“Authentic Assessment”

1. “Authentic Assessment” Bob Knipe Dean, Learning Technologies Genesee Community College rgknipe@genesee.edu

2. “Authentic Assessment” How will you be able to tell(measurably, tangibly, observably, demonstrably) that your students really know (or can do, or will feel) what you want them to know (or do, or appreciate)?

3. “Authentic Assessment” * “what you want them to know” = your student learning outcomes (objectives)

4. “Authentic Assessment” The hard part: “Backward design” requires that rather than move from target to teaching, we first identify what counts as evidence of learning.

5. “Authentic Assessment” Backward design • Identify desired outcome • How will you know that they know it? • Design instructional activities

6. “Authentic Assessment” • Authentic: The skill, knowledge or attitude being measured is actually the desired one you have identified. Or as close to it as possible.

7. “Authentic Assessment” • Authentic: The skill, knowledge or attitude measured is actually the desired one you have identified. Or as close to it as possible. In other words, the assessment approximates the application.

8. “Authentic Assessment” • Authentic: In other words, the assessment approximates the application. If the skill, knowledge or attitude measured “isn’t really important…” then change the outcome statement.

9. “Authentic Assessment” Conventional vs. authentic assessment: Conventional ----------------------------------------Authentic Content is Covered---------------Learning is demonstrated “Know” (math, history, nursing)------------”DO” (math, history, nursing) What ---------------------------------------------------------How Selecting a Response ---------------------Performing a Task Contrived -----------------------------------------------Real-life

10. “Authentic Assessment” Conventional vs. authentic assessment: Conventional ---------------------------------------Authentic Recall/Recognition ---------------Construction/Application Teacher-structured ----------------------Student-structured Indirect Evidence -----------------------------Direct Evidence

11. “Authentic Assessment” • An authentic assessment will: • Last longer and be more meaningful • Correlate highly with student success in subsequent courses, program, career • Not result in “bulimic learning” • Be perceived by students as fair • Result in better student course evaluations!

12. Assessment in Context ASSESSMENT (how will you know that they know it?) can be applied • To individuals • To small groups • To large groups

13. Assessment in Context ASSESSMENT can be applied • To individuals • To small groups • To large groups

14. Assessment in Context ASSESSMENT can be applied at the • Activity level • Unit level • Course level • Program level • Institutional level • System level • National or international level

15. Assessment in Context ASSESSMENT can be applied at the • Activity level • Unit level • Course level • Program level • Institutional level • System level • National or international level

16. Identifying authentic assessment strategies • Start with the active verb • What does the Student Learning Outcome or instructional objective ask the student to do?)

17. Identifying authentic assessment strategies • Start with the active verb (what does the SLO ask the student to do?) • What are the characteristic responses we’re looking for?

18. Identifying authentic assessment strategies • Start with the active verb (what does the SLO ask the student to do?) • Look for tangible evidence (measurable, observable, demonstrable)

19. Identifying authentic assessment strategies • Start with the active verb (what does the SLO ask the student to do?) • Look for tangible evidence (measurable, observable, demonstrable) • What tasks & evidence anchor the assessment to the curriculum (what’s the context) ?

20. Identifying authentic assessment strategies • Start with the active verb (what does the SLO ask the student to do?) • Look for tangible evidence (measurable, observable, demonstrable) • What tasks & evidence anchor the assessment to the curriculum (what’s the context) ? • How do we look for evidence of “understanding” (higher order skills)? (see Bloom, http://www.odu.edu/educ/roverbau/Bloom/blooms_taxonomy.htm et al)

21. Bloom’s Taxonomy (Cognitive Domain) • Knowledge: Recall facts and concepts • Comprehension: Understand what the facts and concepts mean. • Application: Apply the understanding of facts and concepts in a given situation. • Analysis: Extract from a context the facts you need to know • Synthesis: Combine facts and concepts you understand to achieve a specified goal. • Evaluation Assess a situation where knowledge is partial or ambiguous.

22. Identifying authentic assessment strategies • Looking for mastery(criterion referenced)or relative scale(normative referenced – “curve”)?

23. Identifying authentic assessment strategies • How important is “grading” ?

24. Identifying authentic assessment strategies • Are a range of assessment strategies employed ? • Scrapbook or portfolio, not snapshot

25. Identifying authentic assessment strategies • Are a range of assessment strategies employed ? • Scrapbook or portfolio, not snapshot • Are learning styles accommodated?

26. Identifying authentic assessment strategies • Are a range of assessment strategies employed ? • Scrapbook or portfolio, not snapshot • Are learning styles accommodated? • Are disabilities accommodated (Universal Design)?

27. Identifying authentic assessment strategies • More and varied assessment tools are preferable to fewer and monolithic assessment tools

28. Identifying authentic assessment strategies • For asynchronous (online etc.) courses, assume ‘objective’ tests are open-book, open-note, done collaboratively

29. Identifying authentic assessment strategies • For asynchronous (online etc.) courses, assume ‘objective’ tests are open-book, open-note, done collaboratively • Assessments can be learning activities

30. Identifying authentic assessment strategies • Objective tests… aren’t http://www.ernweb.com/public/892.cfm http://www.avc.edu/administration/organizations/slo/common/documents/ProsandConsofAssessmenttools.pdf

31. Identifying authentic assessment strategies • Determine true costs and benefits of assessment activities • Sequential building toward 100% authenticity (explain  exemplify  show  demonstrate  lab  simulation  supervised practice  actual skill assessment)

32. Identifying authentic assessment strategies • How assessments are used by others? What do you need to report, when, and to whom? Is this is a recurring assessment requirement (i.e. need for longitudinal data)?

33. Identifying authentic assessment strategies • Bad SLOs (dated, ambiguous, unrelated to desired outcome, etc.) can & should be rewritten

34. Identifying authentic assessment strategies • Understand the requirements of the 2008 Higher Education Opportunities Act regarding learning assessment for online courses

35. Identifying authentic assessment strategies Some Authentic Assessment resources: • http://wik.ed.uiuc.edu/index.php/Authentic_Assessment • http://jolt.merlot.org/documents/vol1_no1_mueller_001.pdf • http://jfmueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/whatisit.htm • http://www.uwstout.edu/soe/profdev/assess.cfm • http://www.park.edu/cetl2/quicktips/authassess.html • http://pareonline.net/getvn.asp?v=2&n=2

36. OK, let’s try it….