Performance-based Assessment

Performance-based Assessment.
Written by Edward Bennett
 
"Learning is complex. Assessments should be, too."
 
The above quote comes from the New York Performance Standards Consortium (www.performanceassessment.org).  The intention of the quote is to convey the attitudes regarding Performance Assessments in lieu of traditional rote-memorization type assessments; i.e. multiple choice, etc.  In Performance-based Assessments, students are graded on parameters of a much more broad based spectrum of skills.
 
In traditional standardized assessments, students are graded based on the knowledge they have acquired, and not necessarily in ways that measure their true aptitude for the subject.  Memorization and regurgitation methods may assess the learner's academic knowledge of a topic, but this type of assessment may not have long term recall abilities.
 
Performance based assessments allow for the educator to assess, by having students perform tasks that can more easily quantify a learner's understanding of the core concepts by witnessing them in practice.  This medhod, "engage[s] students in the demonstration of skills and knowledge through the performance of tasks that provide teachers with an understanding of student achievement and learning needs" (http://www.forumforeducation.org/foruminaction/index.php?page=373).
 
Sri Ananda wrote a great paragraph defining performance-based assessment.  "Performance-based assessment is grounded in theories of learning that emphasize making meaning through thinking and doing. For example, constructivism holds that knowledge is actively constructed and that individuals create meaning by taking an active role in their own learning. That is, they learn by writing, discussing, creating products, and making decisions about learning. They do not learn as well by passive participation, simply listening to the instructor and restating what the instructor says (Newmann, et. al., 1995)."
 
In terms of holistic assessment of aggregate knowledge, I would argue that performance-based assessments are more prone to give a clearer view of learners' true abilities and skills.  While standardized exams are requesite for measuring larger scale concepts, and aptitude in secondary schools, for example, performance-based assessments could be more valuable in finer tuned concepts.
 
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Any opinions expressed here, except as specifically noted, are those of the individual authors or commenters and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of the Department of Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences, the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services, or Utah State University.