The case for authentic assessment. Wiggins, = Grant

From: Subject: The case for authentic assessment. Wiggins, Grant Date: Sun, 6 Sep 2009 18:07:35 -0700 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/related; type="text/html"; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_0000_01CA2F1C.E94DA4D0" X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.5579 This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0000_01CA2F1C.E94DA4D0 Content-Type: text/html; charset="Windows-1252" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Location: http://pareonline.net/getvn.asp?v=2&n=2 The case for authentic assessment. Wiggins, = Grant

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Wiggins, Grant (1990). = The=20 case for authentic assessment. Practical Assessment, Research = &=20 Evaluation, 2(2). Retrieved September 6, 2009 from=20 http://PAREonline.net/getvn.asp?v=3D2&n=3D2 . This paper has = been viewed=20 133,697 times since 11/13/1999.=20

The Case for Authentic Assessment.

Grant = Wiggins
CLASS=20

Mr. Wiggins, a researcher and consultant on school reform = issues, is=20 a widely-known advocate of authentic assessment in education. This = article=20 is based on materials that he prepared for the California = Assessment=20 Program.=20

WHAT IS AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT?=20

Assessment is authentic when we directly examine student = performance on=20 worthy intellectual tasks. Traditional assessment, by contract, = relies on=20 indirect or proxy 'items'--efficient, simplistic substitutes from = which we=20 think valid inferences can be made about the student's performance = at=20 those valued challenges.=20

Do we want to evaluate student problem-posing and = problem-solving in=20 mathematics? experimental research in science? speaking, = listening, and=20 facilitating a discussion? doing document-based historical = inquiry?=20 thoroughly revising a piece of imaginative writing until it = "works" for=20 the reader? Then let our assessment be built out of such exemplary = intellectual challenges.=20

Further comparisons with traditional standardized tests will = help to=20 clarify what "authenticity" means when considering assessment = design and=20 use:=20

* Authentic assessments require students to be effective = performers=20 with acquired knowledge. Traditional tests tend to reveal only = whether=20 the student can recognize, recall or "plug in" what was learned = out of=20 context. This may be as problematic as inferring driving or = teaching=20 ability from written tests alone. (Note, therefore, that the = debate is=20 not "either-or": there may well be virtue in an array of local = and state=20 assessment instruments as befits the purpose of the = measurement.)=20
* Authentic assessments present the student with the full = array of=20 tasks that mirror the priorities and challenges found in the = best=20 instructional activities: conducting research; writing, revising = and=20 discussing papers; providing an engaging oral analysis of a = recent=20 political event; collaborating with others on a debate, etc.=20 Conventional tests are usually limited to paper-and-pencil, one- = answer=20 questions.=20
* Authentic assessments attend to whether the student can = craft=20 polished, thorough and justifiable answers, performances or = products.=20 Conventional tests typically only ask the student to select or = write=20 correct responses--irrespective of reasons. (There is rarely an = adequate=20 opportunity to plan, revise and substantiate responses on = typical tests,=20 even when there are open-ended questions). As a result,=20
* Authentic assessment achieves validity and reliability by=20 emphasizing and standardizing the appropriate criteria for = scoring such=20 (varied) products; traditional testing standardizes objective = "items"=20 and, hence, the (one) right answer for each.=20
* "Test validity" should depend in part upon whether the test = simulates real-world "tests" of ability. Validity on most=20 multiple-choice tests is determined merely by matching items to = the=20 curriculum content (or through sophisticated correlations with = other=20 test results).=20
* Authentic tasks involve "ill-structured" challenges and = roles that=20 help students rehearse for the complex ambiguities of the "game" = of=20 adult and professional life. Traditional tests are more like = drills,=20 assessing static and too-often arbitrarily discrete or = simplistic=20 elements of those activities.

Beyond these technical considerations the move to reform = assessment is=20 based upon the premise that assessment should primarily support = the needs=20 of learners. Thus, secretive tests composed of proxy items and = scores that=20 have no obvious meaning or usefulness undermine teachers' ability = to=20 improve instruction and students' ability to improve their = performance. We=20 rehearse for and teach to authentic tests--think of music and = military=20 training--without compromising validity.=20

The best tests always teach students and teachers alike the = kind of=20 work that most matters; they are enabling and forward-looking, not = just=20 reflective of prior teaching. In many colleges and all = professional=20 settings the essential challenges are known in advance--the = upcoming=20 report, recital, Board presentation, legal case, book to write, = etc.=20 Traditional tests, by requiring complete secrecy for their = validity, make=20 it difficult for teachers and students to rehearse and gain the = confidence=20 that comes from knowing their performance obligations. (A known = challenge=20 also makes it possible to hold all students to higher standards).=20

WHY DO WE NEED TO INVEST IN THESE LABOR-INTENSIVE FORMS OF=20 ASSESSMENT?=20

While multiple-choice tests can be valid indicators or = predictors of=20 academic performance, too often our tests mislead students and = teachers=20 about the kinds of work that should be mastered. Norms are not = standards;=20 items are not real problems; right answers are not rationales.=20

What most defenders of traditional tests fail to see is that it = is the=20 form, not the content of the test that is harmful to learning;=20 demonstrations of the technical validity of standardized tests = should not=20 be the issue in the assessment reform debate. Students come to = believe=20 that learning is cramming; teachers come to believe that tests are = after-the-fact, imposed nuisances composed of contrived=20 questions--irrelevant to their intent and success. Both parties = are led to=20 believe that right answers matter more than habits of mind and the = justification of one's approach and results.=20

