AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT

IN THE CLASSROOM
Overview
In this module, we will discuss the authentic assessment in the classroom.
Authentic assessment is where students thoughtfully apply their acquired skills to a
new situation or environment. Assessments are authentic if they are realistic, require
judgment and innovation, and assess students’ ability to effectively use their
knowledge or skills to complete a task. This module will provide you information on
the nature and characteristics of authentic assessment and the features and
characteristics of authentic and 21st-century assessments.
 Learning Outcomes
• At the end of the unit, the students can
1. Discuss the nature and characteristics of authentic assessment and non-test assessment;
2. Differentiate authentic and traditional assessment;
3. Discuss process oriented and product-oriented authentic assessments;
4. Describe the features of authentic assessment and 21st century assessments;
5. Reflect on the importance and application of authentic assessment;
6. Make connections between the principles of high-quality assessment and the development and
use of authentic assessment techniques and tools within and across teaching areas; and
7. Determine the guidelines for performance assessment.
8. Design and develop performance tasks using the Goal, Role, Audience, Situations, Products,
Standards (GRASPS) model.
Authentic Assessment in the Classroom
Authentic Assessment

A form of assessment in which students are asked to perform real-world tasks that demonstrate
meaningful application of essential knowledge and skills (Mueller, 2011).

Engaging and worthy problems or questions of importance, in which students must use knowledge
to fashion performances effectively and creatively. The tasks are either replica of or analogous to the
kinds of problems faced by adult citizens and consumers or professionals in the field. (Wiggins, 1993).

Authentic assessments call upon the examinee to demonstrate specific skills and competencies, that
is, to apply the skills and knowledge they have mastered." (Stiggins, 1987).
Mueller (2008) compares traditional assessment and authentic assessment.

Attributes Traditional Assessment Authentic Assessment

Action/Option Selecting a response Performing a task

Setting Contrived/Imagined Simulation/Real-life

Method Recall/Recognition Construction/Application

Focus Teacher-structured Student-structured

Outcome Indirect evidence Direct evidence

Let me clarify the attributes by elaborating on each in the context of traditional and authentic
assessments:

Selecting a Response to Perform a Task: On traditional assessments, students are typically given
several choices (e.g., a,b,c, or d; true or false; which of these match with those) and asked to select the
right answer. In contrast, authentic assessments ask students to demonstrate understanding by
performing a more complex task usually representative of more meaningful application.

Contrived to Real-life: It is not very often in life outside of school that we are asked to select
from four alternatives to indicate our proficiency at something. Tests offer these contrived means of
assessment to increase the number of times you can be asked to demonstrate proficiency in a short
time. More commonly in life, as in authentic assessments, we are asked to demonstrate proficiency by
doing something.
 Recall/Recognition of Knowledge to Construction/Application of Knowledge: Well-designed
traditional assessments (i.e., tests and quizzes) can effectively determine whether or not students have
acquired a body of knowledge. Thus, as mentioned above, tests can serve as a nice complement to
authentic assessments in a teacher's assessment portfolio. Furthermore, we are often asked to recall or
recognize facts and ideas, and propositions in life, so tests are somewhat authentic in that sense.
Authentic assessments often ask students to analyze, synthesize and apply what they have learned
substantially, and students create new meaning in the process as well.

Teacher-structured to Student-structured: When completing a traditional assessment, what a

student can and will demonstrate has been carefully structured by the person(s) who developed the test. A
student's attention will understandably be focused on and limited to what is on the test. In contrast,
authentic assessments allow more student choice and construction in determining what is presented as
evidence of proficiency. Assessments more carefully controlled by the teachers offer advantages and
disadvantages. Similarly, more student-structured tasks have strengths and weaknesses that must be
considered when choosing and designing an assessment.
 Indirect Evidence to Direct Evidence: The evidence is very indirect, particularly for claims of
meaningful application in complex, real-world situations. Authentic assessments, on the other hand, offer
more direct evidence of application and construction of knowledge. As in the golf example above,
putting a golf student on the golf course to play provides much more direct evidence of proficiency than
giving the student a written test. Can a student effectively critique the arguments someone else has
presented (an important skill often required in the real world)? Asking a student to write a critique should
provide more direct evidence of that skill than asking the student a series of multiple-choice, analytical
questions about a passage, although both assessments may be useful.

