ERIC ED369389: Performance-Based Assessment

37 Pages·1994·1.6 MB·English

by  ERIC

DOCUMENT RESUME
ED 369 389 IR 016 620
TITLE, Performance-Based Assessment
INSTITUTION ACCESS ERIC, Rockville, MD.
SPONS AGENCY Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED),
Washington, DC.
REPORT NO ERIC-94-5016; ISSN-1065-1160
PUB DATE 94
NOTE 37p.
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PUB TYPE Collected Works Serials (022) Information
Analyses ERIC Clearinghouse Products (071)
Reference Materials Bibliographies (131)
JOURYAL CIT ERIC Review; v3 nl Win 1994
EDRS PRICE MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage.
DESCRIPTORS Annotated Bibliographies; Competence; *Competency
Based Education; Elementary Secondary Education;
*Evaluation Methods; Federal Programs; *Performance;
Performance Factors; Portfolios (Background
Materials); *Student Evaluation
IDENTIFIERS *Alternative Assessment; Authentic Assessment; ERIC;
*Performance Based Evaluation
ABSTRACT
"The ERIC Review" is published three times a year and
announces research results, publications, and new programs relevant
to each issue's theme topic. This issue explores performance-based
assessment via two principal articles: "Performance Assessment"
(Lawrence M. Rudner and Carol Boston); and "Alternative Assessment:
Implications for Social Studies" (Pat Nickell). In addition, the
features include: (1) standards information; (2) a listing of
commercial publisners and performance-based assessment; (3)
performance-based aspects of the National Assesament of Educational
Progress (NAEP); (4) an alternative assessment reading list; (5)
alternative assessment resource organizations list; and (6) an
annotated list of 18 new publications available from the ERIC
Clearinghouses. (JLB)
***********************************************************************
Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made *
* from the original document. *
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U.S. DEPARTMENT Of EDUCATION
Office ol Educatmeel Rseesich andIrnOrOdomonl Vol. 3 Issue I. Winter 1994
EDUCATIONA 'RESOURCESINFORMATION
CENTER (ERIC)
0 Th document has boon reproduced es
received horn the person or Org4111410011
originating n
Minor champs hays beanmade to improve
mOroducton wilds
Points& vow or oiemonsstatedin the dace
ment do not necessitiesrepresent ()Smite
OERI pertthon Or po4loy
U.S. Department of Education
Office of Educational Research and Improvement
Educational Resources Information Center
Performance-Based Assessment
An Introduction to
Performance Assessment
Resources for Teachers
Alternative Assessment
in the Social Studies
LLResource Reading Federal ERIC System
Organizations List Initiatives Developments
An Important Message to Our Readers
This issue ofThe ERIC Reviewexplores how teachers, administrators, and parents can determine what
students know and can do through ways other than standardized tests. Many educators agree thlt the
average (or "nom-) is an inadequate standard by which to judge the Quality of student knowledge and
performance.
procedures that develop more complete pictures
People are using a variety of terms to describe assessment
of what students know and can do than are possible with the familiar norm-referenced achievement and
authentic assessment. alternative assessment. perlarmance-Imsed assess-
aptitude tests. These terms include
ment.andpractical assessment. In this issue. we use the terms interchangeably, although werecognize the
nuances among them.
Authentic assessment, for example, is generally used to refer to activities that areconsidered genuine and
meaningful in themselves. Alternative assessment is a broad term that refers to anv nonstandardized testing.
Performance-based assessment requires students to show their knowledge and skills in anactive way.
Practical assessment is most commonly used in Europe to describe evaluations based on real-world
situations.
what do we hope to accomplish w ith this issue
With all that has been written about alternative assessment,
ofThe ERIC Review? As in previous issues, we provide an overview of thesubject as well as descriptions
"pull it all together- from a practical point of
of numerous resources and related projects. We have tried to
view. Our goal is for readers to come to appreciate the differing arguments for performance assessment and
the statements of those who urge caution. After reading this issue, educators should: ( I) have enough
and its associated activities: and (2) know
information to consider implementing performance assessment
where to go for further assistance.
