Performance Assessment

PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT

Form of assessment that requires students to demonstrate their knowledge or skills by accomplishing specific tasks, such as constructing a response (e.g. solve math problems) or creating a product (e.g. woven a basket). Performance assessment is based on directly observable evidence of learning which might take the form of a portfolio, paper, speech, reading or any other well-defined action. Benefits It requires learners to actively demonstrate what they know It simulates real world tasks It requires thinking skills It mixes different learning styles together (visual, mental, auditory: VAK model) It provides a more complete picture of learners’ achievement It can be used for diagnostic, instructional, and monitoring purposes It has multiple correct answers [1] See also: Assessment, Formative Evaluation, Peer-to-Peer Assessment, Performance, Summative Evaluation, Test Assessment

{{Tool|Step by Step guidelines for developing Performance Assessments|

• Clearly formulate the learning objectives for the unit/module.
• Establish which kind of skills/ knowledge you want to assess (e.g. reasoning, memory, process).
• Decide what learners will need to demonstrate (e.g. decision making skills, problem solving skills, communication skills) and which are going to be the outcomes of the activity.
• Decide if the performance assessment suits the established goal and type of skills to be assessed.
• Define the criteria that you will use to measure/evaluate the performances, and make sure that these criteria reflect the most valued elements of learners’ performance.
• Design the task by thinking about a meaningful context for engaging learners. Take into account that it has to bridge prior knowledge and interests with essential skills and competencies.
• Generate an exemplary response
• Decide which kind of scoring is most appropriate for the task. Remember that providing feedback in terms of levels of competence is more important than providing just numerical scores.^[2]

References

1. ↑ http://pals.sri.com (22 May 2009), http://artswork.asu.edu (27 August 2009), www.nps.k12.nj.us (18 December 2009), http://www.ed.gov/ (24 November 2011), http://www.glencoe.com/ (24 November 2011)
2. ↑ [[1]] (24 November 2011), [[2]] (24 November 2011)