Authentic Assessment Complements Traditional Assessment

For example, if I had to choose a chauffeur from between someone who passed the driving portion
of the driver's license test but failed the written portion or someone who failed the driving portion and
passed the written portion, I would choose the driver who most directly demonstrated the ability to drive,
that is, the one who passed the driving portion of the test. However, I would prefer a driver who passed
both portions. I would feel more comfortable knowing that my chauffeur had a good knowledge base
about driving (which might best be assessed traditionally) and was able to apply that knowledge in a real
context (which could be demonstrated through an authentic assessment).
Teaching to the Test
These two different approaches to assessment also offer different advice about teaching to the test.
Under the traditional assessment model, teachers have been discouraged from teaching to the test. That
is because a test usually assesses a sample of students' knowledge and understanding and assumes that
students' performance on the sample is representative of their knowledge of all the relevant material. If
teachers focus primarily on the sample to be tested during instruction, then good performance on that
sample does not necessarily reflect knowledge of all the material. So, teachers hide the test so that the
sample is not known beforehand, and teachers are admonished not to teach to the test.

With authentic assessment, teachers are encouraged to teach to the test. Students need to learn how
to perform well on meaningful tasks. To aid students in that process, it is helpful to show them models
of good (and not so good) performance. Furthermore, the student benefits from seeing the task rubric
ahead of time as well. Is this "cheating"? Will students then just be able to mimic the work of others
without truly understanding what they are doing? Authentic assessments typically do not lend
themselves to mimicry. There is no one correct answer to copy.
Alternative Names for Authentic Assessment
You can also learn something about what authentic assessment is by looking at the other common
names for this form of assessment. For example, authentic assessment is sometimes referred to as:

• Performance Assessment (or Performance-based) -- so-called because students are asked to

perform meaningful tasks. This is the other most common term for this type of assessment. For
some educators, authentic assessments are performance assessments using real-world or authentic
tasks or contexts. Since we should not typically ask students to perform work that is not authentic, I
choose to treat these two terms synonymously.
• Alternative Assessment -- so-called because authentic assessment is an alternative to traditional
assessments.
• Direct Assessment -- so-called because authentic assessment provides more direct evidence of
meaningful application of knowledge and skills. If a student does well on a multiple-choice test we
might infer indirectly that the student could apply that knowledge in real-world contexts, but we
would be more comfortable making that inference from a direct demonstration of that application
such as in the golfing example above.
Why Use Authentic Assessment?
The question "Why to use authentic assessment?" is not meant to suggest that you have to choose
between traditional assessments such as tests and more authentic or performance assessments. Often,
teachers use a mix of traditional and authentic assessments to serve different purposes. This will attempt
to explain why teachers might choose authentic assessments for certain types of judgments and why
authentic assessments have become more popular in recent years.

1. Authentic Assessments are Direct Measures

We do not just want students to know the content of the disciplines when they graduate. We, of
course, want them to be able to use the acquired knowledge and skills in the real world. So, our
assessments have to also tell us if students can apply what they have learned in authentic situations. If a
student does well on a test of knowledge we might infer that the student could also apply that
knowledge. But that is rather indirect evidence. I could more directly check for the ability to apply by
asking the student to use what they have learned in some meaningful way. Similarly, if we want to know if
our students can interpret literature, calculate potential savings on sale items, test a hypothesis, develop a
fitness plan, converse in a foreign language, or apply other knowledge and skills they have learned, then
authentic assessments will provide the most direct evidence.
2. Authentic Assessments Capture Constructive Nature of Learning
The students need to construct their meaning of the world, using the information we have gathered
and were taught and our own experiences with the world. Thus, assessments cannot just ask students to
repeat back information they have received. Students must also be asked to demonstrate that they have
accurately constructed meaning about what they have been taught. Furthermore, students must be
allowed 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

Authentic assessment, in contrast to more traditional assessment, encourages the integration of
teaching, learning, and assessing. In the "traditional assessment" model, teaching and learning are often
separated from assessment, i.e., a test is administered after knowledge or skills have (hopefully) been
acquired. 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. For example, when
presented with a real-world problem to solve, students are learning in the process of developing a
solution, teachers are facilitating the process, and the students' solutions to the problem becomes an
assessment of how well the students can meaningfully apply the concepts.
4. Authentic Assessments Provide Multiple Paths to Demonstration

We all have different strengths and weaknesses in how we learn. Similarly, we are different in how
we can best demonstrate what we have learned. Regarding the traditional assessment model, answering
multiple-choice questions does not allow for much variability in how students demonstrate the
knowledge and skills they have acquired. On the one hand, that is a strength of tests because it makes
sure everyone is being compared on the same domains in the same manner which increases the
consistency and comparability of the measure. On the other hand, testing favors those who are better
test-takers and does not give students any choice in how they believe they can best demonstrate what
they have learned.
How Do You Create Authentic Assessments?

