Basic Concepts, Theories and Principles in

Assessing Learning Using Alternative Methods

Desired Significant Learning Outcomes:
In this lesson you are expected to:
• Explain the alternative assessment and related concepts and

• Demonstrate an understanding of the different principles in

assessing learning using alternative methods of assessment
 Assessment
• is generally defined as the process of gathering quantitative
and/or qualitative data for the purpose of making decisions. (1)

Assessment of Learning
• Can be defined as the systematic and purpose-oriented
collection, analysis, and interpretation of evidence of student
learning in order to make informed decisions relevant to the
learners. (1-3)
• Uses summative evaluation which provides evidence of
students’ level of achievement in relation to curricular learning
outcomes. (2-31)

Assessment for Learning

• Refers to the use of assessment to identify the needs of
students in order to modified instruction or the learning
activities in the classroom. (1-3)

• It is a formative in nature, and it is meant to identify gaps in

the learning experience of students, so they can be assisted in
achieving the curriculum outcomes. (1-3)
• Pertains to the use of formative evaluation to determine an
improve students’ learning outcomes. (2-31)

Traditional Assessment
• Refers to the use of traditional assessment strategies or tools to
provide information on student learning. (1-3)

• Typically, objective (e.g., multiple-choice) and subjective (e.g.,

essay), paper-and pencil tests are used to assess students. (1-3)
• Are often use as the basis for evaluating and grading students.
(1-3)

• They are commonly used in classrooms because they easier to

design and quicker to be scored. (1-3)

• Are indirect and inauthentic measures of student learning

outcomes. (2-28)

• Often focus on learner’s ability of memorization and recall,

which are lower levels of cognition skills. (2-28)
Alternative Assessment
• Refers to the use of alternative or non-traditional assessment
strategies or tools to collect information on student learning. (1)

• At the core of alternative assessment is the need to design and

implement assessment tasks or activities that refrain from using
traditional paper-and-pencil tests. (1)

• Typically assess cognitive learning outcomes and thus have

right or wrong answers. (1)
• Examples of alternative forms of assessment are performance-
oriented and product-oriented assessment methods. (1)

Features of Alternative Assessment

1. Assessment is based on authentic tasks that demonstrates
learners’ ability to accomplish communication goals; (1-4)

2. Instructor and learners focus on communication, not on right

and wrong answer.
3. Learners help to set the criteria for successful completion of
communication tasks; and

4. Learners have opportunities to assess themselves and their

peers.

 While the practice of assessing learning using traditional

methods like paper-and-pencil tests is still common in many
classrooms.

 There is an emerging trend toward the use of alternative

assessment or assessment using non-traditional methods.
 Which in theory and practice can capture learning targets and
learning outcomes in more authentic ways.

Authentic Assessment
• The use of alternative assessment can lead to more authentic
assessment of learning. (1-4)

• In comparison, traditional assessments are viewed as less

authentic types of assessment. (1-4)
• Focuses on the analytical and creative thinking skills,
students to work cooperatively and that reflect student
learning, student achievement, and student attitudes of
relevant activities. (2-28)

• Assessment is authentic when it measures performance of

products which have realistic meaning that can be attribute to
the success in school. (2-28)

• Activities, questions and problems with “real world” satisfy the

criterion that it needs to be an authentic intellectual work within
the given situation or contextual realism of the tasks. (2-28)
The commonly reported dimensions of authenticity are
grouped into three broad categories (Frey, 2012): (2-29)

A. The Context of the Assessment

• Realistic activity or context.
• The task is the performance-based.
• The task is cognitively complex.

B. The Role of the Student

• A defense of the answer or product is required.
• The assessment is formative.
• Students collaborate with each other or the teacher.
C. The Scoring
• The scoring criteria are known or student-developed.
• Multiple indicators or portfolios are used for scoring.
• The performance expectation is mastery.
 In the present K-12 Curriculum the students are expected to
produce products or performances through authentic tasks.
 This should reflect what teachers want their students to do with
their learning and demonstrate the use in real life situation.
 Wiggins (1989) argues the teachers should “test those
capacities and habits we think are essential and test them in
context. Make them replicate within reason, the challenges at
the heart of each discipline.
Authentic Assessment has four basic
characteristics:
1. The task should be representative or performance in the field.
(2-29)

2. Attention should be paid to teaching and learning the criteria

for assessment.

3. Self-assessment should play a great role.

4. When possible, students should present their work publicly and

defend it.
Some of the best uses of Authentic Assessment
(Mueller 2010):
1. Authentic Assessments are direct measures. (2-29,30)

• The main purpose of authentic assessment is to be able to use

acquired knowledge and skills in the real world.

