Authentic Assessments

Authentic assessments complement traditional assessments by providing real-world applications rendering insight into the students’ knowledge (Nair, 2020). Hence, the overall purpose of authentic assessments is to assess the learner’s understanding on a personalized level to produce creative problem-solving and leverage critical thinking skills. By utilizing this approach, teachers are better informed to make pertinent pedagogical decisions to enhance student learning (Ortega & Minchala, 2017). Authentic assessments alone do not ensure quality education, and there is the urgency of meeting 21st-century goals in disciplinary content and higher-order thinking skills. Hence, as educators, we have the entrusted task of making the content understandable to students by performing the appropriate scaffolding without diminishing the academic rigor necessary to compete in the new era (Ortega & Minchala, 2017).

What is Assessment? Lesson Objectives Based on Assessments

Definition and Purpose

Assessment is the process of gathering and examining data from multiple sources to acquire a profound knowledge of what learners “know, understand, and can do with their knowledge as a result of their educational experiences” (Westminster College, n.d., para. 2).

In a perpetual improvement model, the purpose of assessment should be focused on assessment for learning instead of an assessment of learning (Paulson & Moats, 2018). Stiggins (2014) articulates how assessments can help students realize their dreams when essential conditions are satisfied.

Assessments Influence Instruction

Meaningful and strategic assessment data renders a snapshot of the students’ current academic performance. Effective teachers employ the information obtained from the data to make informed pedagogical decisions that can positively affect student outcomes (Instructure, 2021).

Educators employ various methods and tools for assessing students' academic knowledge by analyzing and interpreting the data. Educators who develop proper assessments implement remedial instruction providing learners further opportunities to demonstrate success and support learners' knowledge by becoming partners in learning.

Lesson Objectives

Wiggins and McTighe (2005) defines the planning learning experiences and instruction. This design focuses on the learners' needs, individually and collectively top achieve the desired results, to perform well the tasks proposed, and approach instruction strategically given the performance goals. Furthermore, Wiggins and McTighe (2005) encourage considering innovative approaches that include the ongoing use of assessment as a tool to improve learning. When teachers embrace a culture of data as a vital part of pedagogy, learners can make substantial learning gains to reduce the academic gap.

Steps to Design a Lesson Plan

The steps recommended by Wiggins and McTighe (2005) are:

· Clear performance goals

· Focus on real-world application

· Powerful feedback system, with opportunities to learn from trial and error

· Individualized and differentiated approach

· Clear and strategic modeling with focused reflection embedded where teacher is a facilitator

· Variety in methods, grouping and tasks to foster metacognition

· Safe environment for taking risks.

Best Assessment: Rubrics as Self-Assessments

Using an assignment rubric as a self-assessment tool is a strategic and comprehensive way to enhance learning and infuse ownership. Gupta and Chauhan (2020) value the notion of empowering students to acquire a further understanding of their work outcomes to obtain learning objectives and goals. The innate desire for self-growth promotes metacognition in the learning process.

Most importantly, rubrics are employed widely to enhance self-reflective learning acquisition leading to the advancement and growth of self-directed learning (Gupta & Chauhan, 2020). When the learner assumes a role of an active agent in the learning by reflecting and evaluating the scores presented on the rubric, it facilitates making informed decisions about the assignment and the quality of work required.

Consequently, the learner performs the necessary adjustments for further growth on subsequent assignments. A collective effort is obliged to correct some areas as a result of self-reflection. The rubric is intended to render, support, and encourage a high level of achievement that all scholars strive for.

Effort Grades

Effort and participation are indicators of active learning. According to Yesbeck (2011), teachers use a variety of grading practices to address academic performance, effort, behavior, and participation. Effort grades are indicative of students’ study habits, and increased academic efforts render higher grades (Swinton, 2010). For educators, participation is essential to build life skills such as communicating ideas and establishing argumentative abilities (Schultz, 2019).

Teachers agree that students who take an active role in lessons are more likely to acquire, retain, and recall information more effectively than others. Both effort and participation grades provide teachers with vital information to refine the teaching approach to evoke a more stimulating approach to learning (Schultz, 2019) that addresses all learning styles.

Including grading based on attendance effort and quality empowers students to showcase their performance and attitude when all equality factors are in place. Raising a continued awareness of addressing students’ needs by being mindful of cultural differences and cognitive impairment prompts district officials to perform the necessary steps to equip educators in the development of such grading policies.