We hope ou'll find the features, project descriptions, and resource listshelpful. The materials in this
and disseminated freely. If you'd like
journal are in the public domain and may be reproduced
additional information about what the Educational ResourcesInformation Center has to offer, details
on how to access the database, or areferral to one of the I b suhject-specitic ERIC Clearinghouses.
please call I -8(10-LET-ERIC.
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Improvement
Joseph Conaty
Richard W. Riley
Secreutry Sharon P. Robinson Acting Director
Assiskint SetTetary
ACCESS ERIC
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information Center Information Accessible
ACCESS ERIC is your gates\ ay to
Contents ERICthe Educational Resources
Information Centera nationwide
information service designed to make
education literature readily accessible.
Performance Assessment 2
Lawrence M. Rudner and Carol Boston The ERIC systent consists of I 6
subject-specific clearinghouses:
One School Experiments with Performance-Based Assessments 13
seseral adjunct clearinghouses:
Carol Boston
and support components. including
U.S. Department of Education Funds Standards Groups 15 ACCESS ERIC'. At the heart of
ERIC is the largest education
Curriculum, Teaching, and Assessment Standards:
database in the NA orldcontaining
The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics 16
nearly 800.000 abstracts of docu-
Thomas A. Romberg
ments and journal articles. Curricu-
Standards, Assessments, and the National Education Goals 17 lum materials. papers, conference
Edward Fuentes proceedings. and literature reviews.
Commercial Publishers and Performance-Based Assessment 18 along with articles from nearly 800
education-rciated journals, can be
Matthew Soska
found in the ERIC database.
Performance-Based Aspects of the
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 19 You can access ERIC at about 1000
locations around the world. Typi-
Gary W. Phillips and Sheida White
cally. unk ersity, state. and large city
News from the ERIC System 20
public libraries oiler access to ERIC
The Center for Research on Evaluation. through their microfiche collections
Standards, and Student Testing 20 and online or CD-ROM searches. The
Laurie E. Gronlund ERIC' database is also acce,sible
through some computer networks.
Alternative Assessment Reading List 21
In addition, documents selected
Alternative Assessment Resource Organizations List 26
for the database are abstracted and
Alternative Assessment: Implications for Social Studies 29 announced in ERIC's monthly
Pat Nickell journal, Re.sollIVCA ut EthWillioll.
The full tem of most documents
New Titles in Education
announced in ERIC' is available in
microfiche or paper copy from the
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Bob Stonchill. ERIC Director. I...S. Department of Education. °lite,: ol Educational Research and
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espressed iii his publication (lo not
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PERFORMANCE
ASSESSMENT
by Lawrence M. Rudner and Carol Boston
So, what's all the hoopla Key Features of identify pollutants. Both assessments
about? Federal commissions Performance Assessment would be performance-based. but the
have endorsed performance one involving the real-world problem
assessment. It's been discussed on C- The Office of Technology Assessment woukl be considered more authentic.
SPAN and in a number of books and (OTA) of the U.S. Congress (1992)
articles. Full issues of major education provides a simple, yet insightful, Testing has traditionally focused on
journals, including Edm.ational Lead- definition of performance assessment: whether students get the right answers:
ership (April 19g9 and May 1992) and how they arrive at their answers has
Phi Delta Kappan (February 1993), testing that 1-c:quires a student to been considered important only during
have been devoted to performance create an answer or a product the test-development. When students
assessment. A surprisingly large num- that demonstrate.% his or her take a multiple-choice mathematics
ber of organizations are actively in- knowledge or skills. test, for example. there is no way to
volved in developing components of a distinguish among those who select the
A ss ide variety of a..essment tech-
performance assessment system. correct answer because they truly
niques fall w ithin this broad definition.
