Performance – based assessment

Is a direct and systematic observation of the actual performance of

students based on a predetermined performance criteria (Zimmaro,
2003 as cited by Gabuyo, 2012).
- students are required to perform a task, or create an answer or
product that will demonstrate mastery of knowledge and skills
rather than selecting an answer from a given list of options.

When to use PBA?

- Use PBA for outcome-based / performance – based activities.
Example:
1. Assembling a computer
2. Creating Tik tok video
3. editing video

Advantages of Performance-based assessment

1. It assesses complex learning outcomes not measured by paper-and –
pencil test.
2. It assesses the process as well as the product.
3. It assesses the progress as well as the performance.
4. It involves the students in the process of assessing their own growth.
5. It recognizes that students can express what they know and can do in
different ways.
6. It evaluates the “whole student”\

Limitations of PBA
Constructing of PA is time consuming.
Scoring is often questionable because it is not reliable, most
especially if the scoring guide or rubrics are not properly prepared.
It measures only a limited scope of learning objectives.
TYPES OF PBA
1. Restricted – response performance task
- a performance task that is highly structured with a limited scope.
2. Extended-response performance task
- less structured and broader in scope.

According to Gronlund (1998) use the process when:

1. there is no product.
2. The process is orderly and directly observable.
3. Correct procedures/steps are crucial to later success.
4. Analysis of procedural steps can help in improving the product;
and
5. Learning is at the early stage.

According to Gronlund(1998), use the product when:

1. Different procedures result in an equally good product.
2. Procedures not available for observation.
3. the procedures have been mastered already.
4. Products have qualities that can be identified and judged.

Features of Performance-based Assessment

According to Gronlund (1998), there are features of performance-based
assessment that differ from other types of assessment. These are greater
realism of the tasks, greater complexity of the tasks, greater time needed for
assessment, and greater use of judgment in scoring.
1. Greater realism of the tasks. This means that the students must
apply the knowledge and skills by demonstrating a task that shows
application in a real world situation.
2. Greater complexity of the tasks. The tasks are difficult to
understand and analyze because they are less structured problems
 that encourage the students to perform with originality and thinking
skills and they may have multiple solutions.
3. Greater time needed for assessment. Performance-based
assessment needs longer time to assess the performance of the
students, because of the difficulty of designing the tasks, the
comprehensive nature of the tasks, and the increased time needed to
evaluate the results.
4. Greater use of judgment in scoring. The evaluator should
consider the set of judging criteria associated with the performance
assessment. Also. the scoring approach must be congruent to the
assessment purpose. These must be taken into consideration because
of the complexity of the tasks, originality of the responses, and in
some cases, the variety of possible solutions that need a greater use
of judgment in scoring.

Developing Performance-based Assessment

Teachers are reluctant to use performance-based assessment in the
classroom because they do not have the necessary training to implement
such method. According to Stiggs (1994), another reason is because the
teachers from previous experiences fail to get conclusive results.
Moreover, many teachers are not willing to employ this kind of
assessment because of its complexity in evaluating the students'
performance. Hence, it is very important to know how to develop
performance-based assessment. Let us discuss the different steps of
developing perförmance-based assessment.

Steps in Developing Performance-based Assessment

l. Define the purpose of the assessment.
The first step a teacher must consider in developing performance-based
assessment is to clearly define the purpose for which the result of the
assessment will be used. The purpose of the assessment is considered in
making decision in the subsequent steps of the process. For example, if
the numerical rating of the assessment is used for instructional
improvement, that is, to get feedback from the students, then formative
assessment will be used. On the contrary, if the result of the assessment
is used for grading purposes and a more elaborate scoring scheme is
 needed, then summative assessment will be used. The importance of the
purpose of assessment will be cconsidered in the next step.

2.Determine the skills, learning outcomes, and taxonomy level.