• Forms of assessment task must be applied in authentic

situation.

• This could be done also by teachers by asking the students to

use what they have learned in some meaningful.
2. Authentic Assessment capture constructive nature of
learning.

• In a constructivist point of view, learners should create

knowledge and meaning based from schemata.

• Thus, assessment cannot just ask students to repeat information

they have received.

• Students must also be asked to demonstrate that they have

accurately constructed meaning about what they have been
taught.
• Moreover, students must be given the opportunity to engage in
the construction of meaning.

• Authentic tasks not only serve as assessment but also as

vehicles for such learning.
3. Authentic assessments integrate teaching, learning and
assessment.

• In the authentic assessment model, the same authentic task used

to measure the students’ ability to apply the knowledge or skills
is used as a vehicle for student learning.

• Problem solving and decision making skills are best

exemplified by the purpose.

• Students are learning the process of developing a solution to a

problem by simply applying the meaningful concepts.
4. Authentic Assessments provide multiple paths to
demonstration.

• Students may have different ways by which they could

demonstrate what they have learned.

• Similarly, authentic tasks tend to give the students more

freedom on how they will demonstrate what they have learned.

• By carefully identifying the criteria of good performance on an

authentic task ahead of time.
• The teacher can still make comparable judgments of student
performance even though student performance might be
expressed quite differently from student to student.

 While traditional assessment typically uses paper-and-pencil

tests, alternative assessment is more concerned with
performance assessment or performance-based assessment.
Performance Assessment
• Refers to assessing student learning by requiring a student to
perform a task or develop a product as a demonstration of one’s
learning. (1-4)

• The focus of the assessment is on providing opportunity for the

students to apply what they have learned through task
performance and/or product creation.

• The emphasis is on assessing what students know and what

they can do.
• If the task to be demonstrated closely resembles what is
typically performed or experienced in the real world (high
degree or realism)

• Performance assessment is also more authentic.

2-30
Attributes of Traditional and Performance Assessment
Attributes Traditional Performance
Assessment Assessment
Assessment Activity Selecting a response Performing a task
Nature of Activity Contrived activity Activity emulates real
life
Cognitive Level Knowledge/ Application/analysis/
Comprehension synthesis
Development of Teacher-structured Student-structured
Solution
Objectivity of Scoring Easily achieved Difficult to achieve
Evidence of Mastery Indirect Evidence Direct Evidence
Portfolio Assessment
• Another alternative method of assessing learning is through
portfolio assessment. (1-4)

• Which pertains to students’ construction and use of portfolios in

a purposeful and systematic manner in order to document their
progress in the attainment of learning targets. (1-4)

• A portfolio collection of learning and performance artifacts by

student and is typically accompanied by personal narrative and
reflection. (1-4)
• The use of portfolio allows students to document and demonstrate
their accomplishment in the classroom and provide opportunities
to the learners and their teachers to evaluate the progress in a given
period of time. (1-4)

• A portfolio assessment allows the assessment of students’ learning

processes and products/outputs in a comprehensive and integrative
manner. (1-4)
 Other alternative strategies for assessing learning are
assessment of non-cognitive learning outcomes through
performance rubrics (for psychomotor outcomes) and rating
scales and checklist (for affective or dispositional outcomes).
 (1-5)
Different Models of Alternative
Assessment
Three most common models of non-traditional assessment
are:

1. Emergent Assessment
2. Developmental Assessment
3. Authentic Assessment
Emergent Assessment
• Is based on Michael Scriven’s goal free evaluation model
(1967)

• In this model, the assessment focuses on determining the

“effects” of instruction on students.

• The emphasis is on the assessment of both the intended and

unintended effects of learning outcomes.
• Hence, assessment is not limited to collecting information if the
intended learning outcomes defined were met or not.

• But also gives importance to unintended learning outcomes

whether positive or negative.

• Examines how and what the educational program and

instruction are doing to address the needs of students.

• The assessor should have know preconceived notions or biases

regarding learning outcomes or instructional goals.
• With this model, assessment is more qualitative and the
assessor uses multiple methods to record all data accurately and
determine their importance and quality.

• Hence, categories emerge from the observations of the assessor.

• In this model, direct and indirect evidence of students learning

are both collected.

• Direct Evidence refers to tangible and compelling evidence of

what students have and have not learned.
• Indirect Evidence refers to proxy signs for learning that are
less tangible and less compelling compared to direct evidence.

Developmental Assessment
• Focuses on determining the extent that students have developed
their competencies from instruction.

