CHAPTER 4- DESIGNING MEANINGFUL PEROFRMANCE-BASED ASSESSMENT

Designing performance assessment entails critical processes which start from the tasks that the
teacher wants to assess. A well-designed performance-based assessment helps the students to see the
connections between the knowledge, skills, and abilities they have learned from the classroom,
including the experiences which help them to construct their own meaning of knowledge.
Five Questions to Consider in Determining Competencies

Five Questions Examples

What important cognitive skills or attributes do
I want my students to develop?
What social and affective skills or attributes do I
want my students to develop?
What metacognitive skills do I want my student
to develop?
What types of problems do I want my students
to be able to solve?
What concepts and principles do I want my
students to be able to apply?
 Communicate effectively in writing,
employ algebra to solve real-life
problems
 Work independently, appreciate
individual differences
 Reflect on the writing process, self-
monitor progress while working on an
independent project
 Perform research, predict consequences
 Understand cause-and-effect
relationships, use principles of ecology
and conservation

Basically, the teacher should select those learning targets which can be assessed by
performance which fits to the plan along with the assessment technique to be utilized for measuring
other complex skills and performance.
Four Types of Learning Targets Used in Performance Assessment
1. Deep Understanding
 The essence of performance assessment includes the development of students’ deep
understanding. The idea is to involve students meaningfully in hands-on activity for
extended periods of time so that their understanding is rich and more extensive than
what can be attained by more conventional instruction and traditional paper-and-
pencil assessments. This focuses on the use of knowledge and skills.
2. Reasoning
 Reasoning is essential with performance assessment as the students demonstrate skills
and construct products. Typically, students are given a problem to solve or are asked
to make a decision or other outcome, such a letter to the editor or school newsletter,
based on information that is provided.

3. Skills
 In addition to logical and reasoning skills, students are required to demonstrate
communication, presentation and psychomotor skills. These targets are ideally suited
to performance assessment.
Psychomotor Skills
 Psychomotor skills describe clearly the physical action required for a
given task. These may be developmentally appropriate skills that are needed for
specific tasks: fine motor skills (holding a pen, focusing a microscope, and using
scissors), gross motor
4. Products
 Are complex works, such as term papers, projects and other assignments in which
students use their knowledge and skills.

PROCESS AND PRODUCT-ORIENTED PERFORAMNCE-BASED ASSSESSMENTS

 In defining the purpose of assessment, the teacher should identify whether the
students will have to demonstrate a process or a product. If the learning outcomes
deal on the procedures which you could specify, then it focuses on process
assessment. In assessing the process, it is essential also that assessment be done
while the students are performing the procedures or steps.
 Learning targets which require students to demonstrate process include the
procedures of proper handling/manipulating of microscope, or steps to be done when
in an earthquake drill. Mathematical operations, reciting a poem, and constructing a
table of specification are other examples of this target.
Example of process oriented performance- based assessment in which the main domain is Oral
Language and Fluency (Enclosure No. 4, DepEd Order No. 73, s, 2012):
English-Grade 7

Content Standard: The students demonstrate oral language proficiency and fluency in
various social contexts.
Performance Standard: The learner proficiently renders theoretical piece.
Task: Oral-Aural Production (The teacher may use dialogs or passages
from other written r similar texts)

Specific Competencies:
1. Observe the right syllable stress pattern in different categories.
2. Observe the use of the falling intonation, rising intonation, and the combination of both
intonation patterns in utterances.
3. Demonstrate how prosodic patterns affect understanding of the message.

 Usually the learning objectives start with a general competency which is the main target of
the task, and it follows with specific competencies which are observable on the target
behavior or competencies. This can be observed also in defining the purpose of assessment
for product-oriented performance-based assessment.
 Assessments of products must be done if the students will produce a variety of better ways to
produce high quality products, sometimes, method or sequence does not make much
difference as long as the product is the focus of the assessment. Examples of learning targets
which require students to produce products include building a garden, conducting classroom-
based researches, publishing newspaper and creating commercials or powerpoint presentation.