Since there is a limited time in the classroom for the assessment
procedures, it IS very important to determine the skills, the learning
outcomes of any given instruction.
You must decide which learning outcome requires performance
assessment and which one is appropriate for traditional assessment.
Hence, learning outcome or instructional objective plays a very
important role in planning performance assessment.
In Assessment of Learning I, how to formulate a learning outcome
that is also applicable in performance assessment was discussed. It is
very important to properly identify the skills or competencies that are
suitable for the utilization of performance based assessment.
Performance-based assessment only assesses higher order thinking
skills or complex cognitive outcomes, receiving, responding, and
valuing for affective outcomes, and psychomotor skills. You should
create a list of learning outcomes that specifies knowledge, skills,
habits of the mind, and social skills that are appropriate for
performance assessment.
After identifying the skill, the learning outcome, and the taxonomy
level of each outcome, be ready to identify the activity or the
performance task that is best suited to your purpose.

3.Design and develop activity or performance task.

The next step to consider is to create an activity or task that will
allow that students to demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and attitudes
that they have learned Before identifying the activity and task, you
should consider the time allotted for the activity, the availability of
classroom resources, and the data needed to judge the quality of the
students' performance. The activity and task should be in line with the
issues, concepts, or problems that are important in the development of
the subject matter or learning instruction.
Kubiszyn and Borich (2007) suggested some questions to get
started with the activity and task.
 a. What does the "doing of Mathematics, History, Science, Art,
Writing, and so forth" look and feel like to professionals who
make their living working in those fields in the real world?
b. What are the projects and tasks performed by those
professionals that can be adapted to the school instruction?
c. What are the roles or habits of mind that those professionals
acquire that the learners re-create in the classroom?
Examples of tasks that the teacher can create based on these questions
may involve debates, solving mathematical problems, experiment in
Science class, presentation of historical events, and job
responsibilities. Notice that these examples present the learners with
the following: (1) a hands-on exercise or problem to solve which
produces a product; (2) an observable outcome or product such as
typed business letter without error, a multimedia presentation or a
poem; and (3) the performance, process of doing the task, and product
of the students.

Performance Task
Performance task provides a common means of assessment. As
the term implies, the students will be asked to do something. The
students will not just answer questions such as those questions asked
in selected response test format or essay writing, but they will
present their work or create something. Some examples of
performance tasks in different areas are:
a. Building a house using popsicle sticks;
b. Demonstrating the dissection of frog;
c. Drawing the map of the Philippines;
d. Writing a poem in iambic form;
e. Solving Math problems;
f. Writing a sports story;
g. Translating English paragraph to Filipino;
h. Demonstrating a modern dance;
a. Presenting a Mathematics lesson to the class;
b. Writing a 10-item, matching type of test; and
 c. Presenting a five-minute drama performance.
These performance tasks can be utilized for assessment.
Experts in this method of assessing the performance of students pointed out
that an effective performance assessment task must have the following
features.
a. Intended learning outcomes should clearly state and use this as a
guide in designing a performance task.
b. Students should be active participants, not passive selectors of a single
answer.
c. Students are expected to demonstrate their ability to apply their knowledge
and skills to real life situation.
d. A clear, logical set of performance-based activities that students are expected
to follow should be evident.
e. Rubrics should be available to help assess the level of proficiency in the
students' performance or response.

Suggestions for Constructing Performance Task

It is very important to develop high quality performance assessment
that effectively measures complex learning outcomes. Below are the different
suggestions in developing performance task and the ways of improving
scoring (Gronlund, Linn, & Miller, 2009).
a. Focus on learning outcomes that require complex cognitive skills and
student performances.
b. Select or develop tasks that represent both content and skills that are
central to important learning outcomes.
c. Minimize the dependence of task performance on skills that are
relevant to the intended purpose of the assessment task.
d Provide the necessary scaffolding for the students to be able
to understand the task and what is expected from their
performance.
e. Construct task directions so that the student 's task is clearly
indicated.
 f. Clearly communicate performance expectations in terms of the
scoring rubrics by which the performance will be judged.
Guidelines for Good Performance Task
a. Performance task must be congruent to the purpose of the assessment
b. Performance task elicits behaviour(s) at the level(s) stated in the
instructional outcomes.
c. Performance task is interesting, challenging, and fair to all students.
d. Performance task is authentic; hence, it promotes the conveyance of
learning to the real world.
e. Performance task includes only important outcomes (performance and
product) that are appropriately assessed.
f. Performance task adequately reflects intended learning outcomes.
g. Performance task is appropriate for the developmental level of students.
h. The directions of performance task should include what is to be done,
how it is done, and what condition it is done.
i. The directions of performance task should give enough information and
context for successful task completion by all students.

