Jaira Jane M.

Torrecampo
BEED SPED 2
SPED 6 Written Report
ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT
ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT
refers to procedures and techniques which can be used within the context of instruction and
can be easily be incorporated into the daily activities of the school or classroom (Hamayan
1995).
is broadly defined as any assessment method that is an alternative to traditional paper-andpencil tests (Teaching Today).
its instruments are not only designed and structured differently from traditional tests, but
are also graded and scored differently (The Essentials of Language Teaching 2003).

What are the factors driving assessment

reform today?

WHAT ARE THE BARRIERS TO EXPLORING

AND EXPLOITING NEW ASSESSMENT
METHODS?

FACULTY RESISTANCE

UNDER-RESEARCHED ASSESSMENTS

WHAT RESEARCH SAYS ABOUT ALTERNATIVE

ASSESSMENT?

CHANGING ECONOMY
CHANGING VIEW OF LEARNING
CHANGING STUDENT ATTITUDES

strategies on how to assess several

alternative methods whether individual
or group work.
Muirhead (2002) stated that a relevant
approach to assessing adult learners
supports a student-centered
educational philosophy.
Frykedal and Chiriac (2011) concluded
that the use of group work in
alternative assessment is to develop
group work abilities and not as means
to acquire academic knowledge.
Tannenbaum (1997) asserted that
alternative assessment holds great
promise for English as Second Language
(ESL) students.

Hamayan (1995) pointed out that

Green enumerated the disadvantages of
alternative assessments are based on
alternative assessments:
actual performance in authentic
difficulty in quantifying data
situations which the learner is likely to
encounter in his or her daily life.
the issue of parity
Worley (2001) concluded that there are
two opposing forces that influence
no time pressure
educational assessment today: the
costly
Behaviorists and the Constructivists.
Lombardi (2008) being an adherent of
career uncertainty
alternative assessment provided

Traditional Assessment
Generally relies on forcedchoice, written measures
Relies on proxy measures of
student learning to represent
target skills
Encourages memorization of
correct answers
Goal is to measure acquisition
of knowledge
Curriculum directs assessment
Emphasis on developing a
body of knowledge
Promotes what knowledge
Provides a one-time snapshot
of student understanding
Emphasizes competition
Targets simplistic skills or
tasks in a concrete, singular
fashion
Priority on summative
outcomes or product

Alternative Assessment
Promotes integration of various
written and performance measures
Relies on direct measures of target
skills
Encourages divergent thinking in
generating possible answers
Goal is to enhance development of
meaningful skills
Assessment directs curriculum
Emphasis on ensuring proficiency at
real-world tasks
Promotes how knowledge
Provides an examination of learning
over time
Emphasizes cooperation
Prepares students for ambiguities
and exceptions that are found in
realistic problem settings
Priority on the learning sequence or
process