WEEK 5: ALTERNATIV E ASSESSMENT
Dec 24, 2015
WEEK 5:
ALTERNATIVE
ASSESSMENT
WHAT IS ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT
measure performance in forms other than traditional paper-and-pencil, short answer tests.
focus on what students can do without emphasizing their weaknesses
students are enabled to provide their own responses rather than simply selecting from a given list of options.
give a holistic picture of a student’s abilities and highlight where further improvement is needed.
educators need methods to assess fairly and objectively.
may use rubrics (a scoring guide for non-quantified assessments such as portfolios and presentations)
Example:a rubric may state that “an acceptable essay contains fewer than four grammatical errors”
COMMON CHARACTERISTICS OF ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT
Asks students to perform, create or produce something
Encourages student self-reflectionMeasures outcomes of significanceTaps higher-level thinking and problem-solving skillsUses tasks that represent meaningful instructional activities
Invokes real-world applications
Uses human judgment (rather than machines) for scoring
Provides self-assessment opportunities for students
Provides opportunities for both individual and group work
Encourages students to continue the learning activity beyond the scope of the assignment
Defines explicit performance criteriaMakes assessment equal in importance to curriculum and instruction
EXAMPLESOF ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT
PORTFOLIOS
Most often used as replacements for end-of-course testingexhibit the progression of a student’s learning over time teacher may create a portfolio compiling student essays, lab reports, or other assignments
The collection must include student participation in selecting the contents, the criteria for selection, the criteria for judging merit and evidence of student self-reflection.
ORAL PERFORMANCES OR PRESENTATIONS
Performance-based assessments include interviews, oral reports, role plays, describing, explaining, summarizing, retelling, paraphrasing stories or text material, and so on.
should be conducted on an ongoing basis to monitor comprehension and thinking skills.
ROLE PLAY
Learners take on different roles, assuming a profile of a character or personality, and interact and participate in diverse and complex learning settings.
students learn through their explorations and the viewpoints of the character or personality they are articulating in the environment
Example: Ask students to tell a story from a character’s point of view after reading a story book.
AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENTS
create a real-world environment for students to exhibit their skills and knowledge
The tasks are either replicas of or analogous to the kinds of problems faced by adult citizens and consumers or professionals in the field.
Example: A biology teacher may have her students identify the different pollutants in a local stream to report to the local environmental protection agency
OTHER ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENTS:
Open-ended questions Writing samples Interviews Journals and learning logs Story of text retelling Cloze tests Self and peer assessments Teacher observations Checklists
REFERENCES http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/7041
http://www.aurbach.com/alt_assess.html
http://www.teach-nology.com/currenttrends/alternative_assessment/
http://www.ncpublicschools.org/docs/curriculum/worldlanguages/resources/aaa/altc3.pdf
http://www.ericdigests.org/1997-1/esl.html
https://teaching.unsw.edu.au/assessing-role-play-and-simulation