Identifying Performance Tasks

  Having a clear understanding of the purpose of assessment, the next step is to identify
performance tasks which measure the learning target you are about to assess. Some targets
imply that the tasks should be structured; others require unstructured tasks.
Guide questions in designing performance tasks:
1. What ranges of tasks do the learning targets imply?
2. Which part of the tasks should be structured, and to what degree?
3. Does each task require students to perform all the important elements implied by the learning
targets?
4. Do the tasks allow me to assess the achievement dimensions I need to assess?
5. What must I tell students about the task and its scoring to communicate to them what they
need to perform?
6. Will students with different ethnic and social backgrounds interpret my task appropriately?

 Performance needs to be identified so that students may know what tasks and criteria to be
performed. In this case, a task description must be prepared to provide the listing of
specification of the tasks and will elicit the desired performance of the students. Task
description should include the following:
1. Content and skills targets to be assessed
2. Description of the student activities
3. Group or individuals
4. Help allowed
5. Resource needed
6. Teacher role
7. Administrative process
8. Scoring procedures

 Tasks on the other hand, should be meaningful and must let the students be personally
involved in doing and creating the tasks. This could be done by selecting a task which has
personal meaning for most of the students. Choose a task in which students have the ability
to demonstrate knowledge and skills from classroom activities or other similar ways. This
tasks should be of high value, worth teaching to, and worth learning as well.
 In creating performance tasks, one should specify the learning targets, the criteria by which
you will evaluate performance, and the instructions for completing the task. Include also the
time needed to complete the tasks. Bes sure students understand how long a response you are
expecting.
 Some learning targets can be assessed in a relatively short period of 20 to 30 minutes. But it
also depends on the learning targets which necessitate a longer time.
 Participation of groups must be considered also in crafting performance tasks. Some tasks
require cooperative or collaborative learning or in group tasks. With this, the number of tasks
must be given an attention as well, as a rule, the fewer the number of tasks, the fewer targets
can be assessed in a given performance.

Suggestions for Constructing Performance Tasks

 The development of high-quality performance assessments that effectively measure complex
learning outcomes requires attention to task development and to the ways in which
performance are rated. Linn (1995) suggested ways to improve the development of tasks:
1. Focus learning outcomes that require complex cognitive skills and student
performances. Tasks need to be developed or selected in light of important learning
 outcomes. Since performance-based tasks generally require a substantial investment of
student time, they should be used primarily to assess learning outcomes that are not
adequately measured by less time-consuming approaches.
2. Select of develop tasks that represent both the content and the skills that are central to
important learning outcomes. It is important to specify the range of content and
resources students can use in performing task. In any event, the specification of assumed
content understanding is critical in ensuring that a task functions as intended.
3. Minimize the difference of task performance on skills that are irrelevant to the
intended purpose of the assessment tasks. The key here is to focus on the attention of
the assessment. Example is the ability to read complicated texts and the ability to
communicate clearly are both important learning outcomes, but they are not necessarily
the intent of a particular assessment.
4. Provide the necessary scaffolding for students to be able to understand the task and
what is expected. Challenging tasks often involve ambiguities and require students to
experiment, gather information, formulate hypothesis, and evaluate their own progress in
solving a problem. However, problems cannot be solved in a vacuum. These
prerequisites can be a natural outcome of prior instruction or may be built into the task.
5. Construct task directions so that the students’ task is clearly indicated. Vague
directions can lead to such a diverse array of performances that it becomes impossible to
rate them in a fair or reliable fashion. By design, many performance-based tasks give
students a substantial degree of freedom to explore, approach problems in different ways,
and come up with novel solution.
6. Clearly communicate performance expectations in terms of the criteria by which the
performances will be judged. Specifying the criteria to be used in rating performance
helps clarify task expectations for a student. Explaining the criteria that will be used in
rating performances not only provides students with guidance on how to focus their
efforts, but helps to convey priorities for learning outcomes.

Crafting tasks for both process and product-oriented performance-based assessments needs
careful planning. Engagement, elaboration, and experience are some factors to consider in
making authentic tasks which make it different to traditional assessment. Tasks should also
center on the concepts, principles, and issues that are important to the context of the subject
matter. Moreover, teachers must know what they want to observe before performance criteria
can be identified.
Checklist for writing good performance tasks:

 Are essential content and skills targets integrated?

