Assessment of Learning 2 Page 1 of 12

Authentic Assessment: Meaning, Characteristics and Practices

MODULE 2

OVERVIEW
Both assessment and evaluation are based on the judgment of an experienced, thoughtful
human being an expert. Machine’s don 't assess, papers don't assess, tests don't assess.
Humans assess. And what better person is there to assess the progress and development of his or
her students than the classroom teacher.
Larry Malonel
Lawrence Hall of Science,
University of California,
Berkeley
The terms assessment, evaluation, testing and marks are terms often used in determining the degree
of attainment of student learning outcomes. At times they are used interchangeably, it will
be useful to clarify their meanings to distinguish them from one another.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this module, the students should be able to:

A. determine the assessment activities whether authentic or traditional
B. differentiate assessment, evaluation, testing and mark; and
C. describe how authentic assessment can be used in the classroom

LEARNING EXPERIENCES & SELF-ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES (SAA)

Activity
Let’s Do these: Direction: Going back to the past please elaborate what have you
remembered the assessment task given by your teacher. write your
answer in the box provided if they are traditional or authentic. And
name the teacher.

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Traditional Authentic

VS

Analysis

Guided Questions: 1. In writing assessment task did you remember your teacher? Did you missed
him/her?
2. How the learners perform learning?
3. Who are performing best in the class room? Learners or teachers?
4. What will happen to the learners in the 21th century?
5. Do you believe that the future learners must be passionate in developing
their own learning?
Abstraction

Let’s Discuss: Why authentic assessment used?

Assessment refers to the process of gathering data and information about what students know and
can do. Such information may be sourced through observation of students during their learning activities,
examining the results of their learning activities or testing their knowledge and skills. Through assessment,
the teacher can find out what students are learning.
Evaluation involves the task of interpreting, forming conclusions and making judgments about the
information which was gathered in the process of assessment. The data gathered by assessment are neither
useful nor useless but they reflect the learning process. Such information becomes meaningful only when
they are processed and interpreted as to how well the students are attaining their desired competencies.
Testing is an instrument of assessment. A test is an assessment tool that reflects the records of the
students' learning outcomes.
Marks are reports of the results of evaluating information obtained in the assessment process.
Marks have certain components related to the learning activities undertaken by the students.
Examples of such components are:
20 % for class participation
10 % for completed assignments
20 % for quizzes
30 % for submitted reports
20 % for oral presentation of completed project
100% TOTAL
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Assessment involves review of evidence of learning such as journal entries, written work, portfolios, skill
demonstrations, performance in learning activities, test results and rubrics ratings which cover a period time
and should reveal the progress of students in competencies. Evaluation on the other hand occurs when a
mark or grade is assigned after a quiz, .a. presentation or a completed In recent years, higher education
institutions in the Philippines have joined in the international focus on the need to include in the teaching
learning process the assessment and documentation of student learning outcomes. This focus is in
recognition of the importance of information on learning outcomes in the improvement of the educational
experiences that colleges and universities offer.
Why Authentic Assessment?
The common practice of using recall and recognition objective the skills and knowledge they have
mastered." (1987) Richard Stiggins
"Authentic assessments are products and/or performances correlated with real life experiences". Newton
Public Schools
Other names for authentic assessment are performance assessment, alternative assessment, and direct
assessment.
Characteristics of Authentic Assessment (AA)
1. AA starts with clear and definite criteria of performance made known to the students.
2. AA is criterion - referenced rather than norm — referenced and so it identifies strengths and weaknesses,
but does not compare students nor rank their levels of performance.
3. AA requires students to make their own answers to questions rather than select from given options as in
multiple choice items, and requires them to use a range of higher order thinking skills (HOTS).
4. AA often emphasizes performance and therefore students are required to demonstrate their knowledge,
skills or competencies in appropriate situations. AA does not rely on ability to recall facts or memorize
details, instead students are asked to demonstrate skills and concepts they have learned.
5. AA encourages both teacher and students to determine their rate of progress in cooperatively attaining
the desired student learning outcomes.
6. AA does not encourage rote learning and passive taking of tests; instead, students are required to
demonstrate analytical skills, ability to integrate what they learn, creativity, and ability to work in a group,
skills in oral and written communications. In brief, AA values not only the finished products which are the
teaming outcomes, but also the process of leaning.
7. AA changes the role of students as passive test takers into becoming active and involved participants in
assessment activities that emphasize what they are capable of doing instead tests to measure students' skills
or retained facts has come under scrutiny because of the limitation encountered in determining the students'
capability to utilize their knowledge and skills in work and professional practice. At best, these tests are
able to give a "snap shot" of the students' ability to recall facts and information at a given time but fail to
provide a "moving picture" of how they will perform in real-world situations which exist in the workplace.