Chances are good that one or more of understand the problem, those who
Se\ eral are described in table I. One
your professional associations is in the understand the problem but make a
key feature of all performance assess-
middle of debating goals and standards careless calculation mistake, and those
ments is that they require students to he
right now. ss ho have no idea how to do the work
actise participants. Rather than choos-
but simply guess correctly. Perform-
ing from presented options. as ill
Is this just the latest bandwagon? ance assessments, on the other hand.
traditional multiple-choice test., stu-
Another short-term fix? Probably not. require students to demonstrate knowl-
dents are responsible for creating or
The performance assessment move- edge or skills: therefore, the process by
constructing their responses. These
ment encompasses much more than a which they solve problems becomes
may vary in complexit from sk riling
technology for testing students. It important. To illustrate, if high school
short answers or essays to designing
requires examining the purposes of juniors are asked to demonstrate their
and conducting experiments and dem-
education. identifying skills we w ant understanding of interest rates by
onstrations or creating comprehensi e
students to master, and empowering comparison shopping for a used-car
portfolios. It is important to note that
teachers (Smith and Cohen. 1991). loan and identifying the best deal, a
proponents of "authentic assessment-
Even t ithout an assessment compo- teacher can easily see it' they under-
make distinctions among the various
nent. these activities can only he good stand the concept of interest, know how
types of performance assessments.
for education. You can he certain they to calculate it, and perform mathemati-
preferring those that has e ineanin;? and
will have an impact on classrooms. cal operations accurately.
alue in themselves to those that are
meaningful primarily in an academic
This article describes performance
context. In a chemistry class. lot
assessments, weighs their ads ;tillages Lass relict: NI. Rudner is director of the
example. students might be asked to
and disadvantages as instructional tools ERIC Clearinghou.e on Asse..nwnt and
identify the chemical composition of a
and accountability measures, and offers Es aluation at The Catholic L'nis ersity
premixed solution by- apply ing tests for America. Carol Bo.ton is publications
suggestions to teachers and administra-
various properties, or they might take coordinator at ACCESS ERIC. the outreach
tors who want to use performance
samples from local lakes and rivers and componetn of the ERIC s> stem.
assessments to improve teaching and
learning.
Table 1: Some Performance Assessment Techniques
ProjectsProjects are comprehensive demonstrations of and structures a coherent discussion. Answering essay
skills or knowledge. They require a broad range of questions effectis el) requires critical thinking. analysis,
competencies. are often Mterdisciplinary in focus. and and sy nthesis.
require student initiative and creativity. Teachers or
Essay s and other writing samples may also he used to
trained judges score each project against standards of
assess students' composition skills, including spelling.
excellence know n to all participants ahead of time.
grammar. syntax, and sentence and paragraph ,,tructure.
As part of a project. students may be required to conduct Considerable research has been conducted on the stand-
a demonstration or give a live perfornlance in class or ardized and objective scoring of writing assessments.
before other audiences. Projects can take the form of Many states. including Mary land and North Carolina.
competitions between individual students or groups. or administer writing assessments at several grade les el,.
they may he collaborative activities that students work on
ExperimentsExperiments can be used to test how well
over time. Science fair projects are a familiar example of
a student understands scientific concepts and can carry
this type of performance assessment.
out scientific processes. Such assessment activities
Group projectsGroup projects enable a number of encourage students to "do science- by developing hy
students to skork together on a complex problem that potheses. planning and carrying out experiment,, writing
requires planning. research, internal discussion, and up findings, using the skills of measurement and estima-
group presentation. This technique is particularly attrac- tion. and apply Mg scientific facts and concept..
tive because it facilitates cooperation and reinforces a
A few states are des eloping standardized scientific tasks
valued outcome. The California State Department of
or experiments that all students must conduct to demon-
Education reports success in using group projols.
strate their scientific understanding and skills. Groups
Interviews/oral presentations--Inters iesss and oral such as the American Association for the Advancement
presentations allow students u: verbahze their know ledge. of Science. the National Science Teachers Association.