• This model, adopts a pre-test and post-test methodology to

collect information if a students has developed or improved
after instructions.
• It involves a comparison of what students can do at different
time points and/or different contexts to assess if there is
progress.

• Is said, to be useful for assessing learning outcomes based on

students’ development rather than a final product.

• Assessors should have adequate knowledge of how a skill or

attribute develops so appropriate assessment strategies and
tools can be designed.
Authentic Assessment
• Is the most popular model for alternative assessment.

• It is an approach in the assessment of student learning that

refers to the use of assessment strategies or tools that allow
learners to perform or create a product that is meaningful to the
learners as they are based on real-world contexts.

• The authenticity of assessment tasks is best described in terms

of degree and not in terms of the presence or absence of
authenticity.
• Hence, an assessment can be more authentic or less authentic
compared to other assessments.

• The most authentic assessments are the ones that allow

performances that most closely resemble real-world tasks or
applications in real-world settings or environment.
 (1-6)
The following can be used as criteria in determining if an
assessment task or activity is authentic or not (Silvestre-Tipay
2009)
The assessment task or activity can…

1. Be built around topics or issues of interest to the students;

2. Replicate real-world communication contexts and situation;

3. Involve multistage tasks and real problems that require creative

use of language rather than simple repetition
4. Require learners to produce a quality product or performance;

5. Introduce the students to the evaluation criteria and standards;

6. Involve interaction between assessor (instructor, peers, self) and

person assessed; and

7. Allow for self-evaluation and self-correction as they proceed.

 Different Principles in Assessing
Learning using Alternative
Methods
1. Assessment is both process- and product- oriented.

• An assessment gives equal importance to students performance

or product and the process they engage in to perform or
produce a product.

• While traditional assessment methods are focused on assessing

students products or outputs, non-traditional or alternative methods
like performance assessment and portfolio assessment give value to
the product develop by students.

• As well as in the process students have undergone to develop the

product.

2. Assessment should focus on higher-order cognitive outcomes.

• For assessment to be valid and authentic, it should require
students to demonstrate their knowledge.

• However, the focus should be on providing tasks or activities that

would allow students’ demonstration of higher-order cognitive
Outcomes. (e.g., creating, analyzing) or skills (e.g., creativity, critical
thinking)

• The use of non-traditional or alternative methods of assessment

like performance assessment allows the assessment of both lower-
order and higher-order cognitive outcomes in ways that are more
authentic.

3. Assessment can include a measure of non-cognitive learning

outcomes.

• Traditional assessment focuses on knowledge or other cognitive

learning outcomes.
• However, psychomotor and affective outcomes are also important
learning outcomes, and there are learning targets that are non-
cognitive in nature.

• Hence, an assessment should also consider the assessment of these

non-cognitive assessment outcomes.

• Non-traditional assessment tools like rubrics, scales and checklist

allow the measurement of non-cognitive learning outcomes that
allow a more complete and assessment of student learning.
4. Assessment should reflect real-life or real-world contexts.

• Assessment tasks or activities should be authentic.

• The assessment should closely, if not fully approximate real-life

situations or experiences.

• Authenticity of these assessment can be thought of as a continuum

from least authentic to most authentic, with more authentic tasks
expected to be more meaningful for students.

• Performance assessment is optimal if the performance task to be

demonstrated is similar or close to what is expected in the real world.
5. Assessment must be comprehensive and holistic.

• Assessment should be performed using a variety of strategies and tools

designed to assess student learning in a more integrative way.

• Assessment should be conducted in multiple periods to assess learning

overtime.

• Moreover, the use of both traditional assessment and alternative

assessment strategies and tools should be considered.

• Nontraditional methods of assessment (e.g., use of rubrics, scales)

allow possibility of multiple assessors, including the use of self and
peer assessment.

• It ensures that students are being assessed in a more

comprehensive and holistic way.

6. Assessment should lead to student learning.

• This means that assessment should be like classroom instruction.

• This principles consistent with the concepts of assessment for

learning and assessment as learning.
Assessment for learning
• refers to the use of assessment to identify the needs of students in
order to modify instruction or the learning activities in the
classroom.

Assessment as Learning
• Assessment tasks, results, and feedback are used to help students
practice self-regulation and make adjustment in order to achieve
the curriculum outcomes.
 DEVELOP
Let us check what ideas you have acquired about the basic concepts and
principles in assessing learning using nontraditional or alternative methods.

1. What is alternative assessment of learning?

2. How similar or different traditional assessment from alternative
assessment?
3. Give three models of alternative or nontraditional assessment.
4. Give three criteria for an assessment task or activity to be considered as
authentic.
5. Give and explain three principles in assessing learning using alternative
methods.