Chapter 8, page 187
AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT NOT AN AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT
This is an end-of-semester graded
homework assignment: Imagine that you are
the editor of the Trenton Tribune in the year
- It is now time to write your election year
editorial in which you decide whether your
newspaper will support the reelection of
Andrew Jackson or the election of Henry Clay
to the presidency this year.
This is an end-of-semester graded
homework assignment: Imagine that you are
the editor of the Trenton Tribune in the year- It is now time to write your election year
editorial in support a candidate. Write an
essay supporting Jackson, and give as
reasons his main three accomplishments in
the first term listed on pages 311-312.
The item on the right is not an authentic assessment because it is not complex or open-ended, and it doesn’t
require rich knowledge or strategies to complete. Students only have to parrot back the answer listed on
pages 311-312.
AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT NOT AN AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT
This is an end-of-semester graded
homework assignment: Find out how much
it will cost to carpet your entire house.
This is an exam question: Beatrice’s
bedroom is a 10 ft by 13 ft rectangle. How
many square feet of carpet is needed to
carpet it?The item on the right is not an authentic assessment because is not very complex or open-ended.
It can be solved straightforwardly by a simple algorithm. The item on the left is much more open-
ended and complex and requires a lot more knowledge and strategies to solve. Students have to
construct a plan to even figure out how to start the problem. They must work out costs of carpets
in addition to using geometric knowledge to calculate areas.