 Are multiple targets included?
 Is the task authentic?
 Is the task teachable?
 Is the task feasible?
 Are multiple solutions and paths possible?
 Is the nature of the task clear?
 Is the task challenging and stimulating?
 Are criteria for scoring included?
 Are constraints for completing the task included?

Regardless of whether these are process or product-oriented performance tasks, clearly stated
performance criteria are critical to the success of both instruction and assessment. Criteria in
the real essence of performance-based assessment define the target process and product, guide
 and help the students on what should be taught and done and provide a target in assessing the
performance of the students.

DEVELOPING SCORING SCHEMES

There are different useful ways to record the assessment of students’ performance. Variety of
tools can be used for assessment depending on the nature of the performance it calls. As a teacher,
you need to critically examine the task to be performed matched with the assessment tools to be
utilized. Some ways of assessing the students’ performance could be the utilization of anecdotal
records, interviews, direct observations using checklist or Likert scale, and the use of rubrics
especially for the performance-based assessment.

Rubrics as an Assessment Tool

Rubrics nowadays have been widely used as assessment tool in various disciplines. Most
especially in the field of education. Different authorities defined rubrics, viz:
- Set of rules specifying the criteria used to find out what the students know and are able to do
so. (Musial, 2009)
- Scoring tool that lays out specific expectations for assignment (Levy, 2005)
- A scoring guide that uses criteria to differentiate between levels of student proficiency
(McMillan, 2007)
- Descriptive scoring schemes that are developed by teachers or evaluators to guide the analysis
of products or processes of students’ effort (Brookhart, 1999)
- The scoring procedures for judging students’ responses to performance tests (Popham, 2011)

A rubric that is used to score students’ responses to a performance assessment has at

minimum, three important features:
1. Evaluative criteria. These are the factors to be used in determining the quality of a
students’ response.
2. Descriptions of qualitative differences for evaluative criteria. For each evaluative
criterion, a description must be supplied so qualitative distinctions in students’ responses
can be made using the criterion.
3. An indication of whether a holistic or analytic scoring approach is to be used. The
rubric must indicate whether the evaluative criteria are to be applied collectively in a form
of holistic scoring or on a criterion-by-criterion basis in the form of analytic scoring.
Rubrics are used also to communicate how teachers evaluate the essence of what is being
assessed. Rubrics not only improve scoring consistency, they also improve validity by
clarifying the standards of achievement the teacher will use in evaluating. In the development
and scoring of rubrics, Nikko (2011) suggested some questions which the teacher should
address:
 What important criteria and learning targets do I need to assess?
 What are the levels of development (achievement) for each of these criteria
and learning targets?
 Should I use a holistic or an analytic scoring rubric?
 Do I need to use a rating scale or a checklist as my scoring scheme?
  Should my students be involved in rating their own performance?
 How can I make my scoring efficient and less time-consuming?
 What do I need to record as the result of my assessments?
 What are some useful methods of recording students’ responses to
performance tasks?
Types of Rubrics:
1. Analytic Rubric. It requires the teacher to list and identify the major knowledge and skills
which are criteria in the development of process or product tasks. It identifies specific and
detailed criteria prior to assessment. Teachers can assess easily the specific concept
understanding, skills or product with a separate component. Each criterion for this kind of
rubric receives a separate score, thus, providing better diagnostic information and feedback
for the students as a form of formative assessment.

Analytic Rubric for Oral Presentation: An Interpretative Reading

Category 4 3 2 1
Characterization Voice, facial Voice, facial Voice, facial Voice, facial
expressions and expressions and expressions and expressions and
body language body language body language body language
clearly often contribute sometimes rarely contribute
contribute to the to the selected contribute to the to the selected
selected character. selected character.
character. character.
Preparedness Student is Student seems The student is Student does not
completely pretty prepared somewhat see at all prepared
prepared and has but might have prepared but it is to present.
obviously needed a couple clear that
rehearsed. more rehearsal. rehearsal is
lacking.
Speaks Clearly Speaks clearly Speaks clearly Speaks clearly Often mumbles or
and distinctly all and distinctly all and distinctly cannot be
(100-95%) of the (100-95%) of the most (94-85%) of understood or
time, and time, but the time, and mispronounces
mispronounce mispronounces mispronounces more than word.
no words. one word. no more than
word.
Volume Volume is loud Volume is loud Volume is loud Volume often too
enough to be enough to be enough to be soft to be heard
heard by all heard by all heard by all by all audience
audience audience audience members.
members at least members at least members at least
95% of the time. 90% of the time. 80% of the time.

