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eBistro Module

Module Title:

Creating Authentic Assessments

Participant:

Description:

As teachers, we want our students to know more than just the content of the disciplines when they graduate. We want them to be able to use their knowledge and skills in the real world.

"The goal of assessment has to be, above all, to support the improvement of learning and teaching." (Frederikson & Collins, 1989)

If you want your students to apply what they have learned in authentic situations, then you need to use a mix of traditional and authentic assessments. This will allow you to see whether or not students are able to apply what they have learned in different ways and from different perspectives.

If you are interested, let?s take a closer look at authentic assessments and how you can use them with your students.

A rubric has been included to help guide you through the collection of all the artifacts you will need to share as evidence of completing the module. Also, the rubric is an assessment tool to be used by the designated personnel in your school district to whom you will submit your completed work for CEU credit.

Participants should already be able to...

Files
	Creating Authentic Assessment Module Rubric

NETS for Teachers:

1.	TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS AND CONCEPTS. Teachers demonstrate a sound understanding of technology operations and concepts. Teachers:
	A.	demonstrate introductory knowledge, skills, and understanding of concepts related to technology (as described in the ISTE National Education Technology Standards for Students)
	B.	demonstrate continual growth in technology knowledge and skills to stay abreast of current and emerging technologies.
2.	PLANNING AND DESIGNING LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS AND EXPERIENCES. Teachers plan and design effective learning environments and experiences supported by technology.
	A.	design developmentally appropriate learning opportunities that apply technology-enhanced instructional strategies to support the diverse needs of learners.
	C.	identify and locate technology resources and evaluate them for accuracy and suitability.
4.	ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION. Teachers apply technology to facilitate a variety of effective assessment and evaluation strategies.
	A.	apply technology in assessing student learning of subject matter using a variety of assessment techniques.
	C.	apply multiple methods of evaluation to determine students' appropriate use of technology resources for learning,communication,and productivity.
5.	PRODUCTIVITY AND PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE. Teachers use technology to enhance their productivity and professional practice.
	A.	use technology resources to engage in ongoing professional development and lifelong learning.

Preparation:

What would be the process for implementing authentic assessments in your classroom activities? Before you can answer this question, you'll need some background information on what an authentic assessment looks like.

The first article will provide the answers to these questions:

? What is authentic assessment?
? Why might I use authentic assessment methods in my classroom?
? How can I use authentic assessment in my classroom?

Authentic Assessment Overview
http://www.teachervision.fen.c...

The next resource provides a review of research that explains authentic assessment. This resource is written specically for reading and language arts, but it can be applied across the curriculum. As you read, think about how authentic assessments might apply to your subject area.

What is Authentic Assessment?
http://www.eduplace.com/rdg/re...

If you agree that it is important to use a mix of traditional and authentic assessments, then considering the differences and similarities between authentic and traditional assessments is significant to the process. As you examine the following resource, think about the traditional assessments you typically administer to your students.

How is Authentic Assessment Similar To/Different From Traditional Assessment?
http://jonathan.mueller.facult...

The good news is that you do not need to choose between authentic and traditional assessments. Read further to see how authentic assessments complement traditional assessments. Try to generate a list of authentic assessments that would complement the traditional assessments you are already administering in your classroom.

Authentic Assessment Complements Traditional Assessment
http://jonathan.mueller.facult...

As you begin the process of creating authentic assessments, there are several questions you need to ask, such as what should students know and be able to do and what does good performance on this task look like?

When you are able to answer these questions, you will discover that there are a few simple steps that you can apply in the process of developing authentic assessments for students. The following resource addresses these questions and provides four straightforward steps.

How Do You Create Authentic Assessments?
http://jonathan.mueller.facult...

As you discovered, these four steps are essential to the development of authentic assessments:

Step 1: Identify the Standards
Step 2: Select an Authentic Task
Step 3: Identify the Criteria for the Task
Step 4: Create the Rubric

Engagement:

Now that you are thinking about using authentic assessments, you might be interested in seeing how a classroom teacher involves students in the process.

