Alternative Assessment

Traditional assessments
standardized tests
teacher -made tests
give a grade
seldom an explanation why a certain answer is incorrect
Alternative assessments
allow learner to regulate the assessment
generally use rubrics
provide learners the criteria for each performance level
are preparation for the career world, where professionals self- assess using specific criteria.

Consider this:
“ Backward Design ” is a curricular development model proposed by Wiggins and McTighe (1999) that is an alternative to coverage and activity-oriented curricular models.
The model suggests this order:
1) identify deep learning goals
2) identify assessment strategies
3) then create the course curriculum!
Source: Transformation Theme: Assessment Summary of Significant Findings
by Elizabeth F. Barkley, http://gallery.carnegiefoundation.org/collections/castl_he/ebarkley/themes/themesmenu.html

What should guide decisions about assessment methods?
1) Content : Let assessment reflect what is most important for students to learn
2) Learning : Let assessment enhance learning and support
instructional practice
3) Equity : Let assessment support every student’s opportunity to learn.
The National Research Council,

Shawna Dargan, Freshman Nursing major, WSSU

Parrish Young, Sophomore Finance and Human Resources major, WSSU

Authentic assessment calls for application of concepts to real life expectations, as in apprenticeships, student teaching, shadowing, service learning and co-ops.
Work by Wiggins (1989) provides these basic characteristics of authentic assessment:
Designed to represent performance in the field
The criteria for meeting the course objectives are given greater attention during the teaching and learning process than the criteria applied to the traditional assessment approach.

Students’ self assessment is a critical difference in the two approaches.
Students are expected to present and defend their work to demonstrate mastery.
Formats for project based and authentic learning opportunities include CDs and DVDs, audio tapes, debates, constructed models (for design classes, science classes, other), articles contributed to the school or local paper, oral, visual or virtual presentation to a group, investigations and science projects, and artistic renderings.

Do you believe that students will feel comfortable being evaluated in these ways?
Why /Why not?

Portfolio Assessment
The early roots of today’s portfolios can be traced to the mid-1980s, with the work of Peter Elbow and Pat Belanoff (1986), who served as administrators in a writing program and were dissatisfied with the scoring.
They shifted emphasis to the process , rather than simply the product.
Purdue University, Miami University of Ohio, and the University of Michigan were some of the first universities to apply this model of assessment, using process and or product type portfolios.

To demonstrate the growth of the learner, over a period of time, you are best using a Process oriented portfolio . This portfolio could be the collection of many iterations of a paper or a project, that summatively show student development and growth.
Product oriented portfolios focus on the best work of the student in a particular unit or discipline or concept.

Types of Portfolios
1) Product Portfolio
Used to document or provide evidence of completion
Used to demonstrate competence or mastery (showcase portfolios)
2) Process Portfolio
Used to illustrate steps in a process, and continual growth
Used to share experiences

Since about 1992, students have been able to do portfolios using the internet. These are referred to as electronic portfolios, webfolios or digital portfolios. The work may be posted to a website, a course management system such as Blackboard, or
Portfolios provide clear evidences of student growth as it relates to a given standard or set of indicators. They are learner-centered products.

Planning for effective use of portfolios as assessment tools
Source: Paul S. George, (1995). What Is Portfolio Assessment Really and How Can I Use It in My Classroom? Gainesville, FL: Teacher Education Resources.
What observable behaviors or learning experiences might provide evidence of learning and meeting identified goals?

How will I ensure that students understand the portfolio expectation, the process, and the expected content and quality?
Will I use rubrics, rules, scoring keys, and/or checklists to guide the process?
How might I integrate oral communication skills and virtual learning into the portfolio assessment process?

Portfolio assessment is a multi-faceted process characterized by the following recurrent qualities:
It is continuous and ongoing, providing both formative (i.e., ongoing) and summative (i.e., culminating) opportunities for monitoring students' progress toward achieving essential outcomes.
It is multidimensional, i.e., reflecting a wide variety of artifacts and processes reflecting various aspects of students' learning process(es).

It provides for collaborative reflection, including ways for students to reflect on and monitor their own comprehension, reflect upon their approaches to problem-solving and decision-making, and observe their emerging understanding of subjects and skills.
These assessments clearly reflect stated learner outcomes identified in the core curriculum that students are expected to study.

They focus upon students' performance-based learning experiences as well as their acquisition of key knowledge, skills, and attitudes.
They contain samples of work that stretch over an entire marking period, rather than single points in time.
They contain works that represent a variety of different assessment tools.
They contain a variety of work samples and evaluations of that work by the student, peers, and teachers, possible even parents' reactions.

Do you like the portfolio method for student assessment? Discuss.
Which type would work well for you? Discuss.
Which would be best for students? Discuss.
What do you believe to be the advantages of these alternative methods of assessment?
What are the disadvantages?
Source: Paul S. George, (1995). What Is Portfolio Assessment Really and How Can I Use It in My Classroom? Gainesville, FL: Teacher Education Resources.

Do you like the portfolio method for student assessment? Discuss.
Which type would work well for you? Discuss.
Which would be best for students? Discuss.
What do you believe to be the advantages of these alternative methods of assessment?
What are the disadvantages?

References
Elbow, P., and P. Belanoff. 1986. Portfolios as a substitute for proficiency examination. College Composition and Communication 37: 336–39.
George, P. (1995). What Is Portfolio Assessment Really and How Can I Use It in My Classroom? Gainesville, FL: Teacher Education Resources.
Greenberg, G. 2004. The digital convergence: Extending the portfolio model. Educause Review 39 (4): 28.
http://www.pgcps.pg.k12.md.us/~elc/portfolio2.html , Prince George’s County Schools, Department of Staff Development, in collaboration with the Division of Instruction.
http://fie.engrng.pitt.edu/fie97/papers/1454.pdf
Stewart, S., Choate, J., & Poteet, J. (1995) The revolution in assessment within and across educational settings. Preventing School Failure, 39,3(20-24.

http://efltevaluation.wikispaces.com	88
http://www.slideshare.net	35
http://bb.bloomfield.edu	30
http://bbtest.bloomfield.edu	20
https://aamu.blackboard.com	19
http://testbb9app.bloomfield.edu	4

Alternative Assessment

by WSSU CETL

Accessibility

Categories

Upload Details

Usage Rights

6 Embeds 196

Statistics