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  • Performance-Based Assessment: A Comprehensive Overview

This article offers a comprehensive overview of performance-based assessment, including what it is, how it works, and its advantages and disadvantages.

Performance-Based Assessment: A Comprehensive Overview

Performance-based assessment (PBA) is an increasingly popular strategy for assessing student learning, offering a comprehensive and holistic approach that measures both knowledge and skills. This type of performance-based assessment requires students to demonstrate their understanding of a concept or topic by applying their knowledge in a practical context. PBA can be used to assess a variety of subject areas, from science to language arts, and has been widely adopted by educators as a valuable tool to measure performance-based student growth and progress. In this article, we will provide an overview of performance-based assessment (PBA), discussing its advantages and disadvantages, as well as exploring strategies for successful implementation of performance-based assessment in the classroom.

Performance-based assessment (PBA) is a valuable method for evaluating student understanding and progress in a performance-based manner. This type of assessment requires students to demonstrate their knowledge in ways that go beyond traditional exams. PBA typically involves activities that assess a student's ability to apply, analyze, evaluate, and create the knowledge they have acquired. These activities can include projects, simulations, role-playing, and hands-on activities. It is important to note that PBA does not replace traditional tests; rather, it provides an alternative method for assessing student learning. When designing PBA activities, it is important to keep in mind the goals and objectives of the assessment. It is also important to consider the context in which the assessment will be conducted.

For example, is it a summative or formative assessment? Is it used to measure mastery of a concept or skill or to assess a student's progress? Once these decisions are made, the assessment can be designed and implemented. Advantages of using performance-based assessment include the ability to assess higher-order thinking skills and provide more authentic evaluation of student learning. It also encourages students to be creative and take ownership of their learning. Disadvantages include the need for more time and resources for planning, implementation, and assessment. It can also be more difficult for teachers to assess students' performance objectively. Implementing PBA in the classroom requires careful planning and designing.

The first step is to identify the desired outcome of the assessment. Next, the teacher should select tasks that are appropriate for the students’ age and skill level. The tasks should be aligned with curriculum goals and be organized in a way that allows students to demonstrate their understanding. The teacher should also provide clear instructions and criteria for success. There are many different types of PBA activities that can be used in the classroom.

These include simulations, projects, portfolios, oral presentations, debates, role-playing, and hands-on activities. Each type of activity has its own benefits and challenges. For example, simulations allow students to apply their knowledge in a real-world context but may require more time and resources than other types of activities. Projects allow students to explore topics in depth but may require more guidance from the teacher. The impact of performance-based assessment on student learning can be substantial.

PBA encourages students to think critically and develop higher-order thinking skills such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. It also encourages students to take ownership of their learning and become more engaged in their studies. Finally, PBA provides students with an opportunity to demonstrate their mastery of concepts in an authentic way. When using performance-based assessment in the classroom, there are several things teachers should keep in mind. First, it is important to provide clear instructions and criteria for success.

Second, teachers should plan assessments carefully to ensure that they are appropriate for the students’ age and skill level. Third, teachers should provide feedback that is timely and constructive. Finally, teachers should differentiate instruction when necessary to ensure all students are able to participate fully in PBA activities. In conclusion, performance-based assessment is an effective way to evaluate student learning. It encourages students to think critically and apply their knowledge in meaningful ways.

Impact of Performance-Based Assessment on Student Learning

One advantage of PBA is that it allows teachers to assess a student's knowledge in a more meaningful way. Unlike traditional exams that focus on memorization and recall, PBA requires students to show they understand the material by performing specific tasks. This type of assessment can be used to measure a student's problem-solving skills, critical thinking , and creativity. Another benefit of PBA is that it allows for more individualized instruction.

By examining each student's strengths and weaknesses, teachers can tailor the instruction to best meet the needs of each student. This type of assessment also allows for more effective feedback since teachers are able to provide more detailed guidance on how to improve. Finally, using PBA can be a motivating factor for students. When students are given the opportunity to show what they know in a practical way, it can be an empowering experience.

Recommendations for Teachers

2.Provide clear instructions and expectations – Teachers should provide clear instructions and expectations for the assessment. This will help ensure that students understand what is expected of them and are able to complete the assessment correctly.3.Allow for collaboration – PBA can be used as an opportunity for students to collaborate with one another. This can help foster a sense of community amongst students and encourages them to work together to achieve success.4.Monitor progress – Teachers should regularly monitor student progress and provide feedback when necessary. This will help ensure that students are on track and are able to complete the assessment successfully.5.Provide resources – Teachers should provide resources to help students complete the assessment.

