Authentic Assessment
According to Kostelnik et al. (2015), authentic assessment is characterized by the following:
- A variety of data is collected across time
- All developmental domains are of interest and are evaluated
- It takes place in the natural learning context
- It is conducted by a familiar person
- It is functional and curriculum embedded
- It is based on discovering children’s best performance
- It is useful for planning classroom instruction
Select a learning outcome of any subject area from your state for Pre-Kindergarten or Kindergarten. List the content standard and describe an activity that facilitates learning this concept. Then, describe a form of authentic assessment that you will utilize to measure mastery of this outcome (see Chapter 7 in your textbook for different types of authentic assessment).
- Identify how this activity supports developmentally appropriate educational practices.
- Identify how the assessment activity supports developmentally appropriate educational practices.
- Identify how this activity will provide information about student mastery.
- Describe how you will scaffold the learning for students.
- Describe how you will utilize the information from the assessment to plan the next lesson/concept.
In determining how to effectively assess mastery of a concept, it is helpful to “begin with the end in mind.” First, list the outcome you want children to learn. Next, brainstorm ways in which children would demonstrate the learning outcome or observable behavior to you. Then, design an activity that results in the observable behavior you are looking for and list the different criteria you will use to identify which students obtained the outcome and which students didn’t. Select an authentic assessment strategy such as a structured observation, checklist, a mini-conference or portfolio. See Chapter 7 in your textbook for detailed information about a variety of authentic assessment strategies. Also, view the following website for examples of authentic assessment rubrics: Authentic Assessment Toolbox.