4. The Performance Criteria.

After determining the activities and the tasks that are to be included
in the performance tasks, the next step in developing the performance-
based assessment is to identify the criteria to be used in the assessment
process. Performance criteria are the specific behaviours that student
should perform to properly carry out a performance or produce a product
(Airasian, 2000). It can focus on the process, product, or both .
Performance criteria should be specific, clearly stated, and observable It
is very important to define the necessary conditions of the performance
that must be met to consider the success of students' performance. Criteria
are usually found in the curriculum or published materials, but there are
so many skills the teacher may find unnecessary In other instructions. In
this case, it is very important for the teacher to develop his own criteria.
Airasian (2000) suggested the different guidelines for stating
performance criteria.
 a. Identify the overall performance or task to be assessed and
perform it yourself or imagine yourself performing lt.
a. List the important aspects Of the performance or product.
b. Try to limit the number of performance criteria, so they can all
be observed during a pupil's performance.
c. If possible, have groups of teachers think through the important
behaviors included in a task.
d. Express the performance criteria in terms of observable pupil
behaviors or product characteristics.
e. Do not use ambiguous words that may cloud the meaning of the
performance criteria.
f. Arrange the performance criteria in the order in which they are
likely to be observed.
g. Check for existing performance criteria before constructing
your own.

Types of Performance Criteria

a. Impact of the performance. It refers to the success of
the performance, given purposes, goals, and the desired results.
b. Work quality and craftsmanship. It refers to the
overall quality, organization, and difficulty of the work.
c. Adequacy of method and behavior. It refers to the
quality of procedures and manner of presentation prior to and
during the performance.
d. Validity of content. It refers to the correctness of ideas,
skills, and materials used.
e. Sophistication of knowledge employed. It refers to the
complexity or maturity of knowledge employed.

Guidelines for Good Judging Criteria

Gallagher (1998) suggested the different guidelines in scoring the
performance of the students, which can be implemented or adopted in
 actual judging of the students' performance according to research. The
following are the guidelines for good judging criteria:
a. Communicate essential achievement standard of the assessed
outcome(s);
b. Operationalize the outcome they intend to reflect;
c. Apply across context that calls for similar behavior;
d. Focus on current instruction, not prior learning;
e. Observable;
f. Essential for judging performance of the task adequately;
g. Communicate to others what constitutes excellence; and
h. Appropriate for the students.

Use the following to evaluate the criteria as a whole:

a. Criteria are present to each outcome assessed.
b. All criteria associated with an outcome sufficiently describe the critical
aspect of performance – what is necessary to observe to determine
successful performance.
c. Criteria are shared with students when appropriate.
5.Create the Scoring Rubrics.
Scoring rubrics are used when judging the quality of the work of the
learners on performance assessments. One of the alternative methods of rating
the performance 01 the students aside from paper-and-pencil test is the use of
scoring rubrics or rubrics. They are forms of scoring guide that arc used in
evaluating the level of students or products resulting from the performance
task.
Scoring Rubrics are descriptive scoring schemes that arc developed by
teachers or other evaluators to guide in the analysis of the products or
processes of Students' efforts. (Moskal, 2000)
Another definition of rubrics is a rating system by which teachers can
determine at what level of proficiency a student is able to perform a task or
display knowledge of a concept; you can define the different levels of
proficiency for each criterion. (Airasian, 2000).
 One common use of rubrics is to evaluate the quality of an essay. The
judgment of one evaluator may differ from other evaluators when there is a
lack of set of criteria as a guideline for judgement. One evaluator might put
much weight in the content of the topic or another evaluator might give high
mark on the organization aspect of the paper. If we are going to evaluate the
quality of an essay, it must have a combination of these factors. In this case,
the evaluators judge the paper subjectively.To avoid such case, they must
develop predetermined criteria for evaluation purposes, so the subjectivity of
evaluating is lessened or it becomes more objective.