How to Implement Performance-Based Assessment in the Classroom

This type of assessment can be used to measure mastery of particular skills or knowledge in a subject. Another option is standardized testing , which measures a student's performance against the performance of other students. This type of assessment can be used to compare students on a larger scale. Once the type of PBA has been decided, teachers must then decide how to assess student performance.

This will depend on the type of assessment chosen, but may include tasks such as writing an essay, presenting a project, or completing a lab experiment. Each task should be designed to measure student understanding of the material and should be tailored to the specific objectives of the course. In addition, teachers must ensure that they provide clear instructions and expectations for each task. This includes setting deadlines, providing feedback, and establishing criteria for successful completion.

What is Performance-Based Assessment?

Projects may involve research, experiments, or other activities that require students to apply the knowledge they have acquired in order to complete the task. Activities and simulations may involve role-playing or game-like scenarios that require students to demonstrate their understanding of a particular concept or process. The advantages of using PBA are many. It allows students to show their mastery of a subject in ways that go beyond simply memorizing facts and answering multiple choice questions.

It also allows educators to assess the student's ability to think critically and apply the knowledge they have acquired in real-world situations. Additionally, it can be used as a form of formative assessment, providing feedback to both the student and the teacher on areas that need improvement. The disadvantages of using PBA include the fact that it can be time-consuming and resource-intensive, as it typically requires more planning and preparation than traditional exams. Additionally, it can be difficult for teachers to grade projects and activities fairly and consistently.

Types of Performance-Based Assessment

Presentations, performance tasks, observations.

However, it can be challenging to implement PBA in the classroom, so it's important for teachers to have a plan for assessing student performance and addressing any challenges that may arise. Teachers should also be aware of the various types of PBA and the impact it can have on student learning and achievement. With careful planning and implementation, performance-based assessment can be a powerful tool for promoting student learning.

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Shahid Lakha

Shahid Lakha

Shahid Lakha is a seasoned educational consultant with a rich history in the independent education sector and EdTech. With a solid background in Physics, Shahid has cultivated a career that spans tutoring, consulting, and entrepreneurship. As an Educational Consultant at Spires Online Tutoring since October 2016, he has been instrumental in fostering educational excellence in the online tutoring space. Shahid is also the founder and director of Specialist Science Tutors, a tutoring agency based in West London, where he has successfully managed various facets of the business, including marketing, web design, and client relationships. His dedication to education is further evidenced by his role as a self-employed tutor, where he has been teaching Maths, Physics, and Engineering to students up to university level since September 2011. Shahid holds a Master of Science in Photon Science from the University of Manchester and a Bachelor of Science in Physics from the University of Bath.

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  • Behavior Management Techniques

Social Learning Theory Explained

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Backward Design Principles: Understanding Curriculum Design

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Life Science Lesson Plans for K-5 Learners

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What Is Performance Assessment?

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Project-based learning is nothing new. More than 100 years ago, progressive educator William Heard Kilpatrick published “The Project Method,” a monograph that took the first stab at defining alternatives to direct instruction. Predictably, the document sparked a squabble over definitions and methods—between Kilpatrick and his friend and colleague John Dewey.

Not much has changed. Today, despite major advances in ways to measure learning, we still don’t have common definitions for project-based learning or performance assessment.

Sometimes, for example, performance assessment is framed as the opposite of the dreaded year-end, state-required multiple-choice tests used to report on schools’ progress. But in fact, many performance assessments are standardized and can—and do—produce valid and reliable results.

Experts also emphasize the “authentic” nature of performance assessment and project-based learning, although “authentic” doesn’t always mean lifelike: A good performance assessment can use simulations, as long as they are faithful to real-world situations. (An example: In science class, technology can simulate plant growth or land erosion, processes that take too long for a hands-on experiment.)

In the absence of agreed-upon definitions for this evolving field, Education Week reporters developed a glossary based on interviews with teachers, assessment experts, and policy analysts. They’ve organized the terms here generally from less specific to more specific. These terms aren’t mutually exclusive. (A performance assessment, for instance, may be one element of a competency-based education program.)

Proficiency-based or competency-based learning: These terms are interchangeable. They refer to the practice of allowing students to progress in their learning as they master a set of standards or competencies. Students can advance at different rates. Typically, there is an attempt to build students’ ownership and understanding of their learning goals and often a focus on “personalizing” students’ learning based on their needs and interests.