NOTE: This is an optional activity because you will need to have a QuickTime or Windows Media Player on your computer to access the video clip. If you are able to watch this short video clip, listen for the answers to the following four questions:

1. Why might it be more difficult to assess learning through a project-based experience?

2. Why would you ask students to assist you in the process of developing their assessments?

3. When students internalize their desire to improve their work, what four things can result?

4. What is one of the essential life-long learning skills that students can develop?

Important Note:
Make sure you have QuickTime or Windows Media Player available on your computer to view the video clip. A FREE version of the software is available so make sure you download the FREE version.

QuickTime Download
http://www.apple.com/quicktime...

Windows Media Player Download
http://www.microsoft.com/windo...

Assessing Project-Based Work: How alternatives to fill-in-the-blank tests can capture what students actually know. (Running time: 3:55)
http://www.glef.org/video/movi...

If you were able to view the video clip, you witnessed how authentic assessments can be used in the classroom. Next, you need to think through each step to begin using them with your students. Additional information will facilitate the process, so let's look at each step in more depth.

Step 1: Identify the Standards

Take a minute to think about the specific standard you are going to assess. It might be helpful to look at the specific standards in a list as you are deciding.

NOTE: You may find the Creating Authentic Assessments document helpful as you begin thinking through each step. The document is available for downloading below as a Word file or as a pdf.

North Carolina Standard Course of Study
http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/cur...

Step 2: Select an Authentic Task

Once you have determined which learning outcomes (standards) to assess, think of the tasks you already have students doing in your classroom. Do these tasks allow students to demonstrate their acquired knowledge and skills?

Take a look at the following Web resource that provides performance assessment tasks. Make a list of the performance assessment tasks that you are already using or would like to use. Be prepared to narrow your list to one or two performance assessment tasks.

Ideas for Tasks
http://intranet.cps.k12.il.us/...

Step 3: Identify the Criteria for the Task

Next, you must identify the criteria for the task. The criteria might be characteristics, skills, or behaviors that you want to assess.

Think about samples of student work from your class such as multimedia presentations, group projects, or posters that could provide the basis for your assessment criteria. Next, take a look at examples of authentic assessments and focus on the criteria.

Important Note: In each Web resource example, the "criteria" appears in the left column. This column is not always titled "criteria."

Multimedia Mania Student Checklist
Requires Acrobat Reader
http://www.ncsu.edu/midlink/mm...

Collaborative Rubric
http://edweb.sdsu.edu/triton/t...

Performance Task Assessment List Poster
http://www.bcpl.net/~sullivan/...

By now you should be thinking about:

? the standards you want to assess
? a performance task that can assist you in the assessment process
? ideas about which criteria needs to be included to assess the task

Step 4: Create the Rubric

The last step is creating a rubric, which is a scoring scale used to assess student performance along a task-specific set of criteria. Rubrics provide students with standards they can use to evaluate their performance while completing the assignment. The following resource will provide background information on rubrics and define two types of rubrics: analytic and holistic.

Rubrics
http://jonathan.mueller.facult...

As you look at several examples of rubrics, notice there are both analytic and holistic rubrics which vary from simple to complex. Keep in mind the performance task(s) you want to assess and the type of rubric that will best assess the task(s):

Rubric Bank
http://intranet.cps.k12.il.us/...

Kathy Schrocks Guide for Educators
http://school.discovery.com/sc...

Teacher Created Rubrics for Assessment
http://www.uwstout.edu/soe/pro...

Files
	Word - Creating Authentic Assessments
	PDF- Creating Authentic Assessments

Reflection:

In this activity, take a few minutes to reflect on the following questions:

1. Why should I use authentic assessments as well as traditional assessments?

2. What task might be most appropriately assessed using an analytic rubric? A holistic rubric?

Exploration:

Before you begin creating an authentic assessment, take a few minutes to read the following article as you think through the process.

Creating Meaningful Performance Assessments
http://www.teachervision.fen.c...

Let's explore several rubric resources. Each of these Web sites take a different approach to creating rubrics online. Take a look at each of them and choose the one that best fits your needs. Create a rubric to evaluate a task you will ask your students to complete. Remember that you can use one of the tasks you were asked to think about in Step 2.

PBL Checklists
http://pblchecklist.4teachers....