Types of Rubrics
There are two types of rubrics: the holistic rubric and the analytic rubric.
Holistic rubric is a type of rubric that requires the teacher to score an
overall process or product as a whole (Nitko and Mertler, 2001). This means
the evaluator provides the overall quality of the performance of students by
yielding a single score to represent a specific category of accomplishment.
Some of the advantages of holistic rubric are its simplicity and the ability to
provide a reasonable summary rating. In this type of rubric, all traits are
efficiently combined, the work is quickly scored, and it provides a one-score
result (Mcmillan, 2001).
Holistic rubric is advisable to use when a teacher wants a fast result of
students performance; a single rating is already enough to define it. However, it
does not provide a detailed feedback in specific criteria.
Analytic rubric is a type of rubric that provides information regarding
performance in each component parts of a task, making it useful for diagnosing
specific strengths and weaknesses of the learners (Gareis and Grant, 2008).
Analytic rubric is very useful when the teacher wants to provide
diagnostic information and feedback tor the learner and is more useful for
formative assessment during instruction (Mcmillan, 2001). With this type of
rubric, the students can be able to identify their strengths, as well as their
weaknesses more clearly. Analytic rubric can also be utilized by the teacher
when there is a need for the students to assess their own product or work in a
process called self-assessment.

Uses of Rubrics
 Heidi Goodrich Andrade, an expert in rubrics development, discussed
the uses of rubrics in the assessment process.
a. Rubrics are powerful tools for both teaching and assessment.
Rubrics can improve student performance, as well as monitor
it, by making teachers' expectations clear and by showing
students how to meet these expectations. The result is often
marked improvements in the quality of student work and in
learning. Thus, the most common argument for using rubrics
is they help define "quality".
b. Rubrics are useful in that they help students become more
thoughtful judges of the quality of their own and others' work.
When rubrics are used to guide self- and peer-assessment,
students become increasingly able to spot and solve problems
on their own and one another's work. Repeated practice of
peer-assessment, especially self-assessment, increases the
students' sense of responsibility for their own work and cuts
down on the number of "Am I done yet?" questions.
c. Rubrics reduce the amount of time teachers spend evaluating
students' work. Teachers tend to find that by the time a piece
has been self- and peer - assessed based on a rubric, they have
little left to say about it. When they do have something to say,
they often simply circle an item in the rubric, rather than
struggle to explain the flaw or strength they have noticed: or
figure out what to suggest in terms of improvements. Rubrics
provide students with more informative feedback about their
strengths and in what areas they need to improve.
d. Teachers appreciate rubrics because their "accordion" nature
allows them to accommodate heterogeneous classes. The
examples here have three or four gradations of quality, but
there is no reason they cannot be "stretched" to reflect the
work of both gifted and those with learning disabilities.
Rubrics are easy to use and to explain. Students were able to
articulate what they had learned, and by the end of the year
could be accurate with their evaluations. Parents were very
excited about the use of rubrics. During parent conferences, I
 used sample rubrics to explain to parents their purpose, and
how they were used in class. The reaction of parents were
very encouraging. They knew exactly what their child
needed to do to be successful.

Advantages of Using Rubrics

When assessing the performance of the students using
performance-based assessment, it is very important to use scoring
rubrics. There are advantages of using rubrics in assessing students'
performance:
a. Allow consistency and objectivity in scoring across the given
criteria;
b. Clarify the criteria in more specific terms;
c. Students can identify the basis on how they are to be
evaluated;
d. Allow the students to assess their own performance, products,
or works;
e. Teachers can use a small amount of time to evaluate the
performance of the students;
f. Students can evaluate their own performance and the
performance of their classmates;
g. Provide specific feedbacks on the performance of the
students, especially analytic scoring;
h. Serve as standards when preparing the tasks/ activities
against its measure and progress is documented; and
i. Provide students feedback about their strengths and
weaknesses according to their performance.

