Authentic Assessments

"Why do we need to learn this?"

"Will we ever use this?"

Two insanely common questions among middle schoolers

If the students think that they wont use the concepts learned in class at a later date, then they will just brain dump them after the test. In a way, I kind of see their point. Why buy a cute dress when you have no intentions of ever putting it on? Why make a bowl of pasta if you have no intentions of eating it or giving it to someone you care about to eat? Why buy a book if you have no intentions on ever reading it? (You can tell what I do with my spare time. haha!) Our students, believe it or not, are using simple economics. 

When students finally see the benefit of learning the material in question, then they will care. 

But.. how do we get them to see the benefit?

By creating authentic projects and assessments, the teacher implicitly gives the material a purpose. 

Authentic assessments:

An authentic assessment is just that.. it's authentic, real-world, and allows students to problem solve. It's also one way to integrate teaching and learning with assessment, and it transforms the classroom environment into that of a student centered environment. (Grant Wiggins is a huge name that goes along with authentic assessments, just in case you want to do some further research.) 
When students see that they may use their learned content knowledge at a later date, then suddenly they are interested. They are less likely to dump the knowledge after the test, and they are more likely to be engaged in the learning taking place during an authentic assessment. This learning is usually hands-on minds-on anyways.

What are we teaching students during authentic assessments other than content knowledge?

When completing authentic projects or assessments, students get to use interdisciplinary skills and knowledge. When students are completing an authentic science assessment for example (my favorite of the two subjects I'm certified in), they still have to use math to take measurements and represent data, look backwards into history to see what others have tried, and they must present their findings by communicating with others. Students get to use their critical thinking skills to solve a real-world problem, and they get to explore future careers. In particular, this is a great way to integrate science process skills as well. 

How do I create an authentic assessment?

1. First, think about a natural connection between the content being learned and a career or real-world problem. (I tend to think about careers first.) It may even help to unpack your standard by creating a "Know, Understand, Do" chart as shown: 
   
2. Then design a problem that students have to solve that uses the content knowledge that you have in mind. 
3. Next, decide how students can show, explain, or present their findings or solutions to you, the class, parents, or even the community. Keep in mind, you can always invite the community or parents into your classroom to show off what your students have been doing and learning. You may also leave the decision on the mode of presentation up to the students.
4. Create the paperwork: rubrics, direction sheets, recording sheets, journal questions, parent letters, fliers, etc

Simple examples (off the top of my head) of authentic assessments and the learning involved:

• Soil conservationist 
• Uses knowledge of soil characteristics, weathering, erosion, deposition, etc
• Uses science process skills such as observations, hypothesis, and data collection
• Acoustical Engineer 
• Uses knowledge of mechanical waves: properties, energy transformation, etc
• Uses science process skills such as observations, inferences, etc

Feel free to add your own thoughts, examples, and resources in the comments section. 

I would love to hear from you!