Recipes4Success Rubric Maker
http://myt4l.com/index.php?v=p...

Rubric Builder
http://landmark-project.com/cl...

RubriStar
http://rubistar.4teachers.org/...

Assessment Rubrics
http://www.kn.sbc.com/wired/fi...

Rubrics from the Staff Room
http://www.harding.edu/USER/dl...

Teacher Created Rubrics for Assessment
http://www.uwstout.edu/soe/pro...

Once you have created your rubric, use one of the following resources to evaluate its effectiveness. Be able to answer questions such as the following:

1. Does the rubric relate to the outcome(s) being measured?
2. Can the rubric be understood by students and parents?
3. Is the rubric free from bias?

Evaluating Rubrics
http://intranet.cps.k12.il.us/...

Aunt Olive's "Show-Me" Mother of All Rubric on Rubrics
http://arc.missouri.edu/pa/oli...

Implementation:

To show that you understand how to implement authentic assessments in your classroom, submit the following artifacts:

1. A lesson plan that includes a sample student performance task(s)

2. A rubric used to evaluate the students' performance task(s)

3. A sample(s) of student work with their product, process, or performance

You may find it very beneficial to reflect on the effectiveness of the rubric and note any needed revisions to make before you use it again with students.

Appendix:

Additional Resources
Horizontal Line

Creating Effective Rubrics: What Really Counts
Requires Acrobat Reader
http://www.massnetworks.org/pr...

Creating Rubrics Through Negotiable Contracting and Assessment
http://www.interactiveclassroo...

Developing Rubrics for Investigations
http://www2.lab.brown.edu/inve...

Downloadable Rubric Template
http://edweb.sdsu.edu/triton/j...

Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation
http://pareonline.net/getvn.as...

Cited Works
What is authentic assessment?. (n.d.). Retrieved Feb. 17, 2005, from Education ...

Jon, M. (n.d.). How is authentic assessment similar to/different from tradition...

Jon, M. (n.d.). Authentic assessment complements traditional assessment. Retrie...

Jon, M. (n.d.). How do you create authentic assessments?. Retrieved Feb. 17, 20...

Assessing project-based work. (n.d.). Retrieved Feb. 17, 2005, from Edutopia We...

North Carolina standard course of study. (n.d.). Retrieved Feb. 17, 2005, from ...

Ideas for tasks. (n.d.). Retrieved Feb. 17, 2005, from Assessments Web site: ht...

Multimedia mania student checklist. (n.d.). Retrieved Feb. 17, 2005, from Midli...

Collaboration rubric. (n.d.). Retrieved Feb. 17, 2005, from Rubrics Web site: h...

Performance task assessment list. (n.d.). Retrieved Feb. 17, 2005, from Rubrics...

Mueller, J. (n.d.). Rubrics. Retrieved Feb. 17, 2005, from Authentic Assessment...

The rubric bank. (n.d.). Retrieved Feb. 17, 2005, from The Rubric Bank Web site...

Project based learning: What is it?. (n.d.). Retrieved Feb. 17, 2005, from Proj...

Warlick, D. (n.d.). Retrieved Feb. 17, 2005, from Rubric Builder Web site: http...

Rubric, rubrics makers. (n.d.). Retrieved Feb. 17, 2005, from Web Tools For Edu...

Create rubrics for your project-based learning activities. (n.d.). Retrieved Fe...

Evaluating rubrics. (n.d.). Retrieved Feb. 17, 2005, from http://intranet.cps.k...

Miller, N. (n.d.). Retrieved Feb. 17, 2005, from Aunt Olive's "Show-Me" Mother ...

Kathy Schrock?s Guide for Educators. (n.d.).Retrieved May 5, 2005, from Discove...

Rubrics for Educators. (n.d.). Retrieved May 5, 2005, from University of Wiscon...

Rubrics. Teacher Created Rubrics for Assessment. 23 July 2005. Stout University...

Assessment. Authentic Assessment Overview. 23 July 2005. Teacher Vision, Pearso...

Assessment. Creating Meaningful Performance Assessments. 23 July 2005. Teacher ...

Valencia, Sheila W. 1997. The Goal of Assessment Has to Be, Above All, to Suppo...