While multiple choice, true -- false or matching tests can be indicators of academic achievement, teachers
and students are often misled by the results of these tests on the kind of academic work and activities that

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need to be mastered. It is to be remembered that test items are not real problems; right answers are not
necessarily indicators of critical thinking.
When students complete high school studies or even college degree, they are expected to be able to live in
the outside world armed with skills that comply with certain standards. Often, such
skills do not involve mastery of grammar rules and solutions to mathematical problems. It is good for
students to have mastery of these basic knowledge but if they cannot apply these skills to real- life tasks,
then they have not been prepared for the real world, hence the need for authentic assessment.
What is Authentic Assessment?
Here are some definitions:
"A form of assessment in which students are asked to perform real-world tasks that demonstrate meaningful
application of essential knowledge and skills.... -Jon 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 replicas of or analogous to the kind of
problems faced by adult citizens and consumers or professionals in the field." - Grant Wiggins (1987)
"Performance (authentic) assessments call upon the examinee to demonstrate specific skills and
competencies; that is, to apply of their weaknesses. This result is diminished fear of tests and improvement
of self-esteem. centered activities, AA encourages a learner
From teacher — centered class where the teacher's major role is to help students accept responsibility for
their learning and become self — evaluators. The teacher designs activities and evaluates results which
provide information needed for monitoring students' progress and evaluating the teacher's instructional
strategies.
Phases of Authentic Assessment
The purpose of assessment is to improve student learning. Assessment achieves this purpose by gathering
pieces of evidence of student performance over a period of time. Such evidence may be in the form of
written works, journal entries, oral presentations, research paper results, essays, story writing, and
examination results. "Closing the loop" encourages the use of assessment results for further improvement.
In general, outcome assessment goes through five (5) phases:
l. Identifying the most important knowledge and skills that students should be able to demonstrate as a
result of their learning activities.
2. Determining the criteria and standards of outcomes performance and the acceptable evidence that may
be presented as proof of outcomes' attainment.
3. Implementation of the supporting activities that will facilitate the attainment of the desired student
learning outcomes.
4. Measuring the extent at which the students are attaining the desired learning outcomes.
5. Interpreting the assessment results and evaluating whether they indicate attainment of the desired
outcomes and utilizing them for continuous improvement.

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"Closing the Loop" is demonstrated in a diagram of these phases adopted from Jon Muellers (2011) of
North Central College, Nashville, Illinois. Both assessment and evaluation are based on the judgment of an
experienced, thoughtful human being the classroom

Phase I Phase II

Determine criteria and

Identify learner outcome acceptable evidences of
performance

Phase V Phase III

Evaluate results to Implement supporting

determine attainment of learning experiences and
outcome and ensure instructional activities
continuous improvement

Phase IV

Implement assessment
strategies

Examples of Authentic Assessment Activities

1. Doing science experiments
2. Conducting social science field research
3. Writing stories and reports
4. Reading and interpreting literary pieces
5. Solving mathematical problems that have real-world implications
6. Performing particular skills/competencies
7. Simulation or role playing
8. Exhibiting and displaying completed works
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9. Submitting portfolios
10. Submitting original creative projects
How does Authentic Assessment Differ from Traditional Assessment (TA)
Traditional Assessment is commonly associated with pre-determined choice measures of assessment such
us multiple choice tasks, fill- in-the-blanks, true false, matching type and others. Students
typically recall or select the answers. Essentially, TA springs from the educational philosophy which
involves the following principles and practices:
l. A school's mission is to develop useful citizens;
2. To be a useful citizen, one must possess a certain body of knowledge and skills;
3. The school is entrusted to teach this body of knowledge and skills;
4. To determine if the students have acquired these knowledge and skills, the school must test the students
on these knowledge and skills.
Authentic Assessment, on the other hand is grounded on the following principles and practices:
l. A school's mission is to develop useful citizens;
2. To be a useful citizen, one has to be capable of performing useful tasks in the real-world;
3. The school's duty is to help students develop proficiency in performing the tasks 'that they will be
required to perform after graduation in the work place;
4. The school must then require students to perform tasks that duplicate or imitate real-world situations.

