Evaluating Authentic Assessment

There is rapidly increasing international interest in new approaches to assessment, often known as 'authentic' or 'performance' assessment. It has been argued that assessment should take account of higher order skills and competences such as problem solving, investigation and analysis and so, in turn, should involve more valid and realistic tasks than traditionally has been the case. Claims have been made about the potentially positive effects of such new forms of assessment on the quality of teaching and learning. However, evaluative evidence on the impact and consequences of such new forms of assessment are relatively scarce. Evaluating Authentic Assessment provides an overview of issues, problems and empirical evidence from a variety of developments in England and Wales including National Assessment, public examinations at 16 plus, and post-compulsory schooling National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs). It explores the different features of the new approaches to assessment, analyses the crucial role of teachers in implementing changes in assessment, and discusses how changes in assessment can be introduced effectively into education systems.