Project-based learning: Students learn through an extended project, which may have a number of checkpoints or assessments along the way. Key features are inquiry, exploration, the extended duration of the project, and iteration (requiring students to revise and reflect, for example). A subset of project-based learning is problem-based learning, which focuses on a specific challenge for which students must find a solution.

Standards-based grading: This refers to the practice of giving students nuanced and detailed descriptions of their performance against specific criteria or standards, not on a bell curve. It can stand alone or exist alongside traditional letter grading.

Performance assessment: This assessment measures how well students apply their knowledge, skills, and abilities to authentic problems. The key feature is that it requires the student to produce something, such as a report, experiment, or performance, which is scored against specific criteria.

Portfolio: This assessment consists of a body of student work collected over an extended period, from a few weeks to a year or more. This work can be produced in response to a test prompt or assignment but is often simply drawn from everyday classroom tasks. Frequently, portfolios also contain an element of student reflection.

Exhibition: A type of performance assessment that requires a public presentation, as in the sciences or performing arts. Other fields can also require an exhibition component. Students might be required, for instance, to justify their position in an oral presentation or debate.

Performance task: A piece of work students are asked to do to show how well they apply their knowledge, skills, or abilities—from writing an essay to diagnosing and fixing a broken circuit. A performance assessment typically consists of several performance tasks. Performance tasks also may be included in traditional multiple-choice tests.

With thanks to: Paul Leather, director for state and local partnerships at the Center for Innovation in Education; Mark Barnes, founder of Times 10 Publications; Peter Ross, principal at Education First; Scott Marion, executive director at the Center for Assessment; Sean P. “Jack” Buckley, president, Imbellus; Starr Sackstein, an educator and opinion blogger at edweek.org; and Steve Ferrara, senior adviser at Measured Progress.

Have we missed any terms that confuse you? Why not write and tell us?

A version of this article appeared in the February 06, 2019 edition of Education Week as Performance Assessment: A Guide to the Vocabulary

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LET Reviewer Professional Education Prof. Ed.: Assessment and Evaluation of Learning Part 2

LET Reviewer Prof Ed Assessment and Evaluation of Learning Part 2

LET Reviewer Prof Ed Assessment and Evaluation of Learning Part 2

In this website you will find the LET Reviewers in General Education (Gen Ed), Professional Education (Prof Ed) and Major Area of Specialization.

In efforts of this portal to attend on requests from PRCBoard Facebook fan page members, we consolidated some of the questions which may likely help out takers during the exams.

Note: The LET reviewers 2021 below is unofficial and not directly associated with PRC or the Board of Professional Teachers.

September 2021 LET Related Articles

  • Main Page: LET Reviewer 2021
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Below is the LET Reviewer for Professional Education Prof. Ed.: Assessment and Evaluation of Learning Part 2.

We encourage readers/ reviewees to use the comment boxes after the article for discussion. Meanwhile, answers are already incorporated below the questions.

1. Mrs. Pua is judging the worth of the project of the students in her Science class based on a set of criteria. What process describes what she is doing? a. Testing b. Measuring c. Evaluating d. Assessing

2. Mrs. Acebuche is comparing measurement from evaluation. Which statement explains the difference? a. Measurement is assigning a numerical value to a given trait while evaluation is giving meaning to the numerical value of the trait. b. Measurement is the process of gathering while evaluation is the process of quantifying the data gathered. c. Measurement is the process of quantifying data while evaluation is the process of organizing data. d. Measurement is a pre-requisite of assessment while evaluation is the pre-requisite of testing.

3. Ms. Ricafort uses alternative methods of assessment. Which of the following will she not likely use? a. Multiple Choice Test b. Reflective Journal Writing c. Oral Presentation d. Developing Portfolios

4. Ms. Camba aims to measure a product of learning. Which of these objectives will she most likely set for her instruction? a. Show positive attitude towards learning common nouns b. Identify common nouns in a reading selection c. Construct a paragraph using common nouns d. User a common noun in a sentence

5. The students of Mrs. Valino are very noisy. To keep them busy, they were given any test available in the classroom and then the results were graded as a way to punish them. Which statement best explains if the practice is acceptable or not? a. The practice is acceptable because the students behaved well when they were given a test. b. The practice is not acceptable because it violates the principle of reliability. c. The practice is not acceptable because it violates the principle of validity. d. The practice is acceptable since the test results are graded.

