Alternative assessment is a non-traditional approach to assessing the performance of a student. It is different from written tests and examinations. The purpose of alternative assessment is to promote creativity among students and to develop pupils into regulated learners.
Features of alternative assessment
•Alternative assessment is based on authentic tasks that demonstrate learners' ability to accomplish communication goals.
•Instructor and learners focus on communication, not on right and wrong answers
•Learners help to set the criteria for successful completion of communication tasks
•Learners have opportunities to assess themselves and their peers
Examples of Alternative Assessment
In recent years, the Singapore Ministry of Education (MOE) encourages the use of alternative mode to assess pupils’ learning during Mathematics lesson (Lee Peng Yee, 2007).
Some examples of alternative assessment are: Maths Journal, pupil reflections, checklist, rubrics, oral presentations, teacher observations, interviews, exhibitions (public performance during which a student showcases learning and competence in particular area) and portfolios (direct, systematic observation of an actual student performance and the rating of that performance according to previously established performance criteria).
The following criteria define authentic assessment activities:
•They are built around topics or issues of interest to the students
•They replicate real-world communication contexts and situations
•They involve multi-stage tasks and real problems that require creative use of language rather than simple repetition
•They require learners to produce a quality product or performance
•Their evaluation criteria and standards are known to the student
•They involve interaction between assessor (instructor, peers, self) and person assessed
•They allow for self-evaluation and self-correction as they proceed
Alternative Assessments
1)Checklists
Checklists are often used for observing performance in order to keep track of a student's progress or work over time. They can also be used to determine whether students have met established criteria on a task.
Checklists can be useful for classroom assessment because they are easy to construct and use, and they align closely with tasks. At the same time, they are limited in that they do not provide an assessment of the relative quality of a student's performance on a particular task.
The following group activities were conducted in Concord Primary School.
From the photos, we can tell that the group members were engaged in the group activity. The students were on task. They participated in the percentage game actively.
Maths Journal
Maths journal contains reflection worksheets to develop pupils into self-regulated learners. For example, pupils can share with their teachers what they have learnt. They can also create their own Maths questions. Hence, pupils become aware of their own mathematical thinking.
The following is an example of an activity that a P6 student has done after learning how to compute percentage of a quantity and how to solve word problems involving percentage decreases.
The following is an example of an activity that a P5 student has done after learning the four operations of decimals.
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