1. Designing a Performance Assessment
EDU Newberry College Jennifer Morrison

2. Designing a Performance Assessment
What is a performance assessment?
When should you use them?
How do you write one?
What are the characteristics of good performance assessments?
By the end of class you should be able to answer these questions.

3. When are traditional test items adequate assessments
When are traditional test items adequate assessments? When are they inadequate?
Strengths of Performance Assessments
Instructors can evaluate complex learning objectives
Assessments can be more natural, direct, and complete
More appropriate for assessing high level, 21st Century learning
Provides greater student motivation and interest
Learning is more meaningful
Encourage application of learning to real-life situations

4. A performance assessment asks students to demonstrate learning in a “real-life” situation. In performance assessments, the student can demonstrate knowledge, skills, and the appropriate attitude.
Performance assessments are also called performance tasks, authentic tasks, etc.

5. Specify the learning outcome(s).
Decide whether you want to assess a procedure, a product, or both.
Select the performance situation and an appropriate degree of realism.
Low High
Define observable criteria (standards) for a minimum level of performance.
Define the standards and/or objectives to be assessed (same as traditional test).
Consider the performance you need to see. Will it be a procedure, a product, or both? A performance assessment can be small (restricted to one or two objectives) or more comprehensive (extended).
Think about how realistic you can make it.
Consider what the performance needs to look like in order to demonstrate the standards and/or objectives. What will you need to see?
There are multiple kinds of performance assessments.
Paper-and-pencil performance (restricted, first step)
Identification test (specimens, best expressions, etc.)
Structured performance test (all students respond to same set of tasks)
Simulated performance (attempt to match performance or portion of performance in real situation)
Work sample (actual tasks representative of total performance)
Student project (solve unstructured, real-life problems or construct unique product)

6. What kinds of projects did you do in school?
Projects can be performance assessments, or not.
Picture (science): Picture (diorama):
Picture (atom):

7. of a good performance assessment
Characteristics
of a good performance assessment
It focuses on multiple learning outcomes (especially if it is the summative assessment for a unit).
It includes the integration of understanding, skills, and strategies.
It is concerned with real-life problems and activities.
It involves the active partici[ation of students in all phases of the prject.
It provides for student self-assessment and independent learning.
It requires performance skills that are generalizable to similar situations.
It is feasible within the constraints of the students’ present knowledge, time limits, and available resources and equipment.
It is both challenging and motivating to students.
It is fair and doable by all students.
It provides for collaboration (student to student, student to teacher, student to outside expert, etc.).
From Gronlund and Waugh, p. 157
Think of a project you did in school. Which characteristics did it exhibit? Which ones did it not?
When you read Gronlund and Waugh, they imply that every project requires a written report. This is not so, but why would written reports be handy?

8. Have students brainstorm criteria for fish.

9. Criteria should be understandable to students, clear, and available at the beginning of the project. They should also be aligned to the assessed standards and/or objectives.

10. Evaluation Instruments
Know the difference
Evaluation Instruments
Observation and anecdotal records
Checklist
Rating scale
Scoring rubric
Terms
Authentic
Holistic
Analytic

11. Warm Feedback Cool Feedback
Have students review and discuss sample performance assessments.
Thumbs Up:
Thumbs Down:

12. What’s Due?