The conflict between multiple choice tests and other traditional forms of assessment and what has popularly been name authentic assessments, also called performance assessment or alternative assessment, continues among faculty at all levels of education. As you decide for yourselves which is the most appropriate method for your class and students, first consider your objectives not only for the course but as an educator in general.
Are you trying to make students productive citizens? Is your goal for students to walk away with certain knowledge? Do you want students to be able to perform certain tasks? Is your purpose to help students be successful in the real world?
Some arguments for Authentic Assessments are:1. Provide a fair testing environment of diverse students
2. Identifies strengths and weakness of a student
3. Students create their responses rather than selected from a standard set
4. Elicits higher level thinking skills
5. Allows for student self-evaluation
6. Relates easily to a classroom environment and experience
7. Applies to “real” world contexts
8. Must have clear rubrics to ensure equitable grading
9. Often includes writing
10. Subject areas are often blended
11. Can be collaborative
Some arguments for Traditional Assessments are:1. Less time intensive
2. Able to standardize and compare student performance
3. Answers are either right or wrong
4. Not ambiguously designed so students have a clear understanding of expectations
5. Tests individual knowledge
6. Very practical to deliver
As the battle wages among educators and within our selves, here are a couple of articles to visit so that you may decide for yourselves and your students which method best evaluates student knowledge and skills to prepare them to be successful members of society.
Authentic Assessment Toolbox by Jon Meuller
Funderstanding
Teacher Vision
Assessment Terminology
Tons of great ideas and resources at the University of Wisconsin website
Comparison Article
Qualities of a Good Assessment
Qualities of a Good Online Assessment
Now I must admit, I tend to fall in the authentic assessment group which many of my students seem to appreciate and tell me they learn much more by preparing for these diverse assignments rather than memorizing for a test. Examples from my history classes have been shared in previous blog posts. However, I do find myself still debating internally. Which testing method best evaluates my students? Which method do you prefer and why?
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Women's Suffrage
As a young 8-year-old girl, I never thought much about not having the same rights as my younger brother. Like my own daughter, I always thought of myself as equal to anyone and entitled to the same opportunities as anyone else. However, as my daughter discovered this week while doing a project on Susan B. Anthony, this has not always been the case for women in the United States.
Abigail Adams is an early example of women asking for equal rights when she wrote to her husband John Adams to remember the ladies while writing the laws of the new nation. In 1848, the first women’s rights convention occurred in Seneca Falls presided by Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton resulting in the document “Declaration of Sentiments” which was modeled after the Declaration of Independence and began “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men and women are created equal.” Additionally, they outlined their grievances which were unanimously adopted except for the suffrage resolution which some attendees felt was too radical for the time. Soon members of the women’s rights movement rallied around the right to vote as the ultimate way to guarantee their rights and freedom.
In 1878 Susan B. Anthony wrote the Women’s Suffrage Amendment that read “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” At first known as the Sargent Amendment for Senator Arlen A. Sargent of California who first proposed it to the Senate was introduced in each succeeding congress until 1919 when the Senate passed the Anthony amendment.
This topic easily lends itself to a time-line assignment, but to learn more about the Women’s Suffrage Movement visit some of these web resources
Timeline
Scholastic for Teachers
Suffrage history
Abigail Adams is an early example of women asking for equal rights when she wrote to her husband John Adams to remember the ladies while writing the laws of the new nation. In 1848, the first women’s rights convention occurred in Seneca Falls presided by Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton resulting in the document “Declaration of Sentiments” which was modeled after the Declaration of Independence and began “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men and women are created equal.” Additionally, they outlined their grievances which were unanimously adopted except for the suffrage resolution which some attendees felt was too radical for the time. Soon members of the women’s rights movement rallied around the right to vote as the ultimate way to guarantee their rights and freedom.
In 1878 Susan B. Anthony wrote the Women’s Suffrage Amendment that read “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” At first known as the Sargent Amendment for Senator Arlen A. Sargent of California who first proposed it to the Senate was introduced in each succeeding congress until 1919 when the Senate passed the Anthony amendment.
This topic easily lends itself to a time-line assignment, but to learn more about the Women’s Suffrage Movement visit some of these web resources
Timeline
Scholastic for Teachers
Suffrage history
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