A move toward more authentic tasks and outcomes thus improves = teaching=20 and learning: students have greater clarity about their = obligations (and=20 are asked to master more engaging tasks), and teachers can come to = believe=20 that assessment results are both meaningful and useful for = improving=20 instruction.=20

If our aim is merely to monitor performance then conventional = testing=20 is probably adequate. If our aim is to improve performance across = the=20 board then the tests must be composed of exemplary tasks, criteria = and=20 standards.=20

WON'T AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT BE TOO EXPENSIVE AND = TIME-CONSUMING?=20

The costs are deceptive: while the scoring of judgment-based = tasks=20 seems expensive when compared to multiple-choice tests (about $2 = per=20 student vs. 1 cent) the gains to teacher professional development, = local=20 assessing, and student learning are many. As states like = California and=20 New York have found (with their writing and hands-on science = tests)=20 significant improvements occur locally in the teaching and = assessing of=20 writing and science when teachers become involved and invested in = the=20 scoring process.=20

If costs prove prohibitive, sampling may well be the = appropriate=20 response--the strategy employed in California, Vermont and = Connecticut in=20 their new performance and portfolio assessment projects. Whether = through a=20 sampling of many writing genres, where each student gets one = prompt only;=20 or through sampling a small number of all student papers and = school-wide=20 portfolios; or through assessing only a small sample of students, = valuable=20 information is gained at a minimum cost.=20

And what have we gained by failing to adequately assess all the = capacities and outcomes we profess to value simply because it is=20 time-consuming, expensive, or labor-intensive? Most other = countries=20 routinely ask students to respond orally and in writing on their = major=20 tests--the same countries that outperform us on international = comparisons.=20 Money, time and training are routinely set aside to insure that = assessment=20 is of high quality. They also correctly assume that high standards = depend=20 on the quality of day-to-day local assessment--further offsetting = the=20 apparent high cost of training teachers to score student work in = regional=20 or national assessments.=20

WILL THE PUBLIC HAVE ANY FAITH IN THE OBJECTIVITY AND = RELIABILITY OF=20 JUDGMENT-BASED SCORES?=20

We forget that numerous state and national testing programs = with a high=20 degree of credibility and integrity have for many years operated = using=20 human judges:=20

* the New York Regents exams, parts of which have included = essay=20 questions since their inception--and which are scored locally = (while=20 audited by the state);=20
* the Advanced Placement program which uses open-ended = questions and=20 tasks, including not only essays on most tests but the = performance-based=20 tests in the Art Portfolio and Foreign Language exams;=20
* state-wide writing assessments in two dozen states where = model=20 papers, training of readers, papers read "blind" and procedures = to=20 prevent bias and drift gain adequate reliability;=20
* the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the = Congressionally-mandated assessment, uses numerous open-ended = test=20 questions and writing prompts (and successfully piloted a = hands-on test=20 of science performance);=20
* newly-mandated performance-based and portfolio-based = state-wide=20 testing in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Kentucky, Maryland, = and New=20 York.

Though the scoring of standardized tests is not subject to = significant=20 error, the procedure by which items are chosen, and the manner in = which=20 norms or cut-scores are established is often quite subjective--and = typically immune from public scrutiny and oversight.=20

Genuine accountability does not avoid human judgment. We = monitor and=20 improve judgment through training sessions, model performances = used as=20 exemplars, audit and oversight policies as well as through such = basic=20 procedures as having disinterested judges review student work = "blind" to=20 the name or experience of the student--as occurs routinely = throughout the=20 professional, athletic and artistic worlds in the judging of = performance.=20

Authentic assessment also has the advantage of providing = parents and=20 community members with directly observable products and = understandable=20 evidence concerning their students' performance; the quality of = student=20 work is more discernible to laypersons than when we must rely on=20 translations of talk about stanines and renorming.=20

Ultimately, as the researcher Lauren Resnick has put it, What = you=20 assess is what you get; if you don't test it you won't get it. To = improve=20 student performance we must recognize that essential intellectual=20 abilities are falling through the cracks of conventional testing.=20

ADDITIONAL READING=20

Archbald, D. & Newmann, F. (1989) "The Functions of = Assessment and=20 the Nature of Authentic Academic Achievement," in Berlak (ed.)=20 Assessing Achievement: Toward the development of a New Science = of=20 Educational Testing. Buffalo, NY: SUNY Press.=20

Frederiksen, J. & Collins, A. (1989) "A Systems Approach to = Educational Testing," Educational Researcher, 18, 9 = (December).=20

National Commission on Testing and Public Policy (1990) From = Gatekeeper to Gateway: Transforming Testing in America. = Chestnut Hill,=20 MA: NCTPP, Boston College.=20

Wiggins, G. (1989) "A True Test: Toward More Authentic and = Equitable=20 Assessment," Phi Delta Kappan, 70, 9 (May).=20

Wolf, D. (1989) "Portfolio Assessment: Sampling Student Work,"=20 Educational Leadership 46, 7, pp. 35-39 (April).=20

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Descriptors: Comparative Testing; Cost = Effectiveness;=20 *Educational Assessment; Elementary Secondary Education; = Nontraditional=20 Education; Public Opinion; Standardized Tests; *Test Use; Test=20 Validity

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