WHAT IS ALTERNATIVE
ASSESSMENT?
IT IS AN ALTERNATIVE
TO NORM-REFERENCED TESTS. I T ALLOWS FOR TEACHERS TO OBTAIN A RICHER
AND MORE COMPLETE PICTURE OF WHAT THE STUDENT HAS LEARNED. IT FOCUSES MORE
ON ASSESSING WHETHER THE STUDENT WAS ABLE TO CONSTRUCT THE “BIG PICTURE”.
DIFFERENT TYPES
OF ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENTS:
Ø PORTFOLIOS
· STUDENTS CONSIDER
ALL OF THEIR WORK AND SELECT THE WORK THAT THEY FEEL BEST EXPRESSES THEIR
UNDERSTANDING AND PRESENT IT IN A PORTFOLIO FORMAT. THE WORK CAN
BE IN VARIOUS FORMS SUCH AS ESSAYS, LAB REPORTS, DRAWINGS, ETC. THE
MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR IS THAT THE STUDENTS SELECT THE WORK THAT THEY FEEL
EXPRESSES WHAT THEY HAVE LEARNED.
Ø STUDENT INTERVIEWS
· THE STUDENT
IS ASKED PROBING AND OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS TO ASSESS HIS/HER DEPTH OF UNDERSTANDING.
“THE INTERVIEWER NOTES THE CLARITY OF THOUGHT IN THE STUDENT’S RESPONSE,
THE QUALITY AND COMPLEXITY OF REASONING, THE SKILLFUL USE OF EQUIPMENT,
AND THE FLUENCY OF RESPONSES” (HENDERSON& HAWTHORNE, 2000, P. 144).
Ø JOURNALS
· THEY PROVIDE
STUDENTS WITH THE OPPORTUNITY TO CAREFULLY REFLECT ON THEIR UNDERSTANDINGS,
QUESTIONS, BELIEFS, ETC. THE FORMAT OF JOURNALS VARY AND SHOULD BE
SELECTED TO ACCOMMODATE THE STUDENTS’ NEEDS.
Ø RUBRICS
· THEY PROVIDE
GUIDELINES FOR BOTH THE STUDENT AND THE TEACHER AS TO HOW THE STUDENTS’
ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE ASSESED. IT IS NOT YOUR TRADITIONAL A, B, C,
D, F, GRADING SYSTEM, INSTEAD A NUMBER SYSTEM IS USED (1-4). AN EXPLANATION
IS PLACED BY EACH NUMBER EXPLAINING TO THE STUDENT THE CRITERIA THAT MUST
BE FULFILLED IN ORDER TO OBTAIN FULL CREDIT IN EACH NUMBER CATEGORY. THE
CRITERIA IS DEVELOPED BY THE TEACHER BASED ON THE ASSIGNMENT. THIS
GRADING PRACTICE IS LESS SUBJECTIVE THAN THE TRADITIONAL METHOD OF GRADING.
OUR EXPERIENCE
Ø IN THIS CLASS,
WE KEPT A JOURNAL. IN IT, WE WROTE ANY CONCERNS, QUESTIONS, FEELINGS, AND
THOUGHTS ON WHAT WE CONTEXUALIZED FROM THE READING ASSIGNMENTS AND CLASSROOM
DISCUSSIONS. THE JOURNAL PROVIDED US WITH AN OPPORTUNITY TO REFLECT
ON OUR TEACHING PRACTICES AND BELIEFS.
RESOURCES
http://www.cbe.ab.ca/schools/families/assess.asp
How Students Are Assessed
Calgary Board of Education
teachers use a variety of assessment strategies to inform ongoing teaching
and to report progress to students and parents. This broad-based approach
to assessment creates a more meaningful portrait of what students know
and can do. Here are some examples of the assessment
http://www.assessmentinst.com
Assessment Training Institute
The Assessment Training
Institute, Inc., directed by Richard Stiggins, offers practical guidance
in sound assessment practices to teachers, administrators, curriculum personnel
and policy-makers. They offer training seminars, videos and publications
that focus on effectively integrating both traditional and alternative
assessments with teaching and learning. They sponsor a wonderful annual
conference on assessment (usually in July) that attracts educators from
across the US and from other countries. Phone: 503/228-3060 or 800/480-3060.
http://www.ncrel.org
A group of scholarly
reports on various topics related to alternative assessment. Though dry,
these provide a good basis for those who wish to explore why one might
want to utilize these practices. Articles are from ERIC digest.
http://www.project2061.com
This is a site, which
describes an ongoing project describing how scientific literacy will be
reformed. It has many valuable resources and interesting information
on scientific literacy.
http://cresst96.cse.ucla.edu/CRESST/pages/Rubrics.htm
This website provides
examples of rubrics for different type of assignments. It is an excellent
website to visit to gather ideas on what criteria to use in constructing
rubrics.
http://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed381985.html
This website provides
a good introduction of what alternative assessment is. It also provides
examples of this type of assessment.