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Assessment Rationale
My project intentionally provided opportunities for authentic
language learning, and I also wanted to provide an authentic
assessment. The conventional Western methods of using true/false,
multiple-choice, fill in the blank and short answer would not do since
they have been discovered to be less effective in engaging higher level
thinking skills (OMalley & Pierce, 1996, pp. 2, 28). Authentic
assessments I chose to use leading up to our final project included a
student checklist, a student/peer/teacher editing chart, observation,
and a rubric. These assessments allowed for a broad evaluation of
learning in the multilayered process of creating a digital story. Some of
the things that can be measured by a rubric include the process,
grammar skills, observation of language use, digital components,
voice, and writing. All of these assessments led to the focus of my
authentic assessment, which was the finished project, the students
digital retelling of the elder story.
OMalley & Pierce (1996) explain that authentic assessment is
meaningful, challenging and engaging. Students understanding of the
subject is displayed as they engage in real world situations or
problems. OMalley & Pierces research found that English language
learners benefit by showing their knowledge in a variety of ways.
Authentic assessment is able to account for how students achieve best
by connecting their motivation and attitude to what is happening in the

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classroom. Authentic assessment also implies that the teacher will use
the information from the test to make changes in the classroom
instruction (pp. 4-5). These findings can be applied more broadly to
other classroom contexts.
Some forms of authentic assessment, include performance-based
assessment, portfolios, rubrics, checklists, self-assessments, oral
interviews, retelling, and demonstrations. The rationale for using
different forms of authentic assessment is that each learner is unique
and brings a varied approach to learning, including displaying
knowledge in different ways. When students are allowed to engage in
projects or activities, they construct their own responses as they show
their competence in the task, language, or concept being evaluated.
This process requires higher thinking skills as students follow one of
the myriad of paths to meeting the learning objective.
In contrast, methods such as multiple-choice and tests that
encourage rote learning do not prepare students for the intricacy of
thought and skill combinations required for problem solving that will be
demanded of them in life and future jobs. Many teachers still use
multiple-choice because many existing curriculum materials offer
premade multiple-choice tests. Teachers may not question the use of
such tests because they are following the mandated district curriculum
and teachers have limited time to create new tests. Unfortunately,
methods such as multiple-choice, limit the students opportunities to

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show what they do know, because they are limited to the provided
answers. If those answers do not fit in with the students thinking, then
students often guess. Multiple-choice also do not provide a space
where students can justify their answers and demonstrate the full
scope of their knowledge.
On the other hand, when students are provided with a space for
learning, they move beyond rote learning and practice higher-level
thinking. In my project, higher-level thinking is encouraged because
students recreate the story in their own words rather than simply
ordering pre-fabricated sentences. Instead of relying on choices made
by curriculum designers, students must decide which events in the
story are important and connect with their funds of knowledge.
Students also become responsible for retrieving and creating language
as they retell the story. Rather than merely rearranging pre-produced
thoughts, students must create their own output. In order for this to be
effective, students must become active learners who engage in the
learning process.
My students were naturally motivated to engage in the elder
story because it was culturally intriguing to them. I provided a mini
lesson with modeling and whole class practice editing using a checklist
to guide students as they worked on their writing (See Appendix A).
After completing the project I created a new student, peer, teacher
chart to help future students with the editing process (See Appendix

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B). I also developed student and teacher rubrics to introduce before
students begin creating the digital retelling phase of the project in the
future (See Appendix C and D).
I have observed and been told by different members of Native
communities that children tend to practice and perform skills in private
and or public, when they are ready to perform them on their own. They
are not expected to perform on demand. Strombol-Nelson & NelsonBarber (1995) state, that heavy reliance on language for both
communicating information and representing knowledge is simply not
the norm in many Native communities. Therefore, strictly verbal tests
may penalize Native students (p. 4). Strombol-Nelson & NelsonBarber also found that students had a difficult time with multiplechoice and the idea of one correct answer (1995). With this knowledge
in mind, I created culturally valid assessments by allowing students to
present their ideas not just with words, but with illustrations. Students
were also given time to discuss their ideas and practice reading on
their own to record their digital retelling in a quiet space when they
were ready. In this way, students could share what they know and were
not tested on specific details of the story that may not have been
relevant to them. Students developed their work as a part of a group,
which also reflected the local cultural norm of working together in
community with one another. Teachers can encourage student

