Conceptualizing Authentic Assessment

1. Conceptualizing Authentic Assessment Eboni Thomas EDUC 6322

2. Questions to consider • What is authentic assessment? • Is it more important that learning be authentic or assessment be authentic? Are they equally important? • What can we do (if anything) to bridge the gap between the different definitions? What will this look like in our classrooms?

3. Overview of article • “New approaches to assessment have been identified as one of the major issues of the decade” (Cumming and Maxwell). • Two major theoretical considerations have been raised due to the changing focus • Validity of assessment • Learning and assessment of learning being in their proper contexts and meaningful for students

4. If authenticity is good, what seems to be the problem? • People interpret authentic assessment differently, thus there is confusion about the theory and the practice

5. When did it all begin? • Authentic achievement by Archbald and Newman in 1988 • In 1992, it was expanded to “identify authentic achievement as having several characteristics that emulate the ‘kinds of mastery demonstrated by successful adults’

6. What was it supposed to look like? • Production vs. reproduction • Discipline inquiry that required • Prior knowledge • In-depth understanding • Integration of information (transfer) • Personal value

7. From achievement to assessment • Wiggins in 1989 • Assessing authentic achievement

8. Interdependence • Learning Goals Learning and achievement Assessment procedures Teaching Processes

9. Theories and authenticity • Performance and performance assessment • Situated learning and situated assessment • Complexity of expertise and problem-based assessment • Competence and competence-based assessment

10. Theories and authenticity • Performance • Holistic • Integrated • Goes beyond observation to make inferences of basic knowledge, skills, and processes • Not feasible to do on diverse range of activities • Situated • Happens best or only when in context • Lack of transfer depending on thinking about complete contextual dependence

11. Theories and authenticity • Complexity • Expert performance (engineers) • Higher order thinking • Disciplined inquiry to solve problems • How can we use this in school? • Competence • Satisfactory performance (in parts, or whole) • Should reflect skills of workplace • Demonstrated achievement tasks could be authentic

12. Other Issues • Camouflage – making problems appear to be “real world” when they are still contrived experiences • This can lead to students misunderstanding what is important and thus not meeting the teachers expectations

13. Other Issues • Simulation of the ‘real world’ • Appear to offer ‘life like’ assessments, but since they are not actual experiences in the ‘real world’, students behave and thus perform differently (usually better)

14. Implications • Keep the learner in mind and make sure they are motivated by understanding the purpose and what this has to do with them • Instead of using simulation, use construct-centered authenticity to replicate challenges and standards that will represent what they students know and understand