What is alternative assessment?
Assessment is any method used to better understand the current knowledge that a student possesses.
Alternative assessment is any type of assessment in which students create a response to a question or task while in traditional assessments, students choose a response from a given list, such as multiple-choice, true/false, or matching.
Types of alternative assessments:
- short-answer questions
- essays
- performance assessment
- oral presentations
- demonstrations
- exhibitions
- portfolios
- rubrics/checklist
An example of an alternative assessment (performance assessment and rubrics/checklist)
Title of performance assessment: four 3’s Challenge
Performance assessment is based on teacher’s observation of pupils’ work in the class to gauge their attitude, knowledge, team work, communication, leadership, etc.
Rubrics is to create a bench-mark or sample to which the pupils’ performance is judged.
Checklist provides a guideline to help the teacher grade the pupils’ quality of performance in a more objective manner based on a specific criteria, characteristic or behaviour present.
In this activity, pupils are grouped in groups of 5. They will be required to work in group with different roles assigned to each member, e.g. team leader, time keeper, motivator, recorder, noise controller.
However, pupils are being assessed and graded individually.
We will be giving an example of an alternative assessment below based on performance assessment.
Can you make any number from 1 to 50 using four 3’s and any operators?
The Rules:
- You MUST use four 3’s- no more and no less.
- The operators you can use are +, -, x, / and ().
e.g.
1 = 33/33
2 = 3/3 + 3/3
3 = (3 + 3 + 3)/3
4 = ???
5 = (3 + 3)/3 + 3
6 = 3 + 3 x 3 / 3
Rubrics/Checklist to be updated.
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Hi
ReplyDeleteChristopher, Mei Hui and Richelle,
Could you kindly explain to me how is the above mentioned activity a part of performance based assessment?
I understand the defination of alternative assessment and agree with your examples of the different type of alternative assessments.
However, based on the activity mentioned above, how will you guage the pupils performance?
On their knowledge only or also on their attitude towards learning?
If so, will it be a performance based assessment?
My question would be that the activity promotes thinking skills and enables the pupils to engage themselves. But if I encounter pupils who are unable to solve the activity, then how would I be able to grade them?
From,
Sharmila TG01
Hi Christopher, Mei Hui and Richelle,
ReplyDeleteI have read your blog and agree with what you have stated about alternative assessment and the types of assessment.Howeevr, as Sharmila mentioned, I would also like to know how students will be graded, is it according to just their performance or their attitude towards learning?
To add on to that, I would like to know how you will create the checklist or rubrics for grading as mentioned in your blog. In a class, there are students wth high and low ability, so will the checklist or rubrics be created in a way to cater to their different needs and abilitites? If a standard one is created, would it seem partial to the students?
I have also learnt that some disadvantages of alternative assessment is having a lack of time and lack of resources to carry out the required task.As such, how would you cater to this when planning this lesson?
From,
G.Jahmunah
(TG 01)
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteRubics
ReplyDeleteWorking in a group (attitude)
- the pupil was an engaged learner, listening to suggestions of others and working cooperatively throughout the activity (excellent).
- the pupil was an engaged learner but had trouble listening to others and/or working cooperatively (good).
- the pupil cooperated with others, but needed prompting to stay on-task (fair).
Solutions (application)
- the pupil can get above 20 solutions (excellent).
- the pupil can get 11 to 20 solutions (good).
- the pupil can get 5 to 10 solutions (fair).
Perservance (attitude)
- the pupil was on task throughout the activity (excellent).
- the pupil was on task most of the time during the activity (good).
- the pupil was on task some of the time (fair).
Dear Sharmila,
ReplyDeletePerformance based assessment provides teachers with information about how a student understands and applies knowledge.
Tasks that have more than one acceptable solution often lend themselves well to a performance based assessment, since they may call for the student to use higher-order thinking skills such as experimenting, analyzing or reasoning.
Reference: http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/articles/pbassess/index.htm
The activity is a performance based assessment since there might be more than one acceptable solution,
e.g. 1 = 33/33,
or 1 = 3 + 3/3 - 3,
or 1 = 3/3 + 3 - 3,
or 1 = 3x 3 /3 /3,
etc.
This requires higher-order thinking on the part of the students as they need to analyze, reason and experiment with different combinations of mathematical operations (+, -, x and /) to get the required value.
The activity provides the teacher with information about the students understanding of the order of operation and apply this knowledge in making as many number from 1 to 50 using four 3's and any operators as they can.
The students' performace is gauged based on the number of solutions that they manage to get from 1 to 50 and also on their attitude. However, I must add on to this that some of the numbers might have no solution at all. Hence the students are unlikely able to solve the whole of the activity by finding all the 50 solutions. Every pupil should be able to solve part of the activity, otherwise, it is an indication to the teacher that the students have not acquired the basic understanding of the order of operation.
However, if a student indeed unable to come up with at last 5 solutions, the students may still be gauged based on the teamwork and perseverance (attitude).
The rubics have being posted, you may refer to it.
From,
Ng Sui Yong (Christopher)
Dear G.Jahmunah,
ReplyDeleteFirst and foremost, thanks for commenting.
I have answered part of your query in my reply to Sharmila, please refer.
The checklist is based on the rubics, just that it is made into the form of a table for teacher to tick on the appropriate box in accessing the pupils. Please note that in this comment, the table outline is not supported, as such, I only post the checklist without the table but with the columns placed as neatly as possible.
Checklist
Rubics for four 3’s Challenge
Quality 3 Marks 2 Marks 1 Mark
Category Excellent Good Fair
Working in
a group
(Attitude)
Solutions
(Application)
Perseverance
(Attitude)
Please tick (√) accordingly.
I do agree that the part of the rubics on solution, we cannot get pupils with lower ability to come up with as many solutions as
those with higher ability. So the standard may be adjusted accordingly. The rubics that we have is meant for mixed ability pupils.
However, as for the part on perseverance and teamwork (attitude), I think it need not be modified.
With regard to the lack of resources in carrying out alternative assessment (AA), teachers can always discuss with the head of department
in-charge for support. After all, schools have some revenue meant for teachers to buy resources. As for the lack of time in
carrying out these AA activities, I suppose it is because teachers have to complete a required number of topics in every
semester and hence might not have the time. Support from the stakeholder is therefore critical. Only if the stakeholders can
understand that such activities contribute indirectly to pupils' ability in mathematical problem solving by building on their
thinking skills and therefore Teach Less, Learn More, in the long run, then such activities can be carried out successfully.
From,
Ng Sui Yong (Christopher)