When designing the authentic assessment for your classroom you have to have collaboration between you, your colleagues, students and parents, and your district. I personally do not think that I am in a position to create authentic assessment that tests for the grade level expectations that we are following in our district and the State of Alaska. Assessment tools need to address the purpose of the assessment, stating the language knowledge being tested, choosing the testing procedures, determining the quality of the of the procedures, interpreting and reporting the results, all the while making sure that your authentic assessment is reliable and valid.
I realize that I have no formal training for creating a test that will show communicative competence and having a constructivist approach which do not test for competition for good grades. The researcher, Kohn (1994) noted that people who are promised extrinsic rewards for an activity "tend to lose interest in whatever they had to do to obtain the reward." This quote has red flags for me for the SBA/HSGQE/IPT testing protocal that the NCLB Act (2001) has as a assessment tool.
I also have problems with the idea of the rubric to grade state tests like writing. It makes me wonder how much formal training the test graders had to become non-biased testers and are completely fair on each and every test that goes to them from the statewide SBA/HSGQE tests that are graded in the state level to make or break AYP.
For me, authentic assessment is a long and careful process that a teacher cannot jump into and decide that they want to create tools that show student growth without including the school, district and parents and students. I am having a hard time believing that I can create authentic assessment that will be included in my assessment portfolio that will be valid and reliable to me and my work setting and district.
Back to Work
14 years ago
3 comments:
I don't think you give yourself enough credit :) If you can get a good understanding of what students are expected to demonstrate for their standards then you would probably know best, as their teacher, a method of testing them where they can demonstrate whether they have mastered it. Although, I do agree with you on all the validity and reliability stuff. But sometimes, it's just like you "know" it's reliable and valid. Whether it's been tested and proven or not, lol. Awesome posts...you are the bees knees.
I agree with Emily, Mae. You know your community and students better than those who develop the tests from the outside. You make them reliable by testing in a way the reflects your objectives or standards. When it comes to the school or district you do need to plan together to create those assessments. But, in your classroom you can create assessments that add to the standardized tests you are required to give. You can do that!
Marilee
definately some critical issues to consider regarding this topic that definately should not be taken likely in our rural Alaskan schools. We definately wonder if they had us in mind when creating the NCLB Act. I definately assumed that authentic assessments would be preferred to standardized tests out here, considering our situation and circumstances (that are not like the rest of the continental states), but I was definately wrong. Thanks for the insight Mae.
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