6. Ms. Delos Angeles advocates assessment for learning. Which will she NOT likely do? a. Formative Assessment b. Diagnostic Assessment c. Placement Assessment d. Summative Assessment

7. At the beginning of the school year, the 6-year old pupils were tested to find out who among them can already read. The result was used to determine their sections. What kind of test was given to them? a. Diagnostic b. Formative c. Placement d. Summative

8. The grade six pupils were given a diagnostic test in addition and subtraction of whole numbers to find out if they can proceed to the next unit. However, the results of the test were very low. What should the teacher do? a. Proceed to the next lesson to be able to finish all the topics in the course. b. Construct another test parallel to the given test to determine the consistency of the scores. c. Count the frequency of errors to find out the lessons that the majority of students need to relearn. d. Record the scores then inform the parents about the very poor performance of their child in mathematics.

9. Mrs. Nogueras is doing an assessment of learning. At what stage of instruction should she do it? a. Before instruction b. After instruction c. Prior to instruction d. During the instructional process

10. Mr. Cartilla developed an Achievement Test in Math for her grade three pupils. Before she finalized the test she examined carefully if the test items were constructed based on the competencies that have to be tested. What test of validity was she trying to establish? a. Content-validity b. Concurrent validity c. Predictive validity d. Construct validity

11. Mrs. Robles wants to establish the reliability of her achievement test in English. Which of the following activities will help achieve her purpose? a. Administer two parallel tests to different groups of students. b. Administer two equivalent tests to the same group of students c. Administer a single test but two different groups of students. d. Administer two different tests but to the same group of students.

Refer to the situation below in answer items 12 and 13 A teacher set the following objectives for the day’s lesson: At the end of the period, the students should be able to: a. Identify the parts of friendly letter b. Construct a friendly letter using the MS Word, and c. Show interest towards the day’s lesson To assess the attainment of the objectives, Ms. Cidro required the students to construct friendly letter and have it encoded at their Computer Laboratory using the MS Word. The letter should inform one’s friend about what one has learned in the day’s lesson and how one felt about it.

12. Which is NOT true about the given case? a. Ms. Cidro practices a balanced assessment. b. Ms. Cidro’s assessment method is performance-based. c. Ms. Cidro needs a rubric in scoring the work of the students. d. Ms. Cidro’s assessment targets are all in the cognitive domain.

13. If Mr. Paraiso will have to make a scoring rubric for the student’s output, what format is better to construct considering that the teacher has limited time to evaluate their work? a. Analytic Rubric b. Holistic Rubric c. Either A or B d. Neither A nor B

14. The school principal has 3 teacher applicants all of whom graduated from the same institution and are licensed teachers. She only needs to hire one. What should she do to choose the best teacher from the three? I. Give them a placement test. II. Interview them on why they want to apply in the school. III. Let them demonstrate how to teach a particular lesson. IV. Study their portfolios to examine the qualities of the students’ outputs when they were in College. a. I and II. b. II and III. c. I and III, IV d. II, III and IV

15. What should be done first when planning for a performance-based assessment? a. Determine the “table of specifications” of the tasks b. Set the competency to be assessed. c. Set the criteria in scoring the task. d. Prepare a scoring rubric.

16. To maximize the amount of time spent for performance-based assessment, which one should be done? a. Plan a task that can be used for instruction and assessment at the same time. b. Assess one objective for one performance task. c. Set objectives only for cognitive domains. d. Limit the task to one meeting only.

17. Who among the teachers below gave the most authentic assessment task for the objective “Solve word problems involving the four basic operations” a. Mrs. Juliano who presented a word problem involving a four fundamental operations and then asked the pupils to solve it. b. Mrs. Mandia who asked her pupils to construct a word problem for a given number sentence that involves four fundamental operations and then asked them to solve the word problem they constructed. c. Mrs. Malang who asked her pupils to construct any word problem that involves the four fundamental operations and then asked them to show how to solve it. d. Mrs. Pontipedra who asked her pupils to construct any word problem that involves the four fundamental operations then formed them by twos so that each pair exchanged problems and help solve each other’s problem.

18. Which is wrong to assume about traditional assessment? a. It can assess individuals objectively. b. It can assess individuals at the same time. c. It is easier to administer than performance test. d. It can assess fairly all the domains of intelligence of an individual

19. Which statement about performance-based assessment is FALSE? a. It emphasizes merely process. b. It also stresses doing, not only knowing. c. It accentuates on process as well as product. d. Essay tests are an example of performance-based assessments.

20. Under which assumption is portfolio assessment based? a. Portfolio assessment is a dynamic assessment. b. Assessment should stress the reproduction of knowledge. c. An individual learner is adequately characterized by a test score. d. An individual learner is inadequately characterized by a test score.

