Authentic / Alternative Assessment

Authentic assessment, or assessment that focuses on demonstrating competencies as they take place in—or in an environment emulating—the real-world is both sound pedagogy Links to an external site. and naturally protects assessment integrity.

This presentation Links to an external site. by Karen Harris of Rutgers’ Teaching and Learning With Technology presents an excellent list of 10 suggested alternatives to exams that can be aligned with many subjects and goals, and is a nice introduction to authentic assessment.

Why Authentic Assessment?

Integrity

While striving to build a culture of integrity Links to an external site. and inquiry in the classroom is always recommended, authentic assessments will naturally be more difficult, if not impossible to cheat.

True and Direct Measures

Performance on traditional tests and quizzes can be misleading Links to an external site. in assessing mastery and inaccurate in predicting performance. Authentic assessment directly measures performance.

Learning as an Ongoing Process

Authentic assessment treats learning as a process Links to an external site., demonstrating mastery at the point of assessment and creating habits of mind that serve learners in their professions.

Integration

Authentic assessment bridges the gaps between teaching, learning and assessment Links to an external site., encouraging and integrated approach.

Construct and Consequential Validity

Authentic assessments have greater construct validity Links to an external site.—they are more likely to measure what is intended to be measured (competency, process, and performance in, or as it would be in the real world—and greater consequential validity Links to an external site., contributing positively to the teaching.

What is Authentic Assessment?

Grant Wiggins, who popularized the concept, identifies 27 characteristics of authentic assessment Links to an external site., including that they:

• Are appropriately public,
• Do not rely on unrealistic, arbitrary time constraints,
• Are not "one shot," but are process-based,
• Are contextualized and complex, not "atomized" into isolated objectives,
• Are representative of challenges of the field or subject,
• Involve essential criteria, not what is easily scored,
• Allow appropriate choice for students to express their style and interests,
• Uses rubrics for transparency of expectations and evaluations,
• Incorporate self-reflection and meta-cognitive exploration,
• Allows for feedback, practice and second chances Links to an external site., and
• Make self-assessment part of the assessment.

It can also be useful to consider how features of authentic assessment compare to features of traditional assessment Links to an external site. (which should complement one another!):

Examples of Authentic Assessment

Authentic assessment comes in a multitude of forms and crosses all disciplines. Some examples:

• Portfolio building, such as creating a research portfolio Links to an external site.
• Participating in a virtual stock market Links to an external site.
• Solving real-world problems posed by, and in collaboration with, external partners Links to an external site.
• Scripting, creating, and editing short films and documentaries
• Role play, such as participating in a simulated newspaper Links to an external site., Links to an external site.
• Evaluate news stories for validity and bias
• Peer review activities
• Problem- Links to an external site. and project-based learning
• Discussion board participation (beyond the basics) particularly if intentionally constructed to promote student leadership, weaving and summarizing, etc. See Better Discussion for more
• Write applications, programs and documentation for real-world clients Links to an external site.
• Community engaged learning / service learning Links to an external site.