Assessing 21st Century learners: Traditional or Authentic Assessment

Traditional Assessment
With the time being changed to an extent, learners demand
new techniques and methods to gain knowledge which specializes
them not only in theoretical study but ensures them to provide
practical knowledge, sharpen their skills and make them educated
to face any kind of challenges. With that the educational system
greatly shift to new methods/techniques in assessing the learners
to adapt in this challenging world. Authenticate assessment
/modern teaching become the norm in the educational system
Jhon Ivan B. Rapada because of its relevance in the modern era. They viewed
BSED MATH-3A authenticate assessment as the ultimate way to meet the
requirements of
modern times. But the question is, should we just disregards the use of “ traditional assessment “ that
have been used by the education system for a long period of time?
Whenever we hear the term “traditional “ we would think of something were used to. Something
that exist for a long time. When something exist for a long time people are used to it. When it comes
to assessments, traditional assessments have been in the classroom for the longest time.
Talking about traditional assessment often means referring to formal tests that check students’
ability to recollect and reproduce the content studied during a course (Coombe et al, 2012). These are
usually standardized timed tests that are applied to all learners in the same conditions. However, these
are not the only characteristics of traditional assessment. There are other typical features that have
been underlying our practice and that might have been consolidated as the ‘right’ way to assess
learners. Brown (2004).
Tests are a traditional way to assess these goals. Exams play an important role in faculty
assessment practices (Hurtado, Eagan, Pryor, Whang, & Tran, 2012). Students are responsible for how
well they perform; however, instructors share in this responsibility as well (O’Connor, 2014). A primary
reason for examination is to assess students’ progress. Note that this reason is different from the need
to assign a grade at the end of the term. Quizzing and testing also encourage progress. Students who
know that the final grade will depend in part on the quiz may become motivated to learn, and the
results of quizzing and testing provide feedback to the instructor about his or her success in helping
students to identify the key issues (McAllister & Guidice, 2012).
Traditional assessments have methods and instruments that authentic assessment can’t
provide. Traditional assessment evaluates the learning and retaining capacity of a child. It analyses
how much of the provided material or syllabus has been acquired by the student. It also helps
educators or teachers to compare the performances of different students. The teacher gets a preview
of a student’s knowledge conveniently . It assesses a student’s learning through a set of questions
curated as per the specified syllabus. Exams and tests conducted are pen and paper-based. The
answers to every question pertain to a particular subject and do not fluctuate as per the opinions of
the people, hence the evaluation by the teachers is also elementary and straightforward. Students
develop their retaining and understanding capabilities. They also learn to recognize and reconstruct
their intellect and build their cognitive abilities. Added that traditional assessment is easy to score;
teachers can evaluate students more quickly and easily. Less time and easier to prepare; easy to
administer. It is also reliable, valid and economical.
Authentic Assessment
“Traditional assessment only provides limited ways for
students to demonstrate what they have learned.”

Authentic assessment evaluates whether the student can

successfully transfer the knowledge and skills gained in the
classroom to various contexts, scenarios, and situations.
Authentic Assessment is grounded in theoretical best
practices for teaching and learning and serves as an effective
measure for course learning outcomes. In many ways, it can Elaine D. Gongon
BSED MATH-3A
be considered the difference between measuring what
students
types of know vs. how will
assignments theyvary
can apply that knowledge.
by discipline Theserequire students to complete a
but typically
project. For example, you may ask students to apply an engineering problem to a real world
example, develop a web application, design a model, critically review case studies, or create
multimedia presentations.

Advantages…
In this modern age we need some changes in our school system and curriculum to
address the needs of 21st century learners, authentic assessment is perfect in assessing this
modernization. Here are some of the advantages of employing authentic assessment in
school. It enhances students’ ability to apply skills and knowledge to real lie situations; taps
high order cognitive and problem solving skills unlike traditional assessment it only Assesses
the lower level thinking/cognitive skills: focuses only on the students’ ability to memorize and
recall information. In addition authentic assessment Provides students many
alternatives/ways to demonstrate best what they have learned; offers a wide array of
interesting and challenging assessment activities compare to the traditional one where it only
Provides students limited options to demonstrate what they have learned, usually limited to
pencil and paper tests.

Why use authentic assessment?...

Authentic assessments evaluate how students are learning the course material and
subject matter over time. Traditional assessments such as quizzes and exams are useful in
providing a snapshot of the students’ mastery over the subject at a specific interval, but these
assessments do not necessarily evaluate how the student can (or will) apply what was learned
beyond the classroom.

Consider the way physicians, professional engineers, electricians, teachers, firefighters,

and other professionals are assessed. Students of these professions must provide direct
evidence they are competently applying learned knowledge/skills before being allowed to
perform them in the real world. This is accomplished by way of an authentic assessment and
does not solely rely on a written or oral exam (traditional assessment) (Mueller, n.d.).
Moreover, reliance on traditional assessments may prompt students to learn the
material simply to pass the exam and then discard the material (or knowledge and skills) after
the exam or course has been completed (Thompson, 2016). Authentic assessments provide
students a chance to apply what they’ve learned and allows students to construct meaning
about what they’ve been taught (Mueller, n.d.).
 Shank (2009) identifies a few key challenges of assessments in the online environment:
expecting a bell curve, using the wrong type of assessment (performance assessments vs. test
assessments), not creating valid (enough) assessments, and using poorly written multiple-
choice tests. Although authentic assessment is unlikely to overcome all of these challenges, it
offers a number of benefits in an online course.

Notably, authentic assessment breaks the traditional paradigm of multiple-choice or

automatically scoring tests and quizzes, which can lead students to believe that learning
means staying up all night and cramming to memorize terms or expected answers. Instead,
authentic assessments tend to be more student centered, as they ask students to demonstrate
their learning through hands-on activities. Rather than asking students to memorize and recall
facts, authentic assessments ask students to actively participate in situations that require them
to apply the principles they’ve learned about in the instructional material. Thus, learning isn’t
about recalling; it’s about performing, which, ideally, will motivate students to engage in the
course and succeed in their endeavors.

To sum up, Authentic assessment has the outstanding ability to make a long-lasting
impact on not only your course, but also the students enrolled in it. By providing students
with an opportunity to test their skills in new and relevant situations, you’ll prepare them for
how they’ll be assessed in their professional lives and show them the relevance of your
course’s content outside the classroom.