21. Which is a good portfolio evidence of a student’s acquired knowledge and writing skills? a. Project b. Test Results c. Reflective Journal d. Critiqued Outputs

22. When planning for portfolio assessment, which should you do first? a. Set the targets for portfolio assessment. b. Exhibit one’s work and be proud of one’s collection c. Select evidences that could be captured in one’s portfolio d. Reflect on one’s collection and identify strengths and weaknesses

23. Which kind of rubric is best to use in rating students’ projects done for several days? a. Analytic b. Holistic c. Either holistic or analytic d. Both holistic and analytic

24. Which is not true of an analytic rubric? a. It is time consuming b. It is easier to construct than the holistic rubric c. It gives one’s level of performance per criterion d. It allows one to pinpoint the strengths and weaknesses of one’s work.

25. Mrs. Bacani prepared a rubric with 5 levels of performance described in 5-excellent, 4-very satisfactory, 3-satisfactory, 2 needs improvement, 1-poor. After using this rubric with these descriptions, she found out that most of her students had a rating of 3. Even those who are evidently poor in their performance had a rating of satisfactory. Cold there be a possible error in the use of the rubric? a. Yes, the teacher could have committed the generosity error. b. Yes, the teacher could have committed the central tendency source of error. c. No, it is just common to see more of the students having grade of 3 in a 5-point scale. d. No, such result is acceptable as long as it has a positive consequence to the students.

Answers: 1C 2A 3A 4C 5C 6A 7C 8C 9D 10A 11B 12D 13B 14D 15B 16A 17D 18D 19A 20D 21C 22A 23A 24B 25B

This website believes that education is a right, not a privilege. This portal does not claim ownership to any materials posted. Likewise, questions are not influenced by PRC professional regulatory board. The main purpose of the reviewer is to assist examinees who chose to review online.

6. Ms. De los Reyes advocates assessment for learning. Which will she not likely do? A. Formative Assessment B. Diagnostic Assessment C. Placement Assessment D. Summative Assessment The answer should be D because "assessment for learning" includes formative, diagnostic, and maybe placement; while summative assessment belongs to the context "assessment of learning" which is different from the rest of the options.

6.C diagonestic ,formative and summative are forms of assessment.placement is one the importance of assessment.

Item#6. Answer is D not A

answer for #9 is "B" (after instruction) because assessment of learning is summative assessment and it is done after the instruction.

You are right!

Summative Assessments are assessments at the end of a unit or quarter not at the end of a lesson

False information. Assessment after the lesson is not yet summative but formative. Assessment of learning is conducted at the end of unit/quarter.

All your comments guys were right.

#ReliabilityOfTest

Kindly explain why the answer of no. 12 is B? Thank you.

Sa totoo niyan the correct answer for me is letter D.

The rationalization of question no. 23

for no. 9 the correct answer should be letter B since Assessment of learning is using to identify what students have learned, can do and the level of their competency. It is also use to know if the instruction have achieved the desired competencies therefore it should be done AFTER THE INSTRUCTION/DISCUSSION.

It question number 6. The answer should be letter D. Because Placement,Diagnostic, Formative are form of assesment for learning while Summative is Of learning which is done after instruction.

On the item number six, is it really formative assessment and not summative assessment?

good day po, pwede po malaman ang explaination kung bakit letter A at D and answer dito? iba po kasi ang sagot ko dito, thank you. 6. Ms. Delos Angeles advocates assessment for learning. Which will she NOT likely do? a. Formative Assessment b. Diagnostic Assessment c. Placement Assessment d. Summative Assessment 9. Mrs. Nogueras is doing an assessment of learning. At what stage of instruction should she do it? a. Before instruction b. After instruction c. Prior to instruction d. During the instructional process

Base from the reviewer that I have the answer is A. Not D. I hope there is an explanation in every item. Nakakalito minsan kung alin ba tamang sagot.

i think tama po ang D kasi based sa question ang hinahanap is ASSUMPTION. true po ang letter A

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Back To Basics: What Is Performance Based Assessment (PBA)?

Updated: July 13, 2022

Published: June 13, 2020

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There are a variety of ways to test a student’s knowledge. For some, multiple choice exams and short response questions work well. Yet, these methods may cause test anxiety and fail to showcase how a student solves a problem. For this reason, performance-based assessments may be able to offer better insight as to how much a student understands. Here, we’ll answer “what is performance-based assessment (PBA)?” and break down how to implement performance-based testing in practice.

