0.2 2. staging the performance: the challenge of authenticity in  (Page 4/8)

12) Return to the original standard. Do the performances give any new insight into the appropriateness and significance of the standard and how it is worded? (Feedback loop between Standards and Assessments)

A common misconception: an essay is a performance assessment

Many of the earliest forms of high-stakes performance assessments (that met the criteria listed above) were in the area of writing (Weigle, 2002). The problem with this history is that many educators continue to confuse written essays with performance assessments. A written essay is only a performance assessment product in two cases: 1) if it is an assessment of writing; or 2) if it is capturing an actual performance in written form. Many so-called performance assessments are neither.

In the field of professional educator training, a classic approach to performance assessment is the infamous in-box activity. In this approach, a student is given a case scenario (with various hypothetical artifacts at his disposal and a pressing problem facing him) and asked how he would address this situation given the constraints and tools available. He then writes an essay describing a response to this situation, and must support his response with references to theoretical frameworks provided in the course. This is a fine learning activity, but it does not constitute a performance assessment in the truest sense.

To illustrate why, we can return to our driver’s education example. The in-box activity is the equivalent of asking students to imagine that they are at a four-way stop where they are one of three cars that reached the intersection at the same time: what will they do? Although answering this question correctly (with reference to the appropriate driving rule) is valuable, it is not a substitute for actually watching a student reach a four way stop in that situation. Why? Because applying knowledge in a real situation is always more complex than such a simplified scenario allows. Even if a student understands the four-way stop rule, will she/he correctly process the information that occurs in the real situation? Will she/he correctly observe all the cars as they approach the intersection and focus about the timing? Will she/he be distracted by additional (unforeseen) factors, such as the pedestrian trying to cross the road, or the car riding close behind the rear bumper? Applying knowledge in the context of real situations is the essence of true performance assessment.

Authenticity is the key challenge

In teacher preparation programs, authentic assessment is challenging but doable (Doherty et al., 2002). If an administrator wants to know if someone can teach, he should not ask that person to write an essay about what lesson to create, given a set of materials and learning objectives. The administrator should actually give the teacher a set of materials, have him teach, and assess that performance.

However, there are numerous practical problems with performance assessment in teacher preparation programs. It is often impractical for education professors to observe all of their students teaching in actual school environments. (This can be done by student-teaching supervisors and mentors, but not by each professor in every class). Besides, research has shown that direct observation (using a checklist or rubric) is often not the most valid and reliable method of evaluation.