Authentic assessment is an integral part of instruction, as it determines whether or not the learning goals are being met. The element of authenticity enables students to demonstrate their content knowledge and the ability to perform tasks, solve problems, or express knowledge in ways that simulate situations found in real life.
Assessment inspires us to ask these hard questions:
Are we teaching what we think we are teaching?
Are students learning what they are supposed to be learning?
Is there a way to teach the subject more effectively, thereby promoting better learning?
Teachers use assessments and rubrics to support learning. They make assessing the students’ work efficient, consistent, objective, and quick. Teachers evaluating an assignment know implicitly what makes that assignment excellent, mediocre, or in need of improvement.
In this assignment, you will “begin with the end in mind” as you consider what authentic assessment looks like in your integrated curricular unit with differentiation, design an assessment plan for the unit, and create a performance-based assessment which can be evaluated with criteria reflecting personal or real-world standards.
Create a 4- to 6-page paper (not including title and references pages) in a Word document for your response.
Use APA format for the paper, the title page, the references page, and in-text citations.
Follow the directions to submit your final Word document.
Step 1. Introduce
Introduce a 4- to 6-page paper (not including title and references pages) with general statements about authentic assessment and its value to learning and teaching.
Step 2. Define Authentic Assessments
Consider the types of assessments and assessment evidence needed for your integrated curricular unit with differentiation. These include:
Formative (one assessment for each lesson plan; total 3):
Summative (one assessment for each lesson plan; total 3):
Culminating (one assessment for the unit):
Performance Task (one task for the unit):
Other Evidence (student choice):
In your own words, define each assessment type according to its purpose. Consider the assessment through an authentic lens.
Step 3. Assessment Plan
Establish a pattern for how you will assess student learning throughout the unit. For example, a formative assessment may be a single question asked in a class discussion in which you make observations about learners’ levels of knowledge or it may be integrated into an activity/interaction in the lesson plan. Other evidence may be teacher observations or a process or product portfolio graded by a rubric. This will form your assessment plan. Create the assessment plan in a table showing the lesson number, the type of assessment, a description of how you will implement the assessment, when you will implement it, and any other information you want to recall for unit planning purposes (perhaps a Notes column).
Step 4. Design Assessments
Design at least one assessment for each of the types of assessment (Step 2). Again, consider the assessment through an authentic lens. You will design at least one of each of the following assessments: Formative, summative, culminating, performance, and other evidence. Performance assessment resources can be found on the Module 3 learning objects page.
Step 5. Design a Rubric
Design a rubric for assessing the performance task in your unit.
An example – http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php
The rubric should lead students to acquire and use competencies expected in high performance work organizations (teamwork, appropriate use of technology, problem solving, and communication).
When creating this rubric, consider the following questions:
Are students expected to communicate what they are learning through presentation and/or performance?
Does the work require students to develop organizational and self-management skills?
Does the rubric require students to engage in real investigations, using a variety of methods, media, and sources?
Step 6. Conclude
Conclude your paper by describing the benefits of using multiple forms of authentic assessment to evaluate student progress and learning. Use APA format for the title, references pages and in-text citations.
