Benefits

The table below compares the characteristics of traditional and authentic assessment methods.

Traditional Assessment	Authentic Assessment
Select a response	Perform a task
Artificial, contrived	Real-life, actual
Recall / Recognition	Construction / Application
Teacher-structured	Student-structured
Indirect evidence of mastery	Direct evidence of mastery

The benefits to students include:

Reducing the pressure of "one right answer"
Reducing the tendency to cram right before exam
Providing opportunities for "non-disposable" assignments to augment student portfolios
Increasing engagement and interest by introducing variety to student learning
Allowing opportunity to support variable interests, levels of expertise, and needs of learners

Dispelling Myths

"Authentic assessments just don't work in my discipline."

It's human nature to teach as we were taught. Additionally, disciplines and departments tend to have their own cultures of assessment which can result in a rather fixed mindset about how to measure student learning. While these factors undoubtedly influence how instructors think about assessment, the truth is authentic assessments can be developed for any discipline.

"I teach online so I have to use quizzes and exams to measure student learning."

Authentic assessments can be extremely well-suited to an online learning environment. Resources can be provided digitally, expanding what's available to students. The plethora of online applications like Zoom, Screencast-o-matic, Google docs/slides, Canvas Groups, Padlet, Mentimeter, etc. make it simple for students to research, document, collaborate and present their learning online, either synchronously or asynchronously. (And the very nature of authentic assessments makes it more difficult for students to shortcut or cheat, unlike with multiple choice quizzes and exams.)

Authentic assessment requires complex, elaborate projects.

Authentic assessments can involve complex projects and they can involve simpler tasks as well. (Think: troubleshooting a problematic piece of code vs developing an entire website.)

Authentic assessments are all summative in nature.

Just as all authentic assessment doesn't require complex projects, neither does an authentic assessment need to be summative. Formative assessment happens during learning; "authentic" examples might be self-evaluation midway a project, developing a case study or business plan in small chunks, diagramming how a process works.

Knowledge Check

Formative assessment...

is typically high-stakes
shows what a student has learned when a unit has completed
can help guide subsequent instruction

Select the button below for the answer.

The answer is C. Formative assessment can help you and your students determine where gaps in knowledge may still linger.

Answer