Traditional and Authentic Assessment

Traditional assessments are indirect and inauthentic measure of students

learning outcomes. This kind of assessment is standardized and for that reason, they
are one-shot, speed-based, and norm-referenced (Bailey, 1998). Traditional
assessment often focus on learner's ability of memorization and recall, which are lower
level of cognition skills (Smaldino, 2000)

Assessment is authentic when it measures performance or product which have

realistic meaning that can be attributed to the success in school. Activities, questions
and problems with "real world" satisfy the criterion that it needs to be an authentic
intellectual work within the given situation or contextual realism of the tasks.

The commonly reported dimensions of authenticity are grouped into three broad
categories (Frey, 2012)
A. The Context of the Assessment
 Realistic activity or context
 The task is performance-based.
 The task is cognitively complex.
B. The Role of the Students
 A defense of the answer or product is required.
 The assessment is formative.
 Students collaborate with each other or with the teacher.
C. The Scoring
 The scoring criteria are known or student-developed.
 Multiple indicators or portfolios are used for scoring.
 The performance expectation is mastery.
In general, below are some of the best uses of authentic assessment

1. Authentic assessments are direct measures.

The main purpose of authentic assessment is to be able to use the acquired
knowledge and skills in the real world. Forms of assessment task must be applied in
authentic situations. This could be done also by teacher by asking the students to use
what they have learned in some meaning way. (e.g. Conducting a science experiment -
hypothesis testing, developing feasibility study, calculating savings).

2. Authentic assessment capture constructive nature of learning.

In a constructivist point of view, learners should create knowledge and meaning
based from schemata. Thus, assessments cannot just ask students to repeat
information they have received. Students must also be asked to demonstrate that they
have accurately constructed meaning about what they have been taught. Moreover,
students must be given the opportunity to engage in the construction of meaning.
Authentic tasks not only serve as assessments but also as vehicles for such learning
.
3. Authentic assessments integrate teaching, learning, and assessment.
In the authentic assessment model, the same authentic task used to measure the
students' ability to apply the knowledge or skills is used as a vehicle for student
learning. Problem solving and decision making skills are best exemplified by the
purpose. Students are learning the process of developing a solution to a problem by
simply applying the meaningful concepts.

4. Authentic assessments provide multiple paths to demonstration.

Students may have different ways by which they could demonstrate what they
have learned. Similarly, authentic tasks tend to give the students more freedom on how
they will demonstrate what they have learned. By carefully identifying the criteria of
good performance on the authentic task ahead of time, the teacher can still make
comparable judgements of student performance even though student performance
might be expressed quite differently from student to student.
 Attributes of Traditional and Performance Assessments
Attribute Traditional Assessment Performance
Assessment
Assessment Activity Selecting a response Performing a task
Nature of Activity Contrived activity Activity emulates real life
Cognitive Level Knowledge/comprehension Application/analysis/
synthesis
Development of Solution Teacher-structured Student-structured
Objectivity of Scoring Easily achieved Difficult to achieve
Evidence of Mastery Indirect evidence Direct evidence

2. Formative Evaluation and Summative Evaluation

Assessment for Learning pertains to the use of formative evaluation to
determine and improve students' learning outcomes. On the other hand, Assessment
of Learning uses summative evaluation which provides evidence of students' level of
achievement in relation to curricular learning outcomes.