Particularly with younger children. interviews are more the National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Depart-
likely to elicit informative responses than open-ended. ment of Education's Eisenhower Program are strong
written questions. The 1969 and 1976 National Assess- ads ocates for using experiments in classrooms.
ments of Educational Progress (N.AEP) Citizenship
DemonstrationsDemonstrations gise students oppor-
Assessments used many interview questions.
tunities to show their mastery of subject-area content and
An obvious example of oral assessment occurs in the procedures. Student, in a phy sics class might. for ex-
foreign languages: fluency can be assessed only by ample. demonstrate their understanding of principles of
hearing the student speak. A, audio and s ideo become physics in a demonstration using pulley s. gears. and
increasin,fly available to record pert ormances. the use of inclined plane,. Students in a paramedic, course could
oral presentations for assessment is likely to increase. demonstrate mastery of lifesas ing techniques hy resusci-
tating a dummy.
Const fucted-response questionsConstructed-
response questions require students to produce their Portfolios--Portfolios are usually files or folders that
own answers rather than select from an array of possible contai n collections of a studetn's owrk. They fu rn ish a
arms ers (as with multiple-choice items). A constructed- hroad portiait of individual performance. assembled over
re sponse question may has e just one coi I ict ansser. or it time. As students put together their portfolios. they must
r lay be more open-ended. allow ing a range of responses. es aluate their own work, a kev feature of performance
The form can also vary. ranging from filling in a blank or assessment. Portfolios are most common in the subject
writing a short answer. to draw ing on a graph or diagram. areas of English and language arts, ss here drafts. re\ i-
to writing out all the steps in a geometry proof. Teachers sions. works in progress, and final papers are' typically
often use constructed-response questions in classroom included to shuns students' des elopment. A fess states
assessments. and districts use portfolios for science, mathematic., and
the arts: others are planning to use them for denunistra-
Essays Essays has e long been used to assess a
tions ol ss orkplace readiness. Vermont and Michigan are
student's understanding of a subject through a .vritten
among the states taking the lead on portfolio use for
description. analy 515, explanation. or summary . Essay s
assessment.
can demonstrate hoss \sell a student uses facts in context
--
From "Assessing Cis ie. FAlueation," / RIC lhgeNi.Setu (1991 i b Lau ience Rudner and le\thig ot Imo him S I %btu: the
Right Queiliiiin (1"92) h the 1>11cc ol Technolog Assessment. Congress ot the t 'nited S:ates.
6
Issue I. Wittier 1001 Willi
In performance assessment, items means to motivate students to learn and effectiveness of schools and teachers
directly reflect intended outcomes. schools to teach concepts and skiffs that and track students' progress toward
Whereas a traditional test might ask are more in line vs ith today's expecta- achieving national educational 2oals
students about grammar rules, a tions. This perspective will be called (see "Standards, Assessments, and the
performance assessment would have the nuaimuor viewpoint in this article. National Education Goals" on p 17).
them demonstrate their understanding Many researchers, curriculum special- According to the motivator viewpoint.
of English grammar by editing a poorly ists, and teachers, on the other hand, performance assessments will make the
written passage. A traditional auto see performance assessment as empow- education system more accountable for
mechanics test might include questions ering teachers by providing them with results. Proponents expect performance
about, a front-end alignment: a perform- better instructional tools and a new assessments to:
ance assessment would have students emphasis on teaching more relevant
do one. prompt schools to focus on impor-
tant. performance-based outcomes:
Performance assessments can also
measure skills that have not tradition- provide sound data on achieve-
ally been measured in large groups of Advocates of the ment, not just aptitude:
studentsskills such as integrating
knowledge across disciplines, con- motivator and empower- allow valid cimiparisons among
tributing to the work of a group, and schools. districts, and states: and
ment viewpoints concur
developing a plan of action when
confronted with a novel situation. that performance yield results for every important
Grant Wiggins ( 1990) captures their level of the education sy stem. from
assessments can form
potential nicely: individual children to the.nation as a
a solid foundation for whole.
