Authentic Assessment vs. State-Mandated Testing

The purpose of assessment is to gather valid information that guides instruction to benefit the student’s learning.  The idea behind authentic assessments is to have students demonstrate their knowledge in ways that are much more applicable to life outside of school. Standardized testing, on the other hand, is a more narrowly focused assessment tool.  By varying forms of assessment, it is easier to balance preparation for state-mandated End of Grade tests, yet keeping student learning more authentic. 

When using traditional assessments like tests or quizzes, I incorporate open-ended questions and higher-level questions that are more real-world.  Other assessments that we use in our class include technology-based assessments, inquiry-based projects, choice boards/tic-tac-toe boards, journal entries in their interactive student notebooks, foldables, graphic organizers, tickets-out-the-door, formative assessments such as “thumbs up” or whiteboard “Show What You Know,” and student choice to exhibit their creativity.  We are constantly assessing, whether it be formally or informally.  Pre-assessments are extremely crucial when customizing instruction and for making modifications for gifted students in order to prepare them for state assessments and individualized learning.  In our class, we use technology such as Kahoot or Padlet to quickly assess the students’ understanding. 

To establish and encourage rigorous assessments for the gifted learner, high expectations from the student and the teacher are essential.  In my experience, gifted students respond more positively to high expectations when they find value in the tasks they are completing, such as in authentic assessments.  I feel that motivation and engagement are linked together, and are critical in developing successful students.  By incorporating authentic assessments linked to the students’ interests, student motivation and engagement increases.  In addition to high expectations, gifted students need encouragement to help them fulfill these expectations.  A sense of belonging and a respectful environment are essential for gifted learners to succeed.  Authentic assessments that provide student choice are a powerful motivator for the gifted learner.  To maintain opportunities for rigor, gifted students must be given the opportunity to help design the content or process and product rather than just completing a teacher-created assignment.   In our classroom, students are given the opportunity to explore their own interests through inquiry-based projects.  By choosing topics that interest them, the students delve into their assessments with greater complexity and depth, therefore making their learning more meaningful.

Blending authentic assessment activities with opportunities to better prepare the students for End-of-Grade testing occurs daily in our classroom.  Other than formal assessments, I constantly assess the students informally through class discussions that center around questioning, with a focus on higher-level thinking skills.  While utilizing question stems from Bloom’s Taxonomy is important for all students, it is especially critical to implement a class atmosphere for gifted students wherein constant high-level questioning occurs.  The complexity of high-level thinking should be raised for gifted learners and questions should be relevant to real world situations to challenge them.  This helps prepare them for their state tests as well as keep their learning authentic.

Beyond the simple recalling of answers, more complex assessments evoke answers that are beyond grade level.  Assessments that we use in our class include inquiry-based projects, individual and group activities that encourage creativity and greater depth.  Students also create journal entries, detailed graphic organizers and foldables to demonstrate their knowledge.  Many of the assignments, such as their choice boards, encourage student choice of assessment. I think that when I organize instruction around assignments that demand higher order thinking, in-depth understanding, and make a connection to the students’ lives beyond school, the students produce more intellectually complex work, therefore preparing them for state mandated tests.  Assignments calling for more authentic, real-world concepts help to improve student scores on End-of-Grade testing.  Unlike standardized testing, authentic assessments are student-centered and allow students to demonstrate their knowledge in a way that best suits them.  Authentic assessments provide more opportunities for students to demonstrate their understanding than a standardized test does; can give me more direct evidence about how he/she arrives at an answer; and takes some of the guesswork out of trying to understand how much they have really learned.  As a result, authentic assessments are better indicators of student learning than state mandated tests. 

Campbell, D. (2000). Authentic Assessment and Authentic Standards. Phi Delta Kappan, 405-407.

Kingore, B. (Winter 2011). Differentiating Instruction to Promote Rigor and Engagement for Advanced and Gifted Students. Tempo, XXXI (3), 9-15.

Tomlinson, C. (1997). It Means to Teach Gifted Learners Well. Instructional Leader. Retrieved July 12, 2015, from http://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/gifted-education-practices/what-it-means-teach-gifted-learners-well