Student Self-Assessment

Self-assessment occurs when students judge their own work to improve performance and identify discrepancies between current and desired performance. This aspect of self-assessment aligns closely with standards-based education, which provides clear targets and criteria that can facilitate student self-assessment.

Self-assessment is conceptualized as the combination of three components related to a cyclical, ongoing process: self-monitoring, self-evaluation, and identification and implementation of instructional correctives as needed.

Essentially, students identify their learning and performance strategies, provide feedback based on well-understood standards and criteria, and determine the next steps or plan to enhance their performance.

Self-assessment plays a significant role in developing self-perceptions that lead to greater motivation. It is well established that student engagement depends upon students’ self-efficacy beliefs—perceptions of their ability to do well on a specific task, and the value of doing well (Pintrich and Schunk 2002).

Student Growth Portfolios: Benefits and Shortcomings

Assessment portfolios promote productive communication between students and teachers. In fact, students have the opportunity to discuss progress, ask relevant questions, and obtain suggestions to enhance academic achievement (Swinton, 2010). Dialogues with peers and parents also promote meaningful reflection and goal-setting.

Benefits:

Showcase individual talents
Display progressive assessment and academic growth
Provide individualized data
Promote communication
Enhance academic ownership

Shortcomings:

Time consuming to develop an individualized criteria
May be less reliable than quantitative evaluation

Visual Aids: Graphs

Graphs are visual representations. They are used to organize information to show patterns and relationships. A graph shows this information by representing it as a shape (Yesbeck, 2011).

Knowing about graphs strengthens students' ability to access and critique others' ideas. It also helps them to effectively communicate their own.

Charts are especially helpful, as they enable students to see ideas visually laid out in an organized way. Also, visual tools can aid the students process content and to make connections more easily (Yesbeck, 2011).

Standardized Testing

In the era of high-stakes testing and enhanced accountability, teachers employ a variety of non-academic assessments and rubrics to help all learners achieve in school (Young et al., 2018).

Schools' missions have shifted to a refined focus on mastery of standards with an evolved need to use assessment to support student learning and become assessment literate (Stiggins, 2008).

Assessments reveal both strong and ineffective areas of a lesson plan. As a result, the goal of the assessments' results demands adjusting instruction to promote academic achievement. By supporting all learners with research-based approaches such as HOT and DOK questions, the educator maintains the academic rigor while directing and scaffolding students’ needs to promote independent learners. As a facilitator, the teacher gradually releases responsibility, empowering students to become active participants in their learning.

References

Gupta, S., & Chauhan, S. (2020). Exploring the use of rubrics as a self assessment tool for pre-service teachers. International Journal of Information and Education Technology, 10(10), 781–786. https://doi.org/10.18178/ijiet.2020.10.10.1458

Instructure. (2021, April 2). 4 ways teachers can use assessment data to inform instruction. https://www.instructure.com/canvas/resources/k12/4-ways-teachers-can-use-assessment-data-to-inform-instruction

Nair, M. (2020, July 4). Reasons why authentic assessment could be better than tests. University of the People. https://www.uopeople.edu/blog/authentic-assessment/

OECD. (2005). Formative assessment: Improving learning in secondary classrooms [PDF]. https://www.SourceOECD.org

Ortega, D. P., & Minchala, O. E. (2017). Assessing students in an authentic and ongoing manner in the english classroom. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 7(3), 159–165. https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.0703.01

Paulson, L. H., & Moats, L. C. (2018). LETRS for early childhood educators (2nd ed.). Voyager Sopris Learning.

Pintrich, P. R., and D. H. Schunk. (2002). Motivation in Education: Theory, Research, and Applications. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Merrill/Prentice Hall.

Stiggins, R. (2018). Better assessments require better assessment literacy. Educational Leadership, 75(5), 18–19. Retrieved from EBSCOhost database

Swinton, O. H. (2010). The effect of effort grading on learning. Economics of Education Review, 29(6), 1176–1182. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2010.06.014

Westminster College. (n.d.). What is assessment? https://www.westminster.edu/about/accreditation-assessment/definition.cfm

Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design (2nd Expanded ed.). Assn. for Supervision & Curriculum Development.

Yesbeck, D. (2011). Grading practices: Teachers' considerations of academic and non-academic factors [Doctoral dissertation, Virginia Commonwealth University]. https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd

Young, A., Andrews, C., Hayes, C., & Valdez, C. (2018). Should teachers learn how to formally assess behavior? Three educators' perspectives. International Journal of Special Education, 33(2), 416–426. Retrieved from EBSCOhost database