Do ne wont 10evallIale suulent
improving schools
problem-posing and problem- Those in the empow Lrment camp, on
solving in matlwmatics': and increasing what the other hand, tend to focus on how
Experimental re.search in performance assessments will im-
science? Speaking. listening. and students know and prove teaching and learning at the
lacilitating a discussion': Doing
classroom level. Instructional objec-
document-ba%ed historical can do.
tives in most subject areas are being
inquirY! 'I./wrong/1h' revising a
redefined to include more practical
piece oj imaginative writing until
it 'works for ;he reader: Then applications and more emphasis on
let our assessment be built synthesis and integration of content
0111 iif
Mall exemplary intellectual and skills. Performance assessments-
challeniZes. skillsa perspective that will be that are closely tied to this new curricu-
referred to here as theetnpowerment lum can give teachers license to empha-
Here We Go Again? viewpoint. Proponents of both view- size important skills that traditionally
points agreeon the need to change have not been measured. They can also
You might ask, "Is performance assess- as,:ssment methods hut differ in their provide teachers w ith diagnostic infor-
ment really new (iood classroom iews abonit ho w. assessment informa- mation to help guide instruction and
,...achers have used projects and portfo- tion should be used. give students opportunities to ay.ess
lios for years. preparing numei;.us their own progress.
activities requiring students to blend
On the Value of
skills and insights across disciplines. High-Stakes Performance
Performance Assessments
Performance assessment has been
Assessments as Motivators
particularly common in vocational
dvocates of the inotivator and cm-
education, the military, and business.
pow erment viewpoints concur that One of the most historic events con-
For example. the Carl D. Perkill
performance as,,es`ments can f orm a cerning education in the Ihnted States
Vocational and Applied Technology
solid foundation for improving schools occurred in September 1989. when the
Act of 1990 heavily emphasiied stand-
and increasing V. hat students know and President and the nat.on's governors
ards and assessment. ERIC has used
can do. However, the two groups frame held an education summit in
"performance tests" as a descriptor
the advantages differently. Theii Charlottesville. Virginia. Together. the
since the birth of the ERIC sy stem in
positions are sketched here briefly, then participants hammered out six fai
I 966.
d.'s eloped more fully in the sections reaching national education goals.
that follow . effectively acknowledging that educa-
What is new is the w idespread interest
tion issues transcend state and local
in the potential of performance assess-
The motivators eniphasi/e that per- levels to affect the democratic and
ment. Many superintendents. state
formance-based assessments, if insti- economic foundations of the entire
legislators, governors, and federal
tuted on a district, state, or national country. In a closing statement,
ofTicials see perfornianee tests as a
le vel, w ill allm its to monitor the participants announced,
We unanintously agree that perfectly and equitably measures the have begun calling for a national
there is a need jOr the first time right skills. Developing standards and assessment system or developing
in this nation's history to have high-quality assessments has "the instrumentation during the past 2 years
specific results-oriented goals. potential to raise learning expectations (see table 2).
We recognize the need for .
at all levels of education, better target
accountability fOr outcome-
human and fiscal resources for educa- Recognizing that tests tend to influence
related results.
tional improvement, and help meet the curriculum. NCEST and other groups
Consensus is now building among state needs of an increasingly mobile popula- suggest that assessments should be
legislators, governors, members of tion" (NCEST. 1992). This is a shared developed to reflect the new high
Congress, federal officials, and the vision. At least a half-dozen groups
general public regarding the desirability
and feasibility of some sort of volun-
tary national assessment system linked Table 2: Calls for New National Assessments
with high national standards in such
subject areas as mathematics, science. National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)Acongressionally
English, history, geography, foreign mandated project of the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for
languages, and the arts. A number of Education Statistics. NAEP monitors U.S. students' performance in several
professional organizations have re- subject areas by administering biennial assessments to random samples of 4th-,
ceived funding to coordinate the devel- 8th-, and 12th-graders. Since 1990. NAEP has reported state performance data on
opment of such standards (see "U.S. a trial basis. Congress has considered proposals to permit NAEP to make addi-
Department of Education Funds Stand- tional state-by-state comparisons and to allow district and school comparisons.