Formative assessment can be defined more specifically as, "All those activities
undertaken by teachers, and by their students in assessing themselves, which provide
information to be used as feedback to modify the teaching and learning activities in
which they are engaged" (Black &William, 1998). The result of formative assessment
leads to identifying its goal in improving and motivating the students to enhance
achievement. The gathered information and interpreted evidence is utilized by the
teacher to give feedback about the progress of students as learning takes place.
Formative assessment occurs at three (3) points of instruction: (1) during
instruction; (2) between lessons; (3) between units. Most formative assessments occur
during instruction (William & Leahy, 2007). This is when teachers are actively engaged
in assessing student progress as they instruct. Teachers are observing and using
questions, giving feedback in informal targeted ways. This is typically based on quizzes,
observation, student self-assessment, and other major assessment which are given at
the end of these time frames.
 Characteristics of Formative and Summative Assessments
Characteristics Formative
Purpose To provide ongoing
feedback and adjustment
to instruction.
When conducted During instruction and after
instruction
Students Involvement Encouraged
Student Motivation Intrinsic, mastery-oriented
Teacher Role To provide immediate,
specific feedback and
instructional correctives.
Learning emphasized Deep understanding,
application, and reasoning
Level of Specificity Highly specific and
individual
Structure Flexible, adaptable
Techniques Informal
Impact on Learning Strong, positive, long-
lasting
Summary Comparison of Two Basic Approaches to Achievement
Norm-Referenced
Principal Use Survey Testing
Major Emphasis Measures individual
difference in achievement
Interpretation of Results Compares performance to
that of other individual
Content of Courage Typically covers a broad
area of achievement
Nature of test plan Table of specifications is
commonly used
Item Selection Procedures Items are selected that
provide maximum
discrimination among
individuals (to attain a
reliable ranking). Easy
items are typically
eliminated from the test
Performance Standards Level of performance is
determined by relative
position in some known
Summative
To document student
learning at the end of an
instruction segment.
After instruction
Discouraged
Extrinsic, performance-
oriented
To measure student
achievement and give
grades.
Knowledge and
Comprehension
General and grouped
oriented
Rigid, highly structured
Formal
Weak and Fleeting
Criterion-Referenced
Mastery Testing
Described tasks students
can perform
Compares performance to
a clearly specified
achievement domain.
Typically focuses on a
limited set of learning tasks
Detailed domain
specifications are favored
Includes all times needed
adequately to describe
performance. No attempt is
made to alter item difficulty
or to eliminate easy items
to increase the spread of
scores.
Level of performance is
commonly determined by
absolute standards
 group( ranks fifth in a (demonstrates mastery by
group of 20) defining 90 percent of
technical terms)

4. Contextualized and Decontextualized Assessment

In contextualized assessment, the focus is on the students' construction of
functioning knowledge and the students' performance in application of knowledge in the
real work context of the discipline area. Assessment tasks reflect the goal of learning. It
uses performance-based tasks which are authentic in nature.
It describes assessment practices which measure skills and knowledge in
dealing with the specific situations or perform specific tasks which the students have
identified as important and meaningful to them. Application of the skills and knowledge
must be in the context of the real world as possible.
According to Biggs (2011), decontextualized assessment includes written exams
and tem papers, which are suitable for assessing declarative knowledge, and do not
necessarily have a direct connection to a real-life context. If focuses on declarative
knowledge and /or procedural knowledge in artificial situations detached from the real
work context.
While both contextualized and decontextualized learning and assessment each
has its role in evaluating learning outcomes, in practice, decontextualized assessment
has been overemphasized compared to the place declarative knowledge has in the
curriculum. Both must be assessed appropriately. A common mistake is to assess only
the lead-in declarative knowledge, not the functioning knowledge that emerges from it.

5. Analytic and Holistic Assessment

Analytic assessment refers to specific approach in the assessment of learning
outcomes. In this procedure, students are given feedback on how well they are doing on
each important aspect of specific task expected from them. Assessment then is made
specific based on the importance of the performance. With this, assessment shouldn't
be undertaken in part but must address the whole performance.
Holistic assessment refers to a global approach in the assessment of a student's-
learning outcome. Sadler (2009) pointed out that in holistic assessment, the teacher or
the assessor has to develop complex mental responses to a student's work and in
evaluating the student's work, the assessor provides a grade and supports it with a valid
justification for assigning the grade.
 Holistic assessments could be in the form of reflection papers and journals, peer
assessment, self-assessment, group presentation and portfolio. The application of the
various assessment methods need to be tailored in a way that it will enhance a
student's personal strength. Subsequently, the correct application of holistic assessment
in the various areas of study is expected to improve the student's learning outcome.

PREPARED BY:
DR. GEMO D. PARAJAS