Development of Scoring Rubrics

Mcmillan (2001) listed the different steps in developing rubrics
used in assessing the performance, process, product, or both process
and product of the students for classroom use.
a. Be sure the criteria focus on important aspects of the
performance. There are so many ways of determining the
excellent performance and not-so-good performance or work of
 students. The teacher should identify the different attributes
that are most important and related to the learning outcomes of
the particular content that you are going to assess. For instance,
in assessing the writing skills of your students, it is not
necessary that you include every grammatical rule in each
aspect of the descriptions; rather, you only include the most
important, such as tense formation, agreement, and
punctuation.
b. Match the type of rating with the purpose of the
assessment. The purpose Of assessment is very important in
the type of rating scheme that will be utilized by the teacher,
rater, or evaluator on the performance of the students. Use
holistic rubric if the purpose of assessment is more global and
you need an overall judgment, while use analytic rubric if the
purpose is to provide feedback about the different aspects of
performance.
c. The descriptions of the criteria should be directly
observable. Make descriptions focused on the behaviors or
characteristics of the performance or product that is directly
observed.
d. The criteria should be written so that students, parents, and
others understand them. Take note that the criteria should be shared and
discussed first with the students before the Instruction so they will
incorporate the descriptions as standards when doing their task/s or
activities. Make sure that the descriptions used are clearly stated so that
they can apply them very well in their work. Write the descriptions so
they can be easily comprehended by the students and other stakeholders.
Also, pay attention to the words and phrases of the criteria. It is equally
important that you give examples to the students to clearly illustrate the
given descriptions and use them as their pattern when doing the task/s
assigned to them.
e. The characteristics and traits used in the scale should be clearly
and specifically defined. After describing the criteria, assign a rating
scale or possible point that shows an excellent performance or poor
performance. There is a need for you to discuss the details of the
descriptions to avoid ambiguity. The words must be clear and not
ambiguous.
f. Take appropriate steps to minimize scoring error. Our ultimate goal
here is to make sure that our scoring system is objective and reliable.
When using performance-based assessment, it involves professional
judgment. In this case, errors in scoring should be avoided in order to
achieve objectivity and consistency in scoring. There are some possible
errors when using performance-based assessment, such as generosity
error, severity error, central tendency error, and halo effect.
g. The scoring system needs to be feasible. There are factors to consider
to limit the number and complexity of the criteria to be evaluated or
assessed. First, the time consumed-in developing the scoring criteria and
the scoring. Second, the students' focus on limited number of aspects of
their performance. Third, the diffculty and time cosumption to keep all
the facets in mind if holistic descriptions are too complex. Lastly, the
difficulty in summarizing and synthesizing too many separate dimensions
into a brief report or evaluation (Mcmillan, 2001).
Metler (2001) suggested the template for holistic rubric and
analytic rubric for classroom purposes in his article, Designing Scoring
Rubricfor Your Classroom. This can be modified depending on the
performance task that the students should be able to accomplish.
Template for Holistic Rubrics
SCOR Description
E
5 Demonstrates complete understanding of the
problem. All requirements of task are Included in
response
4 Demonstrates considerable understanding of the problem.
All requirements of task are included.

3 Demonstrates partial understanding of the

problem. Most requirements of task arc
Included
2 Demonstrates little understanding of the
 problem. May requirements of task are missing.
1 Demonstrates no understanding of the problem
0 No response/ task not attempted.

Types of Scoring Instruments for Performance Assessments

Below are some approaches in rating the performance, product, or work of
the students. There are different ways to record the results of performance-based
assessments (Airasian, 1991 ; Stiggins, 1994).
1. Checklist refers to an observation instrument that defines performance
whether it is certain or uncertain, or present or not present. Checklist works well
in describing what students can perform. It works well for checking the process
of learning. This is widely used in different settings, including performance
assessment. In using the checklist, the evaluator has to indicate only whether or
not certain elements are present in the performances. There are two parts of
checklist: the elements and the check boxes or lines. When creating the checklist
for performance assessment, paraphrase the judging criteria and make them the
elements of the checklist. There are two reasons for this: first, the phrases
provide memory jog for the evaluator so that he or she knows what to look for;
and secondly, paraphrasing makes the description short to decrease the reading
time and maximize the observation time. The box or line next to each element
provides a place for the evaluator to indicate with a check when element is
present during the performance.

