Authentic Assessment with Instructional Technology

The value of authentic assessment is clear but how do you grade it?
The value of using authentic assessments is clear, but how do you grade it?

Our K–5 STEM Team is in the midst of completing ISTE standards certification and recent activities were all about personalized learning with authentic and alternative assessments.

We started by watching the following video to get some initial ideas. My favorite was having students create an anti-bullying commercial. This would be great a great activity for students to demonstrate digital citizenship, as well as synthesize information.

Click here for more details on alternative assessment information or ideas

Another activity involved searching Twitter for posts labeled #authenticassessment or #alternativeassessment. Twitter is a great tool to use for instructional technology! Here are some of my favorite posts from this search.

• Using art & making in Math—Laser etched acrylic for demonstration of understanding of slopes.
• Battleship versions for high school math—using games to demonstrate understanding.
• Side-by-side comparisons of before & after in Art—face drawings with lessons on proportions.
• First grade students creating tools to help teach Kindergarten students their letter sounds.
• HS Bio students teaching MS science students the procedures for dissection.

Once you have a great idea you believe will allow students to demonstrate their understanding and skills in an impactful way, let's talk about how you assess their work. In elementary STEM, we use an engineering log that includes data collection, analysis, reflection, video demonstrations, pictures, and an LMS that can support students sharing their work with each other and commenting. Most work is group work so by having these multiple points of data to review it makes it easier to check on students as individuals and the class as a whole for understanding.

When we want a really quick check on factual information like identifying blocks of code, we use Kahoot! Pro Tip: you can turn off the points feature if they get too distracting for students. We also have pictures in Kahoot! of different stages of the Engineering Design Process we want students to identify.

When assessing authentic tasks, a rubric is also a very useful tool. Here are two great online tools to aid in the creation of a rubric:

• https://rubric-maker.com/
• http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php

Here are some tips for making a great rubric:

• Decide what you want to grade 
• Written assignments: voice, word choice, thesis statement, format, conventions 
• Performance assignments: speak clearly, use of visuals, engage audience 
• Behavior: work well with group, follow directions, participation, listen to others 
• Decide how many components to grade 
• Determine how many performance levels (3–5): exceptional, satisfactory, needs work 
• Write explicit outcomes for each performance level 

A few great apps for students to capture performance evidence of learning include Flipgrid, Seesaw, or Explain Everything. For more ideas check out the list of 28 from Common Sense Media:
Top Tech Tools for Formative Assessment