to create a piece of propaganda convincing the young men in the country to enlist OR convincing all Americans to do their part in the war effort (ex. buy bonds). Take into consideration the elements that make propaganda effective and synthesize them into an effective product. • Audience: American Men 18 -35 or American Men, Women, & Children of all ages. • Deadline: Monday, November 25. • Requirements: at least one relevant graphic, catchy text/slogan, attention-getting color (See also: scoring guide. )

Creating a Scoring Guide Making your own: • Identify the overall performance or task to be assessed, & perform it yourself or imagine yourself performing it. • List the important aspects of the performance or product. (Try to limit the number of performance criteria, so they can all be observed during a pupil's performance. ) • Describe what each level of performance “looks” like in clear, objective language. Using a Template: • use Rubistar (www. 4 teachers. org)

Types of Scoring Guides • Holistic Aim Here

Types of Scoring Guides • Analytic Aim Here

Let’s Try it for Your Classroom. • Task: _____________ • Audience: ___________ • Deadline: ___________ • Requirements: _________ • Scoring Guide criteria: ______

Types of Tasks • Writing/Composing • Artistic Projects • Multimedia Projects • Architectural/Building Projects • Miscellaneous

Differentiation Using Authentic Assessments Tic Tac Toe Students choose questions to answer in an effort to complete a vertical or diagonal row, thereby completing an authentic task at each of the different levels of thinking. Application & Analysis Synthesis Evaluation

Differentiation Using Authentic Assessments Cubing • In teams of 3 or 4, one student rolls the cube or die. • The student who rolls the cube begins by discussing the authentic “thinking question” (TQ) that is face up. • While the TQ is discussed by all members of the team, the student who rolled the dice acts as the facilitator & summarizes the conversation before the next player rolls the cube. Variation • Use cubing in a learning center. The student will roll the cube or die and then complete the authentic task that is face up on the cube/die.

References Airasian, P. W. (1991). Classroom assessment. New York: Mc. Graw-Hill. A Question of Thinking: A First Look at Students' Performance on Open-ended Questions in Mathematics, copyright 1989, California Department of Education Wiggins, G. (1989). A true test: Toward more authentic and equitable assessment. Phi Delta Kappan, May, 703 -713. Wiggins, G. (1993). Assessment, authenticity, context, and validity. Phi Delta Kappan, November, 200 -214. Wiggins, G. (1998). Educative assessment: designing assessments to inform and improve student performance San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.