Thus, in AA, assessment drives the curriculum. That is, teachers first determine the tasks that students
will perform to demonstrate their mastery, and then a curriculum is developed that will enable students to
perform those tasks well, which would include the acquisition of essential knowledge and skills. This has
been referred to as planning backwards.

If I were a golf instructor and I taught the skills required to perform well, I would not assess my students'
performance by giving them a multiple-choice test. I would put them out on the golf course and ask them
to perform. Although this is obvious with athletic skills, it is also true for academic subjects. We can
teach students how to do math, do history and do science, not just know them. Then, to assess what our
students had learned, we can ask students to perform tasks that "replicate the challenges" faced by those
using mathematics, doing history or conducting scientific investigation.

Authentic Assessment Complements Traditional Assessment

But a teacher does not have to choose between AA and TA. It is likely that some mix of the two will best
meet your needs. To use a silly 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 in a traditional

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manner) and was able to apply that knowledge in a real context (which could be demonstrated through an
authentic assessment).

In conclusion, teachers do not have to select between authentic assessment and traditional assessment.
Mastery of knowledge and skills which is the focus of traditional assessment must be encouraged among
the students to from the foundation on which will be built the activities that will require students to
demonstrate and perform the tasks that they are expected to perform in the real world.

Defining Attributes of Traditional and Authentic Assessment

Another way that AA is commonly distinguished from TA is in terms of its defining attributes. Of course,
TA's as well as AA's vary considerably in the forms they take. But, typically, along the continuums of
attributes listed below, TA's fall more towards the left end of each continuum and AA's fall more towards
the right end.

Traditional --------------------------------------------- Authentic

Selecting a Response ------------------------------------ Performing a Task

Contrived --------------------------------------------------------------- Real-life

Recall/Recognition ------------------------------- Construction/Application

Teacher-structured ------------------------------------- Student-structured

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 Performing 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 period of 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. However,
the demonstration of recall and recognition on tests is typically much less revealing about what we really
know and can do than when we are asked to construct a product or performance out of facts, ideas and
propositions. Authentic assessments often ask students to analyze, synthesize and apply what they have
learned in a substantial manner, and students create new meaning in the process as well.

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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. Even when students cannot choose their own topics or formats, there are usually
multiple acceptable routes towards constructing a product or performance. Obviously, 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: Even if a multiple-choice question asks a student to analyze or
apply facts to a new situation rather than just recall the facts, and the student selects the correct answer,
what do you now know about that student? Did that student get lucky and pick the right answer? What
thinking led the student to pick that answer? We really do not know. At best, we can make some
inferences about what that student might know and might be able to do with that knowledge. 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.

Application
Let’s Do these:
Directions: Make your own assessment that illustrate traditional and authentic.

Traditional Authentic

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SELF-ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES (SAA) SHEET

LFM Name:___________________________________ Course& Year:__________________________

Module Number and Title:________________________ Contact No. ___________________________

A. Determine whether each of the following assessment activities/

strategies is traditional or authentic:
1. dramatizing a story
2. writing business letters for various purposes
3. administering a multiple-choice test
4. requiring memorization of historical facts
5. keeping and updating a portfolio
6. drawing the parts of a microscope
7. writing the multiplication tables 7,8,9
8. submitting a report on observations of insects in a field trip
9. interviewing the barangay chairman about the problems of the community and reporting on the
findings
10. providing the answers to a filling the blanks assignment

KEY POINTS

✓ Assessment refers to the process of gathering data and information about what students know and
can do.
✓ Evaluation involves the task of interpreting, forming conclusions and making judgments about the
information which was gathered in the process of assessment.
✓ Testing is an instrument of assessment. A test is an assessment tool that reflects the records of the
students' learning outcomes.
✓ Marks are reports of the results of evaluating information obtained in the assessment process.
Marks have certain components related to the learning activities undertaken by the students.
✓ An authentic assignment is one that requires application of what students have learned to a new
situation, and that demands judgment to determine what information and skills are relevant and
how they should be used. Authentic assignments often focus on messy, complex real-world
situations and their accompanying constraints; they can involve a real-world audience of
stakeholders or “clients” as well. According to Grant Wiggins (1998), an assignment is authentic
if it