Authentic Assessment: Students are asked to perform real-world tasks that demonstrate meaningful
application of essential knowledge and skills.

Fortunately, you do not have to develop an authentic assessment from scratch. You may already be
using authentic tasks in your classroom. Or, you may already have the standards were written, the first and
most important step in the process. Perhaps you have a task but need to more clearly articulate the
criteria for evaluating student performance on the task. Or, you may just want to develop a rubric for the
task.
The steps of creating authentic assessments.

I tend to think of authentic assessment development in terms of four questions to be asked. Those
questions are captured in the following graphic:
Questions to Ask:
1) What should students know and be able to do?
This list of knowledge and skills becomes your . . .
STANDARDS

2) What indicates students have met these standards?

To determine if students have met these standards, you
will design or select relevant . . .
AUTHENTIC TASKS
 3) What does good performance on this task look like?
To determine if students have performed well on the task,
you will identify and look for characteristics of good
performance called . . .
CRITERIA

4) How well did the students perform?

To discriminate among student performance
across criteria, you will create a . . .
RUBRIC

5) How well should most students perform? 6) What do students need to improve upon?
The minimum level at which you would want most Information from the rubric will give students feedback
students to perform is your ... and allow you to ...

CUT SCORE or BENCHMARK ADJUST INSTRUCTION

Summary of Steps:

1. Identify your standards for your students.

2. For a particular standard or set of standards, develop a task your students could perform that
would indicate that they have met these standards.
3. Identify the characteristics of good performance on that task, the criteria, that, if present in your
students’ work, will indicate that they have performed well on the task, i.e., they have met the standards.
4. For each criterion, identify two or more levels of performance along which students can perform
which will sufficiently discriminate among student performance for that criterion. The combination of
the criteria and the levels of performance for each criterion will be your rubric for that task
(assessment).
GRASPS
When constructing performance tasks, be guided by the acronym GRASPS shared by Wiggins and
Mc Tighe (2004).

G - Goal
R - Role
A - Audience
S - Situation
P - Product
S - Standards and Criteria Indicators
How do you come with a performance task guided by GRASPS?
Goal - Provide a statement of the task
- Establish the goal of the task; state the problem,
Challenge or obstacle in the task
Role - Define the role of the students in the task
Audience - Identify the target audience within the context of
the scenario
Situation - Explain the situation. What’s the context?
What is the challenge?
Product - Clarify what the students will create and why they
Will create it.
Standards and Criteria - Identify specific standards for success
- Give rubric to the students or develops them with
The students
Here is an example of a Science class
Five Keys to High-Quality Classroom Assessment

A framework of five keys to assessment quality, represented in the graphic below.

Classroom Assessment Competencies
The following chart reflects the competencies needed to implement each of the keys effectively.
Keys to Quality Competencies
1. Clear Purpose a. Identify the key users of classroom assessment information and know what their information needs are.
Assessment processes and results serve clear and b. Find out formative and summative assessment uses and know when to use each.
appropriate purposes.
2. Clear Targets a. determine how to identify the five kinds of learning targets.
Assessments reflect clear student learning targets. b. determine how to turn broad statements of content standards into classroom-level learning targets.
c. Begin instructional planning with clear learning targets.
d. Translate learning targets into student-friendly language.
3. Sound Design a. Design assessments to serve intended formative and summative purposes.
Learning targets are translated into assessments b. Select assessment methods to match intended learning targets.
that yield accurate results. c. Apply principles of sampling learning appropriately.
d. Write and/or select assessment items, tasks, scoring guides, and rubrics that meet standards of quality.
e. Avoid sources of bias that distort results.
4.Effective Communication a. Use assessment information to plan instruction.
Assessment results function to increase student b. Offer effective feedback to students during the learning.
achievement. Results are managed well, combined c. Record formative and summative assessment information accurately.
appropriately, and communicated effectively. d. Combine and summarize information appropriately to accurately reflect the current level of student learning.