ards Groups" on p. 15). The ground-
breaking work of the National Council The National Council on Education Standards and Testing (NCEST)This
of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) 34-member group was authorized by Congress (PL 102-62) to make recommen-
serves as a model for this process: dations regarding the establishment of national standards and a voluntary system
NCTM published Curriculum and of assessments. Its report, Raising Standards fi»- AmericanEducation, outlined a
Evaluation Standards for School vision for creating national standards and a system to measure the attainment of
Mathematics in 1989 after gathering those standards. The National Education Standards and Improvement Council (see
extensive input from the field and below) is expected to carry out the work that NCEST started.
recently published draft standards for
mathematics assessment (see "Curricu- The National Education Goals PanelThisgroup of state governors, members
lum, Teaching, and Assessment of Congress, and administration officials has established resource groups to
Standards" on p. 16). identify indicators that best measure progress toward each of the six national
goals.
The National Council on Education
Standards and Testing (NCEST), an ad National Education Standards and Improvement CouncilThe Goals 2000:
hoc committee of educators and Educate America Act calls for creating a 20-person National Education Standards
policymakers created to advise Con- and Improvement Council to certify voluntary national standards in each subject
gress on the desirability ard feasibility area and eventually to certify the standards developed by states. This group would
of national standards and tests, de- also allocate funds to state and local education agencies to develop and field-test
scribed the motivational effect of a assessments. To ensure quality and careful implementation, any newly certified or
national system of assessments in its developed assessments would not be used t'or high-stakes decisions directly
1992 report. Raising Standards for affecting individual students for several )ears.
American Educathm:
The New Standards ProjectA joint effort of the National Center on Education
National standards and a sYstem and the Economy in Rochester, New York. and the Learning Research and Devel-
()f assessnumts are desirable caul opment Center at the University of Pittsburgh. the New Standards Project is a
feasible mechanismsfor ratsing grassroots partnership of' several states and large school districts working to adopt
t'xpectations. revitalizing
a set of very high national education standards and to develop a new kind of
instriulion. and rejuvenating
assessment system that can gauge student progress toward those standards.
eduratimial refolm ejlOrts jOr
Performance-based assessments for mathematics. English/language arts, and
all Amerimn schools and
science are in development now.
students.
As part of the Goals 2000: Educate The Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS)This
America Act, a new group, the National group. sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, has outlined competencies
Education Standards and Improvement high school graduates need in order to enter the workplace. Similar calls for
Council (NESIC). has been proposed to industry-based skills standards have come from the National Center on Education
certify the standards and the assess- and the Economy and the National Advisory Commission on Work-Based Learn-
ments based on them. ing. SCANS recently awarded a contract to the American College Testing Pro-
grams to develop instruments to assess those competencies.
Envision. if you w ill. the enormous
potential of an assessment that
standards. Such assessments would not ties, students whose native language is excited about performance assessment
he immediately associated with high not English. and students and teachers now'? Absolutely. Viewed in its larger
stakes. However. once issues of valid- in schools with minimal resources will context, performance assessment can
ity. reliability, and fairness have been be penalized under such a system. If play an important part in the school
resolved, these assessments "could students are expected to demonstrate reform/restructuring movement:
he used for such high-stakes purposes scientific principles through hands-on
as high school graduation. college experiments, for example, how will PedOrmance assessment can be
admission, continuing education, or those in schools with antiquated labora- seen as a lever to prInnote the
changes needed Pr the
certification for employment. Assess- tory equipment fare?
