Authentic Assessment

Definitions: Wiggins, Archibald and Newman are considered to be the creators of the concept 'authentic assessment' both of whom proposed definitions that suggested assessments that posed cognitively challenging and "personally meaningful problems or tasks" (Frey et al. 2012, p13)

Paris and Ayres differ from Wiggins by  describing authentic assessment in terms of being  formative. (Frey et al 2012, p10) it…

1.Supports classroom instruction,
2.collects evidence from multiple activities,
3.promotes learning and teaching among participants, 
4.reflects local values, standards and controls.

‘Authentic’ assessment tasks encourage students to apply relevant disciplinary knowledge in a familiar context, develop and enhance their generic skills, and generate workplace specific knowledge.(McMullen et al. 2005)

Authentic assessments set meaningful and engaging tasks, in a rich context, where the learner applies knowledge and skills, and performs the task in a new situation. Authentic tasks help students rehearse for the complex ambiguities of adult and professional life. ……

Assessment is a process of gathering evidence of what a student can do,   and provides feedback on a student' s learning to encourage further development. (Aitken and Pungur)

Palm (Frey et al., 2008, p ) concludes that authenticity is defined as assessment that is real in terms of processes and products, assessment conditions or the presented context, and true to life beyond school, curriculum and classroom practice or learning and instruction. 

Frey et al. (2012, p14) conclude that Authentic Assessments.....

“involves the student deeply, both in terms of cognitive complexity and intrinsic interest, and are meant to develop or evaluate skills and abilities that have value beyond the assessment itself.”

My definition:

Authentic Assessment for adult learners.....

Tracking a learner's progress, identifying successes and areas for development through ongoing self-reflection, along with  review and feedback from peers and facilitator/tutor in relation to the learner's practical application of their learning.

Refs: 

Aitken, N. and Pungur, L. (date unknown) Authentic Assessment [Online] Available from:http://www.ntu.edu.vn/Portals/96/Tu%20lieu%20tham%20kh/Phuong%20phap%20danh%20gia/authentic%20assessment%202.pdf. (Accessed 7^th July, 2014)

Frey, B.B.,  Schmitt, V.L., Allen, J.P. (2012) Defining Authentic Classroom Assessment, Practical Assessment, Research and Evaluation, Vol 17, No,2 Jan. [Online] Available from: http://pareonline.net/pdf/v17n2.pdf (accessed 7th July 2014)

McMullen, C.  Braithwaite, B.  (2005) ‘Authentic’ Assessment: Workplace Based Formal Learning Setting The Stage For Ongoing Informal Learning

ANZMAC Conference: Marketing Education, Charles Sturt University
(available from: http://www.anzmac.org/conference_archive/2005/cd-site/pdfs/8-Mktg-Edn/8-McMullen.pdf) accessed 11 July 2014

Assessment and Authenticity

Eliot's principles of assessment in an authentic context

Completion of a 10 day leadership programme

This programme is split into four modules, three of which focus on leadership skills. Between modules the individuals meet up (in theory) with their ‘learning partners’ (another member of the group) to coach one another on practical applications of their learning. This is not mandatory, nor part of a formal assessment process. It often fails to occur because of time constraints and/or geographical issues (a learning partner may have to spend several days/weeks outside the UK). Those who do manage to have regular conversations with learning partners have acknowledged this as being a major contributory factor to their overall learning.

Ongoing coaching meetings with learning partners is an example of informal, formative assessment. The issues regarding cancelled meetings, could be ameliorated by implementing Web 2.0 tools such as Skype or communicating asynchronously through private messaging in Yammer, Linkedin, Facebook or a similar tool.

Authentic learning experiences  – these communications focus on practical actions as a result of the learning in the previous module. The adoption of a structured approach in meetings, identifying the current stage of development experienced by their team  vis a vis Tuckman’s theory and adopting strategies to move forward,  managing a change implementation or something similar

Personalised  - Individual’s are at various stages in their career paths and their learning objectives would reflect this

Negotiated - in the coaching session, learner's are questioned regarding the relevance and appropriateness of their desired actions

Engaging - all actions are identified by the learner and therefore reflect self interest and self motivation

Recognise existing skills - the individual's successes are reviewed by themselves and their learning partner, who can also give appropriate constructive feedback

Deep: assessing deep knowledge – individuals are coached through their actions to ensure a depth of understanding and an awareness of pertinent issues and consequences

Problem oriented - normally the action points are designed to facilitate a solution to a real life problem

Collaboratively produced - the outcomes are collaborative based upon agreements between the learning partners: a partnership or a trio

Peer and self assessed - Previous actions are reviewed and learning points from the strategy are considered. The skills of the coach are also scrutinised by the learning partners and coaches are given feed back to ensure ongoing improvement of coaching skills.

Principles for assessment for learning

Principles for assessment for learning

Whilst reading the article by the Assessment Reform Group (ARG, 1999) I was struck by the similarity between the positive outcomes of constructive classroom feedback and the positives of performance feedback in the workplace. There is very little difference. When effectively demonstrated they both increase: self-awareness, motivation and the identification of behaviours to adopt to increase progress and build upon successes.

ARG document

The key to assessment for learning is providing an opportunity whereby:

•  Students can receive swift, timely, constructive feedback
• Students are encouraged to take an active part in their learning
•  Teachers can adjust their input according to the learner’s needs (flexibility)
•   Both teachers and learners can recognise and identify what motivates and demotivates the            learning interventions
•   Students are given the tools and skills to self assess on their learning journey
•   Focus is on progress rather than success/failure

This can be helped if both students and teachers work together to

•  Construct learning goals
•  Recognise the importance of self-assessment 
•  Develop the skills of learning from and acknowledging feedback as a response to input
• Hold a genuine belief that everyone can improve
• Actively share assessment data

In essence, teachers can then use assessment as a formative rather than a summative (historical use) tool.

Skills required for assessment must include: observational, listening, reasoning, questioning, setting tasks to reflect specific skills, confidence working with a variety of Web 2.0 media/tools

Government too must support assessment for learning through teacher training initiatives, policies, inspections and resource allocation.

Assessment for learning must eventually become an integral component of the national educational strategy.

Ref:

Assessment Reform Group (ARG) (1999) Assessment for Learning: Beyond the Black Box [online], http://assessmentreformgroup.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/beyond_blackbox.pdf (Accessed 5th July)