2. Holistic rubric. It requires the teacher to make a judgment about the overall quality of each
student response. Each category of the scale contains several criteria which shall be given a
single score that gives an overall rating. This provides a reasonable summary of rating in
which traits are efficiently combined, scored quickly and with only one score, thus, limiting
the precision of assessment of the results and providing little specific information about the
performance of the students and what needs for further improvement.
Holistic Rubric for Oral Report

5 Excellent. The students clearly describe the question studied and provides strong reasons
for its importance. Specific information is given to support the conclusions that are drawn
and described. The delivery is engaging and sentence structure is consistently correct. Eye
contact is made and sustained throughout the presentation. There is strong evidence of
preparation, organization and enthusiasm for the topic. The visual aid is used to make the
presentation more effective. Questions from the audience are clearly answered with
specific and appropriate information.
4 Very Good. The student described the question studied and provide reasons for its
importance. An adequate amount of information is given to support the conclusions that
are drawn and described. The delivery and sentence structure are generally correct. There
is evidence of preparation, organization and enthusiasm for the topic. The visual aid is
mentioned and used. Questions from the audience are answered clearly.
3 Good. The student describes the questions studied and conclusions are stated, but
supporting information is not as strong as a 4 or 5. The delivery and sentence structure are
generally correct. There is some indication of preparation and organization. The visual aid
is mentioned. Questions from the audience are answered.
2 Limited. The student states the question studied, but fails to fully describe it. No
conclusions are given to answer the question. The delivery and sentence structure is
understandable, but with some errors. Evidence of preparation and organization is lacking.
The visual aid may or may not be mentioned. Questions from the audience are answered
with only the most basic response.
1 Poor. The students make a presentation without stating the question or its importance.
The topic is unclear and no adequate conclusions are stated. The delivery is difficult to
follow. There is no indication of preparation or organization. Questions from the audience
receive only the most basic, or no response.
0 No oral presentation is attempted.

Rubric Development
Stevens and Levi’s Introduction to Rubrics (2005) enumerated the steps in developing rubrics.
Basically rubrics are composed of task description, scale, dimensions, and description of the
dimension.

1. Task Description- involves the performance of the students. Tasks can be taken from
assignments, presentations and other classroom activities. Usually, tasks descriptions are
being set in defining performance tasks.
Example:

Community Development
Task Description: Each student will make a 10-minute presentation on his/her
observations, experiences, analysis and interpretation of developing community. Students
may use his/her own community as a sample and look into its changes over the past 10
years. He/She may use any form or any focus of presentation, but it is a must to have a
thesis statement, not just an exposition. The presentation should include the table, graphs,
photographs, maps, landmarks, and conclusions for the audience.

2. Scale- describes how well or poorly any given task has been performed and determine to
what degree the student has a meet a certain criterion. Generally, it is used to describe the
level of performance.
 Example:

Excellent Competent Needs Work

Dimension 1
Dimension 2
Dimension 3
Dimension 4

3. Dimensions- this is a set of criteria which serves as basis for evaluating student output or
performance. The dimensions of rubric lay out the parts and how tasks are divided into
its important components as basis also for scoring the students.
Example:

5 QUESTIONS TO
CONSIDER IN
DETERMINING
COMPETENCIES
1. What important cognitive
skills or attributes do I want
my students to develop?
2. What social and affective
skills or attributes do I want
my students to develop?
3. What metacognitive skills
do I want my students to
develop?
4. What types of problems do I
want my students to be able to
solve?
5. What concepts and
principles do I want my
students to be able to apply
Excellent Competent Needs Work
Knowledge/Understanding
20% (20 points)
Thinking/Inquiry
30% (30 points)
Communication
20% (20 points)
Use of Visual aids
20% (20 points)
Presentation Skills
10% (10 points)

