Performance-Based Assessment

Abstract

Teaching and assessment go hand in hand. In the classroom, teaching cannot be truly effective if it is not linked to some form of authentic assessment. Likewise, assessment is useless if it is not based on what has been, or is to be, taught. Although this may sound obvious, teachers sometimes forget the close relationship between the two. Performance-based assessment requires students to demonstrate their learning and understanding by performing an act or a series of acts. This type of assessment is appropriate to use in a project-based, problem-based, or inquiry-based science classroom because it is consistent with the way students learn--by investigating a question or problem using tools and materials (i.e., performing an act). Since students in a project-based classroom learn by producing a product or performing an act, it is only fitting for them to be assessed using methods similar to those used to teach them--thus, aligning assessment with instruction. This article provides two common examples of performance-based assessments that science teachers can use in (or adapt for) their classrooms and a discussion of their strengths and limitations. FIGURE 1 Structured-performance task. Materials: You have a piece of potato, a bottle of water, three glasses (cups), sodium chloride (NaCl), a set of measuring spoons, a knife, and a watch. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Instruction: Design and perform an experiment to investigate what happens when a potato is placed in salt water and answer the following questions. Assessment task/questions: 1. What happens to the potato when the NaCl concentration is at zero? 2. What happens to the potato when the NaCl concentration is very low? 3. What happens to the potato when the NaCl concentration is very high? 4. Write your results on the worksheet provided, including an explanation of your observations. Assessment examples Figure 1 represents a structured-performance task. In a structured-performance task, the student is provided with all necessary materials, a set of instructions, and assessment questions. Inquiry can be included in structured-performance tasks by asking students to design some of the experimental procedures themselves. The student is evaluated based on whether he or she * follows directions correctly and uses suitable procedures, u arrives at the appropriate answers, and * understands and is able to explain the answers. In Figure 2, a typical open-ended performance task is presented. In an open-ended task, a case or problem description is followed by a broad and open-ended task or question. Student responses vary because there is no single approach to solving the problem. The teacher should look for critical thinking, evidence-based reasoning, and problem-solving skills: * Does the student have a clear procedure for addressing the problem? * Can the student explain the procedure? * Does the student provide evidence to support the proposed solution? Scoring Performance tasks can be scored to assess students' science-process skills as well as their understanding of science content. Scoring procedures vary depending on the focus and intended outcomes of the performance task. For instance, the California Golden State Examination for laboratory-performance tasks focuses on mastery of scientific methods, problem solving, and understanding of scientific concepts (CDE 1993). The Connecticut Academic Performance Test focuses on science-process skills, such as the ability to define a problem, design an experiment, reason logically, make inferences and conclusions that are consistent with observations, perform with minimum errors or misconceptions, and communicate clearly (Greig, Wise, and Lomask 1994). Strengths Performance-based assessment allows the student to construct his or her own answers as opposed to simply choosing from a list. …