assessment to be maximally
ments could also be used by states and
useful. Among these changes are
localities as the basis tOr system ac- Some critics of a national assessment
a redefinition of learning and a
countability- (NCEST. 19921. system also note that it runs counter to
different conception of the place
Of assessment in the education
The United States already has one process (Mitchell. /992).
national assessment in place. the
National Assessment of Educational In order to implement performance
Progress (NAEP). Since _1969. the assessment fully, administrators and
U.S. Department of Education- In order to teachers must have a clear picture ot'
sponsored NAEP has been used to the skills they want students to
implement performance
assess what our nation's children master and a coherent plan for how
know in a variety of curriculum assessment fully, ad- students are going to master those
areas, including mathematics, read- skills. They need to consider how
ministrators and
ing. science. writing. U.S. history. students learn and what instructional
and geography. Historically. NAEP teachers must have a strategies are most likely to be
has been a multiple-choice test effective. Finally, they need to be
clear picture of the
administered to random samples of flexible in using assessment informa-
4th-, 8th-. and I 2th-graders in order skills they want stu- tion for diagnostic purposes to help
to report on the educational progress individual students achieve. This
of our nation as a whole. As interest dents to master and a level of reflection is consistent with
in accountability has grown, NAEP coherent plan for how the best practices in education. As
has begun to conduct trial state-level Joan Herman, Pamela Aschbacher,
assessments. NAEP is also increasing students are going to and L nn Winters note in their
the number of pertOrmance-based excellent book. A Practical Guide to
master those skills.
tasks to better reflect what students Alternative A.ssessment ( 1992).
can d(1 (see "Performance-Based
Aspects of the National Assessment No longer is learning thought to
he a one-Iiwy traasmis.sion from
of Educational Progress- on p. 19).
teacher to students, with the
teacher as leclurer mul the
Supporters argue that a system of the American tradition of local and
Students aS passive receptacle.s.
national assessments would improve state control of education. Fearing that
Rather. meaning/id instrmlion
education by giving parents and stu- a national assessment system might not
engages students actively in the
(lents more accurate. relevant, and he a good model and could short-circuit learninx pro( ess. Good teachers
comparable data and encouraging current reform efforts. The National draw on and synthe.si:e
students to strive for world-class Center for Fair and Open Testing, or discipline-based knowledge.
standards of achiesement. Stu h assess- FairTest, testified before Congress that knowledge or student learning.
ments would hold students in all parts federal dollars .vould be better spent in and knowledge of child
of the country and in urban, suburban, support of state-level reiOrm efforts. development. They use a variety
of instructional strategies..from
and rural areas to the same high stand-
direct instnalion to coaching, to
ards. If assessment results were tied
Performance Assessment unwire their students in
with high-stakes consequences such as
graduation and college admission. for Teacher Empowerment macehainevineg sfpule caicftiicv ilteiaersn .in.g. agnoda llso.
supporters say. schools and students
An enonnous amount of activity is
would be mods ated to improve. Quality performance assessnient, the
taking place in the area of establishing
authors note, Is a key part of this 5 ision
national standards and a system of
Critics of a national assessment system because "good teachers constantly
assessments. The assessments are
are equally visible. The National assess how their students are doing.
expected to encompass pertOrmance-
Education Association and other gather es idence of problems and
based tasks that call on students to
professional associations have argued iwogress. and adjust their instructional
demonstrate what they can do. They
that high-stakes national assessments plans accordingly.-
may well have strong accountability
55 ill not impros c schooling and could
features and he used eventually to make
easily be harmful. They are particular!) Properly implemented. performance
high-stakes decisions. Slumld school
concerned that students with disabili- assessment offers an opportunity to
principals and classroom teachers get
align curriculum and teaching efforts
with the important skills we wish Table 3. Aligning Instruction and Assessment: Implications from
children to master. Cognitive learning Cognitive Learning Theory (CLT)
theory. which emphasizes that knowl-
edge is constructed and that learners CLT: Knowledge is constructed. CLT: People perform better when
vary, provides some insight into what Learning is a process of creating they know the goal, see models, and
an aligned curriculum might look like personal meaning from new know how their performancecom-
(see table 3). information and pr,ior knowledge. pares to the standard.
