BASIC CONCEPTS, THEORIES AND PRINCIPLES IN ASSESING LEARNING USING ALTERNATIVE

METHODS

What is an Alternative Assessment?

Assessment is generally defined as the process of gathering quantitative and/or qualitative data for
the purpose of making decisions, whereas assessment of learning can be defined as the systematic
and purpose –oriented collection, analysis, and interpretation of evidence of student learning in
order to make informed decisions relevant to the learners.

Assessment of Learning refers to the use of assessment to identify the needs of the students in order
to modify instruction of learning activities in the classroom.

- Formative in nature

- Identify gaps in the learning experiences of students

Traditional Assessment

- Refers to the use of traditional assessment strategies or tools to provide information on

student learning. It is used as the basis for evaluating and grading students.

Examples:

- Multiple choice
- Essays
- Paper-and-pencil tests.

Alternative Assessment refers to the use of alternative or non-traditional strategies or tools to

collect information on the student learning.

Examples:

- Performance-oriented
- Product-oriented

These tasks or activity assesses cognitive learning outcomes of the students.

FEATURES OF ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT (Silvestre-Tipay 2009. p. 58)

1. Assessment is based on authentic tasks that demonstrate learner ability to accomplish

communication goals;

2. Instructor and learners focus on communication, not on right and wrong answers;

3. Learners help to set the criteria for successful completion of communication tasks; and

4. Learners have the opportunities to assess themselves and their peers.

 Practice of assessing learning still uses traditional methods like paper-and-pencil tests up
until to this day and still common in classrooms. Using alternative assessment can lead to more
authentic assessment of learning. Meanwhile, traditional assessments are becoming less authentic.

Performance Assessment

- Refers to accessing student learning by requiring a student to perform a task or develop a

product as a demonstration of one’s learning.
- Providing opportunity for the students to apply what they have learned through task
performance and or product creation.
- More Authentic.

Example:

- Performed or experienced in the real world

Portfolio Assessment

- A purposeful and systematic manner in order to document their progress in the attainment of
learning targets.
- A collection of learning and performance artifacts by a student and is typically accompanied by
personal narratives and reflections.

What is the use of Portfolio?

- It allows the students to document and demonstrate their accomplishments in the classroom.
- Provide opportunities to the learners and their teachers to evaluate the progress in a given
period of time (Tolentino 2009).
- Allows the assessment of students learning processes and products/outputs in a comprehensive
and integrative manner.

Other Alternative Strategies for Assessing Learning:

Non-Cognitive Learning Outcomes

- Performance rubrics (for psychomotor outcomes)

- Rating scales and checklists (for affective or dispositional outcomes)

Rubrics and scales provide opportunities for using self-assessment and peer assessment which
allows for more comprehensive assessment of student learning and performance in the classroom.

Different Models of Alternative Assessment

The three most common models of non-traditional assessment are emergent,

developmental and authentic.
(1) Emergent Assessment

- Based on Michael Scriven’s goal free evaluation model (1967)

- Focuses on determining the “effects” of instruction on students.
- Emphasis is on the assessment of either the intended and unintended effects or learning
outcomes.
- Examines how and what the educational program and instruction to address the needs of the
students.
- Based on Michael Scriven’s goal free evaluation model (1967)
- The assessment is more qualitative.
- Direct and Indirect evidence of student learning are both collected.

Direct Evidence refers to tangible and compelling evidence of what students have and have not
learned.

Indirect Evidence refers to proxy signs for learning that are less tangible and less compelling
compared to direct evidence.

(2) Developmental Assessment

- Focuses on determining the extent that students have developed their competencies from
instruction.
- Adopts a pre-test and post-test methodology to collect information if a student has developed
or improved after instruction.
- Useful for assessing learning outcomes based on students’ development rather than a final
product.

(3) Authentic Assessment

- Most popular model for alternative assessment.

- An approach in the assessment of student learning that refers to the use of assessment
strategies or tools that allow learners to perform or create a product that is meaningful to the
learners as they are based on real-world contexts.
- Best described in terms of degree and not in terms of the presence or absence of authenticity.

The most authentic assessments are the ones that allow performances that most closely resemble
real-world tasks or applications in rea-world settings or environments.

The following can be used as criteria in determining if an assessment task or activity is authentic or
not (Silvestre-Tipay 2009)

The assessment task or activity can...

1. Be built around topics or issues of interest to the students;

2. Replicate real-world communication contexts and situations;
3. Involve multistage tasks and real problems that require creative use of language rather that
simple repetition;
 4. Require learners to produce a quality product or performance;
5. Introduce the students to the evaluation criteria and standards;
6. Involve interaction between assessor (instructor, peers, self) and person assessed; and
7. Allow and self-evaluation and self-correction as they proceed.

Different Principles in Accessing Learning using Alternative Methods

The following may be considered as core principle:

1. Assessment is both process- and product oriented.

 Gives equal importance to student performance or product and the process they engage to
perform or produce a product.
 Traditional assessment methods are focused on assessing students products or outputs,
non-traditional or alternative methods like performance assessment and portfolio
assessment give value to the product developed by the students, as well as in the process
students have undergone top create and develop the product.

2. Assessment should focus on higher-order cognitive outcomes.

 Require students to demonstrate their knowledge.

 The focus should be on providing tasks or activities that would allow the students’
demonstration of higher-order cognitive outcomes (e.g. creating, analysing) or skills (e.g.
creativity, critical thinking).
 Non-Traditional Assessment tools like performance assessment allows the assessment of
both lower-order and higher-order cognitive outcomes in ways that are more authentic.

3. Assessment can include a measure of non-cognitive learning outcomes.

 Traditional assessment focuses on knowledge and other cognitive learning outcomes.

 Psychomotor and affective outcomes are also important learning outcomes
 Non-traditional Assessment tools rubrics, scales and checklists allow the measurement of
cognitive learning outcomes that allow more complete and assessment of student learning.

4. Assessment should reflect real-life or real-world contexts.

 Tasks or activities should be authentic. The assessment should closely, if not fully
approximate real-life situation or experiences.
 Performance Assessment is optimal if the performance task to be demonstrated is similar or
close to what is expected in the real world.

5. Assessment must be comprehensive and holistic.

 Assessment should be performed using a variety of strategies and tools designed to access
student learning in a more integrative way.
  The use of both traditional and alternative assessment strategies and tools should be
considered.
 Non-traditional methods of assessment (e.g. use of rubrics, scales) allow the possibility of
multiple assessors, including the use of self and peer assessment.

6. Assessment should lead to student learning.

 Assessment should be like classroom instruction.

 The principle is consistent with the concepts of assessment for learning and assessment as
learning.

Assessment for learning refers to the use of assessment to identify the needs of students in order to
modify instruction or the learning activities in the classroom.

Assessment as learning, assessment tasks, results and feedback are used to help students practice
self-regulation and make adjustments in order to achieve the curriculum outcomes.

Prepared By (GROUP 1):

ABAD, JASMINE H.

ABAD, KENN RUBEN D.

ABUJEN, BUENA FAYE A.

ACERA, SAMANTHA S.

ADUAYA, ARNIL S.