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Performance assessment making a comeback in schools
It might take more time and effort, its advocates say—but when done right it can lead to a deeper analysis of students’ skills
Spurred by a federal directive to use “multiple measures” of student success, performance assessment is reemerging as a strategy to delve more deeply into students’ skills.
In a darkened classroom at Francis W. Parker Charter Essential School in Devens, Mass., 15-year-old Tom Grigglestone is giving a PowerPoint presentation of what he’s learned in math this past semester—and how he’s applied this knowledge to a project he designed.
“I can predict where the NASDAQ will be when I know where the ‘Footsie’ has ended up,” he says, referring to the FTSE, an index of the 100 biggest companies on the London Stock Exchange.
He takes his audience through a series of slides that explain how to find the correlation between two random sets of data by using simple linear regression—pretty advanced stuff for a high school sophomore. In this case, his “audience” is just one person: his teacher, Nathan Soule, who scribbles notes on a sheet of paper as Tom is talking.
Tom is practicing for an exhibition, which the school calls a “gateway exercise,” that he must complete before advancing to the next grade level—like a graduate student’s oral examinations. Parker’s gateway exercises are a classic example of performance-based assessment, in which students show their understanding not by filling in bubbles on a standardized test but by producing actual work—an essay, a lab report, a presentation, a portfolio, or some other demonstration of competency.
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Performance assessment is what teachers do every day when they grade students’ projects and assignments, but often this work is not part of the high-stakes system that determines whether students are ready to graduate—or whether schools as a whole are making progress.
For a while in the 1990s, that was starting to change, as states like Connecticut, Nebraska, and Wyoming were developing large-scale performance assessment systems. But the dawning of No Child Left Behind “pushed aside” these efforts, because it was too costly for states to include performance assessment in their statewide accountability systems under the law, said Joan Herman, director of UCLA’s National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing.
Now, the tide is turning again.
6 Responses to Performance assessment making a comeback in schools
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tom.grigglestone
January 24, 2012 at 3:53 am
Sir It was A point .4% for the dow and the interest rates correlation you must have heard me wrong.
cmcurrie2
April 16, 2012 at 8:08 pm
Hi Tom,
I see where the text states 40%, which you are saying was 0.4%. That is based on the R2, yes? I will note your correction on my copy: several months after your post, no change in the online text.
Then, did you achieve 77% with your model? Has your model continued to perform at that level? Sometimes a model is saturated, and continued application is much less powerful.
Good ideas, and good work!!
curtisr
February 15, 2012 at 1:57 pm
This is good news for American education or any other jurisdiction, for that matter. Clearly the driver’s test analogy rings true and it does not require a big leap of faith to extend this to say, a phys ed class, a typing course or wood working. And while some might balk at the idea of applying this to a language class or even mathematics they shouldn’t. Here’s why: if our goal is truly one of acquiring knowledge then the reading, writing and reciting that accompanies a student’s efforts should leave us all confident that this will be a case of ‘mission accomplished’.
But here’s what I really wanted to say. To my mind performance assessment means letting the mark reflect the ability to turn things in on time, work well with others or other similar ‘work habits’. As for a replacement name then, let me suggest ‘authentic assessment, ‘product-driven, performance-oriented’ assessment.
Roger Curtis
math756
March 2, 2012 at 2:47 pm
I love Performance Assessment. However; we need to be very clear about what is being assessed, and about what the assessment says about the student’s ability to demonstrate that outcome.
Does the mark reflect the ability to turn things in on time (and other ‘work habits’ as has been suggeted above? Then say that. Does the mark relfect the student’s ability to perform a particular skill? Then say that. Does the mark reflect the student’s understanding of knowledge? Then say that.
But does a mark tell you (or anyone else, including the student) that there is a deficiency in the necessary skill, an abundance of good work habits, and barely-adequate knowledge?
As a Summative assessment, the results of a performance assessment need to be disaggregated to clearly speak to the student’s abilities; as a formative assessment, it is even MORE critical, as the needs of the student (as shown by the assessment) determine which areas need more attention.
Lack of clarity is what got us into this mess in the first place.
When a child knows his Physics cold, but doesn’t work well with others or hand things in on time, giving him a barely-passing mark in Physics is a grave injustice. The same can be said for a student who works hard, is pleasant, hands in all the homework Mom did for her, but doesn’t understand the Physics herself… a barely-passing mark does not adequately tell her story.
Performance Assessment is wonderful, but in the wrong hands, used the wrong way, it will create as many problems as it solves.
As always, handle with care.
jonapix3@gmail.com
April 16, 2012 at 1:14 pm
Excellent comment. Thank-You.
jonapix3@gmail.com
April 16, 2012 at 1:11 pm
As an educator I think this is a great way to include and reinforce learning styles. It’s creative and a way to demonstrate use of knowledge. As a parent, I have difficulty seeing how this will work time wise. I do not get return emails from educators unless I CC the principal.