5. Student Involvement a. Identify students as important users of assessment information.

Students are active participants in the assessment b. Share learning targets and standards of quality with students.
process. c. Design assessments so students can offer peer feedback, self-assess, and set goals for further learning
based on the results.
d. Involve students in tracking, reflecting on, and sharing their learning progress.
Non-Test Assessment of Learning
Non-test assessment is an alternative assessment in the sense that it diverts from the paper and pen
test, which is the only test known to many. It is an assessment that measures students’ abilities directly
with real tasks. These are tests that do not force the students to give their responses but rather allow the
students to manifest their acquired knowledge and skills from the subject thought other than written tests.
The non-test assessment also refers to formative assessment which is an on-going process to give
feedback to students to increase their competence. It is informal, impromptu feedback, or marginal
comments on students’ drafts. Non-test assessment does not give fixed judgment or record results.

Examples of Non-tests are:

Portfolio. A purposeful collection of students’ works that exhibit the student’s efforts, progress, and
achievements in one or more areas of the curriculum.
Teacher Observation. The teacher observes the students while they work to make certain the
students understand the assignment and are on task.
Example: Cooperative learning
Journal. Students write daily on assigned or personal topics.
Example: What is the thing you remember about yesterday’s lesson?
Slates or Hand Signals. Students use slates or hand signals as a means of signaling answers to the
teacher.
Example: Review questions – write answers and hold up slate.
Games. Teachers utilize fun activities to have students practice and review concepts.
Example: Science trivia
Projects. The students research a topic and present it creatively.
Debates. The students take opposing positions on a topic and defend their position.
Example: The pros and cons of environmental legislation
Checklist. The teacher will make a list of objectives that students need to master and then check off
the skill as the students masters it.
Cartooning. Students will use drawings to depict situations and ideas.
Example: Environmental Issues
Models. The students produce a miniature replica of a given topic.
Example: Planetarium
Notes. Students will write a summary of the lesson.
Example: Outline of the day’s lesson.
Daily Assignments. The student completes the work assigned daily to be completed at school or
home.
Example: Worksheets or research.
Panel. A group of students verbally present information.
Example: A discussion presenting both pros and cons of the environmental issues.
Learning Centers. Students use teacher-provided activities for hands-on learning.
Example: An activity folder for frog dissection.
Demonstrations. Students present a visual enactment of a particular skill or activity.
Example: Proving that air has weight.
Problem-solving. Students follow a step-by-step solution.
Example: Solving a mathematical equation.
Discussions. Students in a class verbally interact on a given topic.
Example: Discussion on climate change.
Organized notes and study guides. Students collect information to help pass the test.
Example: One 3×5 notecard with information to be used during the test.
Features of Authentic Assessment
Here are some features of authentic assessment by Hambleton (1996).
1. An emphasis on doing open-ended activities for which there is no correct, objective answer
and that may assess higher thinking.
In many performance assessments, there is no correct objective answer unlike in a true-false test or
a multiple-choice test. For example, there is no one correct answer when a student comes up with a
painting, designs science projects, delivers “I have a dream” of Martin Luther King, writes a research
report, presents and defends the same before a panel.

2. Direct methods of evaluation.

Authentic assessments use a direct method such as judging demonstration of a dance step, oral
presentations to assess speaking rather than asking students to enumerate the dance steps to describe
good oral presentation in a paper-and-pencil test.

3. Self-assessment.
In authentic assessment, students may be allowed to assess their performance with the use of
scoring rubrics.
4. Assessment of group performance as well as individual performance.
Some authentic assessments evaluate how students perform individually and
how they perform as a group. A group may be directed to come up with a capstone
project. They may be evaluated for the group’s output and individually for the
individual member’s contribution.

