AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT AND ASSESSMENT OF PROCESS AND PRODUCTS

Authentic assessment evaluates the students’ collective skills and abilities to perform and demonstrate the task in real
world situation for them to determine how much they have learned with meaningful application. It involves
performance test ad portfolio assessment. Performance test is measure which often makes use of manipulative
materials to develop students’ skills and abilities. 

In authentic assessment, the student is exposed to the real world situation to perform his task with the best of his skills
and abilities. 

Criterion reference measure is used to assess the performance of the student in authentic assessment. It is more on
psychomotor domain.

Characteristics of Authentic Assessment

1. Authentic assessment requires the students to perform meaningful task the real world situation
2. It promotes the development of higher order thinking skills because the evaluators including self and peer have
to think wisely and precisely the rating most appropriate to the students’ performance from excellent down to
poor
3. It tenders direct evidence of application and construction of knowledge and skills acquired. For instance, the
students demonstrate and construct on paper mosaic projects made of waste papers or old newspaper
4. It includes portfolio collection of entries
5. It demonstrate the application of a particular knowledge and skills
6. It fosters role playing of the lessons learned by students which serves as  show window to them
7. It identifies performance of students acquired skills and expertise
8. Is assess directly holistic projects by multiple human judgement like self, peer, subject teacher, and teacher-
adviser.
9. It trains the students to evaluate their own work as well as to their peers
10. It is designed on criterion-referenced measure rather than norm-referenced measure. The strength and
weakness of the students have been identified rather than compare students’ performance with other students 

DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT AND TRADITIONAL ASSESSMENT

1. Authentic assessment is personalized, natural and flexible relevant to the students level of difficulty, skills and
abilities. Traditional assessment is impersonal and absolute owing to uniformity of test without regard to the
skills  and abilities of the students
2. Authentic assessment is fair because skills and abilities are appropriate to the learners. Traditional assessment is
unfair since learners are forced to accept the contexts of the tests even if these are inappropriate to them
3. Authentic assessment gives the student (self) and peer (classmate) the chance to evaluate their own work and
work of their classmates, respectively. In traditional assessment, only the subject teacher evaluates the
performance of students to others. 
4. Authentic assessment identifies the strength and weaknesses of the students’ skills and abilities. Traditional
assessment compares the performance of students to others
5. Authentic assessment promotes good rapport or bonding between the teacher and the student due to their
mutual understanding. Traditional assessment has poor relationship between teacher and students caused by
impersonalized and absolute test since the purpose is to compare the test results of students to others
6. Authentic assessment develop the students’ responses because they are made to perform the learning task in a
real world situation. Traditional assessment requires the students to choose the options prepared by the
teacher.
7. Authentic assessment gives the students freedom to choose evidence of good performance. In traditional
assessment, the teacher prepares the test and students have to respond on what is asked on the test. This
leaves the teacher not being able to showcase his expertise
 8. Authentic assessment makes use of performance test in a real world situation and portfolio assessment.
Traditional assessment involves paper-and-pencil test which students are required to choose the correct answer
among the option prepared by the teacher. For instance, alternative response test, multiple choice and
matching type.
ILLUSTRATION
Sample of Traditional Assessment and Authentic Assessment
TRADITIONAL ASSESSMENT AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT
1. Which of the following 1. Place separately the fresh water, marine water, brackish water in the basin.
water is most acidic? Get a pH paper or pH meter and soak it in a basin of water. Change the pH
a. Fresh water for every basin of water. Then record.
b. Marine water
c. Brackish water Ask: what is the pH of fresh water? Marine water? Brackish water? Which is
most acidic? Why?
2. How many millilitres (ml) 2. Get a 100 ml graduated cylinder and 1 liter empty soft drink bottle. Let the
are there in one liter? student fill the graduated cylinder with water and decant it to the empty
a. 1, 150 ml bottle until it is filled.
b. 1, 100 ml
c. 1, 000 ml Ask: how many times did you fill the graduated cylinder?

3. How many grams (g) are 3. Get a table balance with sets of weights. Place 1 kg of mangoes on the
there in 1 kilogram (kg) table balance and 10 sets of weights you put on  the table balance and
a. 1, 000 g multiply (100x 10)
b. 1, 050 g Ask: how many grams are there in 1 kilogram?
c. 1, 100 g
4. How many cups are there 4. Get an empty 1 gallon ice cream container and a measuring cup. Let the
in 1 gallon student fill the cup with water and pour it to the empty container until it is
a. 14 cups filled up
b. 15 cups Ask: how many cups of water did you pour into a gallon container of ice
c. 16 cups cream? How many cups are there in 1 gallon?

5. How many teaspoons 5. Get a set of measuring spoons. Let the students fill the teaspoon with
(tsp) are there in 1 water and pour it to the tablespoon until filled.
tablespoon (tsbp)
a. 2 tsp         Ask:  how many times did you fill the table spoons? How many teaspoons are
there in 1 tablespoon?
b. 3tsp
c. 4 tsp

Based on the foregoing samples, it is explicitly observed the traditional assessment compromise paper-and-
pencil tests wherein the students choose the correct answer among the options prepared by the teachers. Authentic
assessment consist of performance test wherein the students are exposed to the real world situation to develop their
skills, abilities, and knowledge. It is learning by doing.

Likewise, authentic assessment falls most under the psychomotor domain of the behaviour “learning by doing”
as well as effective domain of behaviour involved is cognitive due to the knowledge and understanding acquired after
doing the task. In other words, the three domain of behaviour are involved in authentic assessment. If we are to rank
the order of performance, first, psychomotor, performing the task in a real world situation; second, effective, interest
and willingness to perform the task; and third, cognitive, the knowledge and understanding acquired after doing the
task, e.g. after measuring the teaspoons of water poured three times to the measuring spoon, the student knows and
understands that there are three teaspoon in one tablespoon.
 In authentic assessment, the knowledge acquired through “learning by doing” can hardly be erased in the mind
of the learners due to logical understanding of the process and product. Whereas, traditional assessment can be easily
forgotten by learners as a consequence of rote memorization and no actual performance of the tasks.