Example of Checklist for Mathematical Skills

Direction: Check YES if skills have been demonstrated by the students or check
NO if not.
Skills YES NO
1. Identifies fraction less than one.
2. Arranges fraction according to
ascending order or descending order.
3. Expresses mixed fraction to improper
fraction and vice versa.
4. Reduces fraction to lowest term.
5. Adds fractions correctly.
2. Narrative/Anecdotal is a continuous description of student behavior as it
occurs, recorded without judgment or interpretation. The teacher writes a narrative
report of what was done during each of the performances. From this report, he can
determine how well his students met his standards.

3. Rating scale is a checklist that allows an evaluator to record information on a

scale, noting the finer distinction like the presence or absence of a behavior. The
teacher can indicate to what degree the standards are met
Usually, teachers use a numerical scale. For instance, one teacher may rate
each criterion on a scale of one to five, with one having the description of
"Skill barely present" and five as "Skill extremely well executed."
4. Memory approach is an approach where the teacher observes the
students when performing the tasks without taking any notes. He uses his
memory to determine whether or not the students are successful. This is
not recommended to use in assessing the performance of students.

1. Assess the Performance

The next step in performance assessment is to assess and score
the student's performance. To assess the performance of the
students, the evaluator can use the checklist approach, narrative or
anecdotal approach, rating scale approach, and memory approach.
The evaluator can give feedback as well in the form of a narrative
report or a grade.
It is a standard procedure that teachers assess the performance
of their students; they should also allow their students to assess
themselves too. When students assess their own performance, it
gives them an opportunity to reflect on the quality of their
performance, product, or work. From this, they will have a chance to
learn from their success and failure.
There are three common methods of assessing the performance
of the students: (a) teacher observation; (b) peer evaluation; and (c)
student self-report. The instruments that can be used in assessing
students' performance are checklist, rating scale, or likert scale.
2. Specify the Constraints in Testing
Performance assessment is a direct form of assessment in which
real- world conditions and constraints play a very important role in
demonstrating the competencies desired from the students. The most
common forms of constraints are time, reference materials, other
people, equipment, prior knowledge of the task, and scoring criteria.
Wiggins (1992), Kubiszyn and Borich (2007) recommended that
teachers take an "Authenticity Test" to decide which of these
constraints are to be imposed on the performance assessment. The
"Authenticity Test" involves answering the following questions:
a. What kinds of constraints authentically replicate the
constraints and opportunities facing the performer in the real
world?
b. What kinds of cpnstraints tend tobringoutthebestin apprentice
performers and producers?
c. What are the appropriate or authentic limits one should impose
on the availability of the six resources previously listed?

Errors Performance-based Assessment

It is true that when teachers utilize performance-based in assessing students'
performance, it can provide very useful information regarding the achievement of
the students. However, it is also possible to commit an error when observing and
judging Students' performance. The possible errors committed when using
performance-based are personal bias, severity error, generosity error, and halo
effect. Generosity error is committed when a teacher overrates the performance
of the students or favors the high performing students in the class. Severity error
is when the teacher favors the low performing Students in the class. Halo effect is
committed when judging individual characteristics in terms of a general
impression (Gronlund, 1998). These types of errors can also be committed by the
evaluator in portfolio assessment
In order that performance-based assessment can provide a useful and valid
information special care should be given to the reliability, objectivity, and
meaningfulness of the results of the assessment procedures. This can be done
when making clear guidelines regarding what is to be observed; how it is to be
done; the manner the observations are to be recorded; and how the result is to
be recorded and used. Aside from that, any procedure that can contribute to a
more objective observation and record will help to increase the reliability and
meaningfulness of the result. The use of portfolio and students' participation
can also contribute to the improvement of performance assessment.