4. Description of the Dimensions- dimensions should contain description of the level of the
performance as standard of excellence accompanied with examples. This allows both the
teachers and the students to identify the level of expectation and what dimension must be
given an emphasis.
Rating the Performance

 This is the final step in performance-based assessment, determining the learning outcomes of
the students. The main objective of rating the performance is to be objective and consistent.
Be sure also that the soring system is feasible as well. In most of the classroom situations,
the teacher is both the observer and the rater. If there are some important instructional
decision to be made additional raters must be considered in order to make scoring more fair.
 Since performance-based assessment involves professional judgment, some common errors
in rating should be avoided.
a. Personal bias- this may results in three kinds of error.
 Generosity error- occurs hen the teacher tends to give higher scores
 Severity error- results when the teachers use the low end of the scale and underrate
student performance.
 Central tendency error- students are rated in the middle.
b. Halo effect- occurs when the teacher’s general impression of the students affects scores
given on individual traits or performance.
 ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING 2
NAME: John Anthony L. Beberino DATE: 10/29/22
COURSE: BSED-Unit Earner

Directions: Differentiate process-oriented from product-oriented performance-based assessment

using the template provided.

PERFORMANCE-BASED ASSESSMENT

Process Product

Is concerned with the actual
task performance rather than
the output.
Learning competencies
associated with the products
Competencies
are linked with an assessment.

The teacher must ensure that

the particular learning process It is concern on the product
to be observed contributes to
Task Design alone and not on the process.
the overall understanding of
the subject

Is a scoring scale used to These are descriptive scoring

assess students performance Scoring Scheme schemes that are developed
along a task-specific set of by teachers to guide analysis
criteria. of the products.

ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING 2
NAME: John Anthony L. Beberino DATE: 10/29/22
COURSE: BSED-Unit Earner

Directions: From the discussion of the steps in designing performance-based assessment, choose a
topic from English or Mathematics (Grade 7) and create a performance-based assessment following
the guidelines and principles in crafting meaningful performance-based assessment.
Subject: English
Grade Level: Grade 7
Topic: Techniques in Public Speaking

Step 1: Defining the purpose of the assessment

General Competency: The students demonstrate the techniques in Public Speaking
Specific Competencies:
1. Familiarize and comprehend the distinction between prepared and impromptu speech

2. Write a speech about the chosen topic.

3. Deliver a prepared speech or an impromptu talk on an issue, employing different techniques in
public speaking
Step 2: Identifying Performance Task.
Create your own speech or an impromptu speech base on your personal experiences during Typhoon
Odette. Create you own tittle.
Step 3: Scoring Scheme
Create a scoring rubric from the task formulated. Show how each element of writing and
implementing scoring are presented. Follow strictly the steps presented in designing rubric.

Title:
Task Description: Each student will create their own speech or have an impromptu speech regarding
their personal experience on Typhoon Odette, they will be given a 10-minutes to present their speech
to demonstrate the techniques in public speaking.

Category 4 3 2 1

Characterization Voice, facial Voice, facial Voice, facial Voice, facial

expressions and expressions and expressions and expressions and
body language body language body language body language
clearly often contribute sometimes rarely contribute
contribute to the to the selected contribute to the to the selected
 selected character. selected character.
character. character.

Preparedness Student is Student seems The student is Student does not

completely pretty prepared somewhat see at all prepared
prepared and has but might have prepared but it is to present.
obviously needed a couple clear that
rehearsed. more rehearsal. rehearsal is
lacking.

Speaks Clearly Speaks clearly Speaks clearly Speaks clearly Often mumbles or
and distinctly all and distinctly all and distinctly cannot be
(100-95%) of the (100-95%) of the most (94-85%) of understood or
time, and time, but the time, and mispronounces
mispronounce mispronounces mispronounces more than word.
no words. one word. no more than
word.

Volume Volume is loud Volume is loud Volume is loud Volume often too
enough to be enough to be enough to be soft to be heard
heard by all heard by all heard by all by all audience
audience audience audience members.
members at least members at least members at least
95% of the time. 90% of the time. 80% of the time.