Implications for Instruction. ImplicatUnts Pr Instruction.
Linking curriculum, instructional Assessment: Assessment:
strategies. and performance-based Encourage discussion of new ideas. Discuss goals: let students help
assessments encourages teachers to Encourage divergent thinking. define them (personal and class).
focus on high-order, integrated skills. multiple links and solutions, not Provide a range of examples
communicate goals and standards, and just one right answer. of student work: discuss
experiment with approaches to help Encourage multiple modes of characteristics.
students achieve them. An aligned
expression. for example. role Provide students w ith opportuni-
curriculum that features meaningful play, simulations. debates. ties for self-evaluation and peer
learnino and offers students choices in and explanations to others. review.
demonstrating their knowledge emoow
Emphasize critical thinking Allow students to have input
ers them to be more responsible tbr
skills: analyze. compare. gener- into standards.
their own education and increases their
alize, predict. hypothesize.
motivation. When curriculum is aligned CLT: It's important to know when to
Relate new information to
with assessment. teachers, parents. and use knowledge, how to adapt it, how to
personal experience, prior
students also have clearer benchmarks manage one's own learning.
knowledge.
for measuring progress. Assessments
brmation to a new Implications Pr Instruction'
can be used to provide diagnostic
situation. Assessment:
information abont w hat individual
_ye real-world opportunities (or
students know and can do and where
CLT: Learning istv't necessarily a simulations) to apply/adapt new
they need additional assistance. They linear progression of discrete skills. knowledge.
can also alert teachers to necessary
Implications for Istuction: Have students self-evaluate:
changes in classroom in .tructional
Assessment: think about how they learn well/
strategies.
Engage all students in problem poorly: set new goals: why
they like certain work.
Not only does performance assessment solving-
Don't make problem solving.
support student learning by enabling CLT: Motivation, effort, and
critical thinking, or discussion
teachers to see what students know and self-esteem affect learning and
of concepts contingent on
can do. but the act of assessment itself performance.
mastery of routine basic skills.
is a learning opportunity for students.
Implications Pr Instruction
Portfolio assessment is a case in point.
CLT: There is great variety in Assessment:
Most versions of portfolio assessment
learning styles, attention spans, Motivate students with real-life
call for student self-reflection either in
memory, developmental paces, tasks and connections to personal
selecting pieces or in evaluating and intelligences. experiences.
progess over the course of a semester
Implications fi)r InstructUni Encourage students to see con-
or a year. Students are thus responsible
Assessment: nection between effort and results.
for monitoring their own learning and
II Provide choices in tasks (not all
for assessing the implications of their
reading and w riting). CLT: Learning has social compo-
progress. The process of assessment is
nents. Group work is valuable.
itself a constructivist learning experi- Provide choices in how to show
ence, requiring students to apply mastery/competence. ImplicationA Inslrmlion
thinking skills, to understand the nature Provide time to think about and Assessmen
of quality performance. and to provide do assignments. II Provide group work.
feedback to themselves and others. Don't overuse timed tests. Incorporate heterogeneous
Students and teachers alike are empow- Pros ide opportunity to revise. groups.
ered through the experience. rethink. Enable students to take on a
Include concrete experiences vaHety of roles.
(manipulatk es. links to prior Consider group products and
Issues and Warnings
personal experience). group processes.
Performance assessments, like stand-
ardized tests, have their shortcomings. From .1 Practical Guide to .1lternanre As.sessment (1992)by Joim I- Herman. Pamela R.
particularly when used for high-stakes Aschbaeher, and 1.nn Winter,. Alesandria. VA: As.ociatim Mr Supers kion and
purposes. Man) of the criticisms CurriculUM Devellpnlent.