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Kay K. Carter - Kalamazoo Christian
In a Consumer Economics class, the instructor enrolled each student in the Michigan "Stock Market Game", a simulation exercise whereby student teams are given $100,000 to spend on the purchase of stocks. This is an interactive, computerized program, linked to the New York Stock Exchange. This simulation game was a good way for students to apply and demonstrate what they learned by researching and purchasing stocks. The importance of accuracy in math and teamwork was also a component of appraisal by the teacher, which helped make the lesson realistic.
In the Foods I class I observed, the process of food preparation and the finished products were authentic assessments I participated in. Skills were directly observed, and food items could be appraised for completeness and quality. Students were required to complete a standard score sheet rating the characteristics of their own food items. This form of assessment was authentic, because a tangible, finished product could be thoroughly evaluated by both the teacher and the students.
Kristin Garwick - Huss Academy
One authentic assessment that I have students complete in my computer classes is their own web page. They are required to complete the following five pages: a home page, a favorite sites page, a personal page, a controversial page, and a hobby page. They are graded on their ability to link all of these pages together, and by the appearance of each page. They must also show that they can successfully insert graphics, music, and text into a web page. Once they are finished, I upload their pages to a main student web page that is linked to our district’s web pages. The students really enjoy making them, and they are always interested in adding different bells and whistles to make their pages stand out more.
Tracy Miller - Loy Norrix
Some of the authentic assessments I observed included projects and word searches on the internet, creating PowerPoint slides with graphics and animation, designing banners in Paint, creating agendas and resumes, formatting and editing letters and different correspondences, using the mouse while previewing toolbars, dropdown menus and other features of Word and Excel, practicing timed-typing, developing portfolios, using equipment, e.g., printer, copy machine and digital camera and many more hands-on projects that ignited student interest.
Julie Pokryfke - South Middle School
At South Middle School, Sally Rice teaches three sub-topics in her Life Skills
classroom. The Red-Cross Babysitters Guide, a cooking unit, and a sewing
unit. Each Unit revolves around the completion of alternative assessment
activities. In the babysitting unit, each student is required to perform
satisfactory completion of all assignments and testing materials, as well as an
"Egg Baby" assessment. Students must baby sit a hard boiled egg
for a weekend and keep a journal on the experience. To get credit, the egg
must be in the same condition which it was when the student received it.
In the Cooking unit, nearly every day is an authentic assessment. Students
have kitchen groups of four or five, and must follow lab instructions to
complete recipes and clean-up tasks. In the Sewing unit, students must
produce a series of assignments that demonstrate different types of sewing
techniques, sewing a button, different stitches, and a final project of
producing a "Memory Pillow". This pillow consists of every sewing
technique they have previously learned as well as their own personal touch and
creative input.
Angela Gasper - Portage Northern
During my pre-internship I spent the majority of the time in a Business Math
class. The teacher that taught this class did not offer many
"authentic" assessments. The assessments were usually the
typical paper-and-pencil tests. However, part way through the year, she
began to have the students show their work on the board. It was
interesting to see the change in their confidence level. This small change
in the class seemed to greatly build the students self-esteem. The
students seemed to gain confidence and suddenly knew that they could do it!
Relevant Links
http://www.emtech.net/Alternative_Assessment.html
Different
ways to produce alternative assessment using technology, such as power point,
excel, electronic portfolios, etc.
http://www.teachervision.com/lessonplans
In
the Lesson Planning Center, under assessment, find different authentic ways to
teach in your own classroom.
http://mel.lib.mi.us/education/edu-assess.html
Resources
and links to numerous alternative assessment sites.
http://cecp.air.org/fba/problembehavior/strategies.htm
Alternative assessment strategies for students with behavioral problems.
http://www.teach-nology.com/litined/assessment/alternative/
A web portal for educators with alternative assessment links.