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engagement by choosing culturally relevant topics that are important
to student identity and interests.
Drawing upon the local culture of working together, I facilitated a
peer-learning task to allow student to engage in higher-level thinking
skills. Students problem solved and developed their version of the
elder story by collaborating with fellow students who have a similar
communication style. This is particularly important given the Yupik
cultural context where traditionally children learned through listening
to adults without asking questions. In Yupik culture, even adults often
use a phrase or a single word to encapsulate a complete thought or
response to a conversation. Since my students were practicing
language development, I sought to provide a peer learning experience
so they could feel comfortable practicing oral communication.
Once a teacher has decided to implement authentic assessment,
one necessity is to find or develop valid and reliable tasks. An
evaluation is valid if it tests the students on the content that was
taught in class and if the evaluation is then used to benefit teacher
planning to meet student learning needs. Valid and authentic testing
should reflect the higher order thinking skills of local curriculum and
should steer teachers to instruct to the individual needs of the
students (OMalley & Pierce, 1996, p. 26). The checklists, rubric and
the final project itself are valid assessments because they test what
the students learned. Students are able to display their understanding

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of the elder story digitally using pictures, voice, and SAE without the
hindrance of limiting the display of their knowledge by only asking for
comprehension of specific details.
One challenge of authentic assessment is that it requires teacher
judgment to score, and different teachers might assign a different
score to the same work. Students may become frustrated if they do
not understand how a score is assigned. Teachers often spend more
time grading these assessments because there is no one right answer.
These realities underscore the need for reliable testing, which is when
the same score is earned on different testing occasions or with
different raters (OMalley & Pierce, 1996). Rubrics are a common
method for achieving reliability when there is more than one right
answer, which is the case with projects or essays that require higher
level thinking skills. To increase reliability more than one teacher can
assess the projects using the same tools such as the checklist and the
rubric to assure a common and fair grade is given.
Not only do students need to be active learners, they must also
become actively involved in the process of assessing their own work.
This requires students to learn how to self-reflect rather than relying on
a teachers judgment. Teachers must commit to teaching students how
to use tools such as a rubric. This can involve substantial time to model
and practice self and peer evaluation using the rubric or other
evaluation tools. The responsibility of assessment becomes shared by

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the teacher, student, and peers and becomes a process throughout the
project rather than a summative judgment by the teacher. This teaches
a life-long skill of self-evaluation and taking responsibility for ongoing
learning.
I discovered the value that rubrics add to authentic assessment
after I conducted the project with my students and as I continued to
develop my project research. In the future, I would present students
with a rubric explaining the expectations before hand or have the class
help develop them. Rubrics will help generate student engagement, as
students will know what they need to do to get the grade they want.
Rubrics will address the challenge of judging work accurately and
reliably by putting numeric values on defined levels of performance.
Another rationale for using rubrics is because rubrics allow the
whole process of learning to be taken into account in the grade instead
of just the end result. To increase student scores and the scores
reliability, students can be shown other finished products and
understand what grade they would earn and why. Rubrics increase
fairness, reliability and validity. I was able to evaluate a digital story
that shows what the students know constructed from their higher
thinking skills through collaborative dialogue. Instruction and learning
are improved and benefit the students as they participate in the
process of developing their own version of the elder story through the

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task-based project. In the process students connect their current
understandings with new funds of knowledge in a way that is unique.
The rubric was a tool that helped students see the expectations
for the ultimate goal of authentic assessment, which was the students
final project the digital story the students created of the elder story.
This was the focal point of my authentic assessment because students
were able to relate to the local funds of knowledge through
multiliteracies that are a part of the local history and current culture.
Some of the authentic elements that students were able to relate to
and draw upon as they retold the elder story digitally were, the elder
storytelling experience, the story genre, Yupik song, gestures, local
terms and concepts, and ways of thinking. Students drew upon their
funds of knowledge and added their cultural context and
understandings as they engaged in language and learning to write
Standard American English as they retold the elder story digitally. The
students final digital elder story became a validating and rewarding
authentic assessment for everyone involved in the process.
While developing assessments provide many opportunities,
naturally teachers will also encounter challenges. In my classroom
context, one challenge I faced in developing reliable tests is that my
students all have different levels of comfort with using Standard
English verbally and in writing. Another challenge many teachers may
face is that existing curriculum or standards prevent them from

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developing or altering testing methods. When teachers find themselves
in this situation, one response might be to supplement rather than
replace the existing methods to meet the needs of their particular
students. Teachers may also use this as an opportunity to collaborate
with other teachers to professionally reflect and actively consider the
best methods of meeting student needs. This can open a dialogue
within the school.

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Appendix A
Writing Checklist
____________________
Student Name
_____ I read the story.

_________________________
Peer
_____

_____ It makes sense.

_____

_____ All sentences are about the story.

_____

_____ Periods and punctuation

are in the right places.

_____

_____ Capital letters

are in the right places.

_____

Appendix B
Student Peer Teacher Writing Chart

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Appendix C

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Appendix D

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