• is realistic.
• requires judgment and innovation.
• asks the student to “do” the subject.
• replicates or simulates the contexts in which adults are “tested” in the
workplace or in civic or personal life.
• assesses the student’s ability to efficiently and effectively use a repertoire
of knowledge and skills to negotiate a complex task.
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• allows appropriate opportunities to rehearse, practice, consult resources,

and get feedback on and refine performances and products.

END OF MODULE ASSESSMENT

Don’t ignore this page here is the step on how you submit your output. Thank you! And
God Bless. Keep Safe kapamilya.
After analysing and reading this module, answer the activities
provided attach at the end of this module after the references.
Write your answer on the separate paper.

Submit your answer at Osmena colleges College of teacher

education office or you can reach me thru my fb account Jeslene
Lupague Pusing and my email address:
lupaguejeslene@gmail.com
Or contact thru this no. 09503541456

LOOKING AHEAD

Congratulation for making it till the end of this module! If you aced the assessment,
I am happy and proud of you. For the next module, Please advance reading about
Authentic Assessment meaning, characteristics and practices and write down
questions you may have experience and let’s see for the next discussion .
Discuss!
How it is working?

REFERENCES

✓ Authentic Assessment of student learning outcomes (assessment of learning 2 second edition)

copyright, 2013 by: Rosita l. Navarroo Ph.D, Rosita G. Santos, Ph.D. Published by: LORIMAR
PUBLISHING, INC.
✓ Wiggins, Grant. (1998). Ensuring authentic performance. Chapter 2 in Educative Assessment:
Designing Assessments to Inform and Improve Student Performance. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, pp.
21 – 42.
✓ http://jfmueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/whatisit.htm

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SELF AND MODULE EVALUATION

This part requires you to rate the quality of the module to help you continuously improve the
development of this learning module. This also asks you to rate your learning experience for each of the modules.

Rate the module using the following:

1- Strongly disagree
2- Disagree
3- Agree
4- Strongly agree

The learning module: 1 2 3 4

Please check appropriate column

was engaging
allowed for self-checking (SAAs)
developed in gradual, manageable steps
provided independent, self-paced learning
contained relevant information I needed

Self- Evaluation

Rate the extent of your learning in this module using the scale below. Check the column corresponding
to your rating in the space provided. Do not hesitate to contact me if you need further assistance.
4- I’m an expert. I understand and can teach a friend about it.
3- I’m a Practioner. I understand and can cite examples on the topics given.
2- I’m an apprentice. I understand if I get help or look at more examples.
1- I’m a novice. I do not understand the topic.

My learning: 1 2 3 4
I can now

Please check appropriate column

A. determine the assessment activities whether
authentic or traditional

B. differentiate assessment, evaluation, testing and mark; and

C. describe how authentic assessment can be used in the classroom

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END OF MODULE ASSESSMENT (Answer Sheet)

(Please don’t forget to provide information on this part)

LFM Name: _____________________________________________ Course& Year:________________

Module Number and Title: _________________________________ Date accomplished: _____________

Contact number:_____________________________ E-mail Address or Fb account:_________________

Now that you have finished the review of the various concepts outlined above, it is now
time for an assessment to see how far you have improved. Write your answers on the blank
space provided for each question.

Exercises
A. Decide whether each of the following is assessment, evaluation, testing or mark.
1. administering true — false items to be answered
2. rating of 73 - 76 which is equivalent to Barely Satisfactory
3. submission of a research report in biology
4. regular entries in a journal in English
5. rubric rating shows that student needs improvement
6. writing of a different ending to a story read
7. multiple-choice items to be answered
8. experiment performed in a laboratory
9. assessment results show attainment of learning outcome
10. proficient level
B. answer the following
1. what are the challenges in using authentic assessment in your class?
2. What positive effects (if any) does authentic assessment have on your students and class?
3. what factors do you consider in constructing authentic assessment?
4. what advice can you give to improve authentic assessment administered by the teacher?

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