5. Extended time for assessment.

In contrast to traditional assessment, authentic assessment usually requires an
extended period. In traditional assessment, a written test may require an hour or less
but the completion of a research paper may require months and may be evaluated
monthly to check on students’ progress.
Characteristics of 21st Century Assessment
The characteristics of 21st-century assessment are essential guides for the preparation of authentic
assessment activities. It is necessary to refer to their characteristics to ensure that the learners are being assessed
towards the skills and demand of the 21st century.
1. Responsive – Visible performance-based work ( as a result of assessment) generates data that inform
curriculum and instruction.
2. Flexible – Assessment needs to be adaptable to students’ settings. Rather than the identical approach that works
in traditional assessment, 21st-century approaches are more versatile.
3. Integrated – assessments are to be incorporated into the day-to-day practice rather than as add-ons at the end
of instruction or during a single specified week of the school calendar.
4. Informative – The assessment results give information on whether or not the desired and targeted 21st-century
skills which are clearly stated and explicitly taught are realized.
5. Multiple Methods – An assessment continuum that includes a spectrum of assessment strategies in the norm.
6. Communicated – Communication of assessment data is clear and transparent for all stakeholders,
7. Technically Sound – For fairness, adjustments and accommodations are made in the assessment process to meet
students’ needs.
8. Systematic – 21st-century assessment is part of a comprehensive and well-aligned assessment system that is
balanced and inclusive of all students and stakeholders and designed to support improvement at all levels.
Authentic Assessment: Process-oriented or Product-oriented
Authentic assessment is the performance assessment. The performance can be process-oriented or product-
oriented. The learner is made either to demonstrate the skill or the process learned or show the product of the
application of learned knowledge and skills. An example of the process-oriented assessment is demonstrating the
skill of note reading or the skill of constructing the singing of the Philippine National Anthem in the Music class.
An example of a product-oriented assessment is a PowerPoint presentation, a position paper, or a poem
composed.
Process-oriented Assessment
Learning outcomes in the form of procedural knowledge requires demonstration of the process or
procedure. They call for a process-oriented assessment.
Below are examples of learning outcomes that fall under process-oriented assessment.
• Recite a poem with feeling using appropriate voice quality, facial expression, and hand gestures.
• Perform a skit on the importance of a national language.
• Relate story events to one’s experience.
• Naisasagawa ang sistematikong pananliksik tungkol sa paksang tinalakay.
• Use the appropriate reading style (scanning, skimming, speed reading, intensive reading for one’s purpose)
• Graphs linear equation in two variables
• Demonstrate the generation of electricity by the movement of a magnet through a coil.
• Sings themes or melodic fragments of given classical period pieces.
• Shows skills in creating a linoleum, rubber, or woodcut print with the proper use of carving tools.
• Executes the skills involved in the dance
• Applies correct techniques to minimize the risk of injuries
• Demonstrates proper response before, during, and after a disaster or an emergency
• Practices proper self-care procedures
• Defends written research proposal

Product-oriented Assessment
Students’ performance may lead to a concrete product. These students’ products are the concern of product-
oriented authentic assessment.
• Nakagagawa ng isang ng isang proyekto gamit ang iba’t ibang multimedia at technology tools sa pagpapatupad
ng mga bats sa kalinisan, kaligtasan, kalusugan at kapayapaan
• Creates movements to the music of a particular Philippines festival
• Writes coherent review of literature
• Formulates multiple-choice test items aligned to the learning outcomes.
• Develops scoring rubric for an oral defense of a research paper.
Guidelines for Performance Assessment
Airasian & Russell (2008) cited four issues that must be considered in the use of performance assessment
such as establishing a clear purpose; identifying observable criteria; providing an appropriate setting; and judging or
scoring the performance.

Establishing a clear purpose – What is the purpose of the performance assessment – to assign a grade, to
evaluate student’s progress, to generate products to be included in a learning portfolio, or to provide a student’s
sample of work for college admission?
Identifying observable criteria – These criteria of good performance are made clear to students at the
beginning of the teaching-learning process to help them focus on their learning. These observable criteria also help
the teacher or anyone assessing for that matter make his/her observations more systematic and focused.
Providing an appropriate setting – Will you observe the target behavior in a natural setting like observing a
student teacher teach in a real classroom or observe her in an announced and prepared demonstration teaching
with her classmates acting as students? As a rule of thumb, it is a good idea to observe the student on more than
one occasion, because a single performance might not fairly represent student knowledge or skill.
Judging or scoring the performance – To judge or score the product or the process/behavior
demonstrated, a scoring rubric is a must, to ensure the objectivity of scoring.
Guide Questions:

1. Discuss the nature and characteristics of authentic assessment and non-

test assessment.
2. Differentiate authentic and traditional assessment.
3. Discuss process-oriented and product-oriented authentic assessments.
4. Describe the features of authentic assessment and 21st-century
assessments;