What Is Performance-Based Assessment?

Serving as an alternative to traditional testing methods, performance-based assessment includes the problem-solving process. These assessments require a student to create a product or answer a question that will demonstrate the student’s skills and understanding.

For this reason, there tends to be no single right or wrong answer. Instead, PBAs require students to actively participate in a task to assess their process. The questions or tasks are designed to be practical and interdisciplinary.

Not only do performance-based assessments provide deeper insight into how well students have learned, they also give them insight into what they understand themselves. With this knowledge, teachers are better able to understand where a student needs extra assistance and can modify their lessons accordingly.

Photo by Hannah Olinger on Unsplash

What essential components does pba include.

Depending on subject matter and goals, there are different ways to facilitate PBA. Yet, there are certain elements that make PBA what it is.

Performance-based assessments meet this criteria:

  • Process/product-oriented

By this manner, PBA can have several different right answers because the tasks and tests are open-ended. Like most real-world situations, they are bound by time and consist of a level of complexity such that problem-solving skills are really tested.

A Guide To Performance-Based Testing

Performance-based learning relies on the acquisition of skills and development of work habits. Together, these are paired to be applied to real-world situations.

1. Balance In Literacy

In PBA, rather than asking a student solely if they know something, you may also question how they can use their knowledge. This balances the two to provide the ability to recall knowledge and then classify it for practical usage.

2. Content Knowledge

It’s up to the teacher to pull subject matter directly from the curriculum or to pull ideas from the school or department itself.

3. Work Habits

For success in PBA and overall life, students must master skills like time management, intrapersonal communication, and individual responsibility.

4. Performance Tasks

Tasks are designed to pull everything together. These tasks take work habits, content knowledge, and balance in literacy to create. They become ingrained as a part of learning rather than an after effect.

Examples Of PBA

In theory, PBA makes a lot of sense. But how can you incorporate it into your teaching?

Here are some examples of performance-based testing:

  • Elementary School: Pose a question like, “Should our school upgrade our water fountain systems?” Now, that’s a pretty open-ended question with no single correct answer. One way to make it practical is to ask students to record how many kids are using the water fountain per hour. In this way, they can determine need and learn about decision-making.
  • Middle School: Create a scenario in which someone commits a crime. Then, run a mock trial in your classroom. This can test a student’s communication skills and reasoning.

Advantages Of PBA

Performance-based assessment is advantageous for both teachers and students. For students, it helps to apply in-class learning to situations outside of the classroom. For teachers, it offers deeper insight into the learning needs of students.

At the same time, they offer a way for students to better measure their own understanding and success. While completing a task or project, a student can see where they are struggling. Then, they can ask specific questions or work harder on enhancing their knowledge.

Photo by javier trueba on Unsplash

How teachers can create pbas: 6 tips.

If you’re a teacher or facilitator designing performance-based assessments, here’s an easy step-by-step guide for doing so.

1. Identify Goals

The first step is designing a test that will challenge a student’s problem-solving and critical thinking abilities. The teacher will want the students to work without direct aid so that they can evaluate where a student’s strengths and weaknesses reside.

2. Course Standards

Most schools and districts have core standards that must be taught within the school year. Take the goal identified above and relate it back to a common core standard.

3. Review Assessments

Look at how students are currently understanding the core standard. This may be from previous test results.

4. Address Learning Gaps

By reviewing assessments, it becomes clear where a student is lacking understanding. So, you can design a performance-based assessment that addresses the learning gap in practice.

5. Design A Scenario

Design a situation that addresses core standards and main ideas that students may be struggling with. You can design a scenario by defining key characteristics, including: setting, role, time frame, product, and audience.

6. Develop A Plan

You’ll have to balance both content and task preparation. Depending on a student’s needs, you may have to be more or less hands-on in describing the problem at hand.

The Bottom Line

Education and learning is as diverse as the student population. The best type of education is one that becomes applicable to real-world situations. That’s why at the University of the People, we design our curriculum to prepare students to enter a career upon graduation and be prepared. Students may have standard tests, but they also get to apply their knowledge to solving complex problems.

In the setting of primary to secondary education, performance-based assessments can play this same crucial role. Instead of relying solely on tests that tend to be multiple choice and fail to show how a student arrives at their answer, PBA offers deeper insight into their thinking process.

The best way to implement PBA is to first have a general understanding of your student’s abilities and areas in which they need improvement. Then, you can creatively design a scenario that puts them to the test.

Related Articles

Engaging Students through Performance Assessment

A photo of a person painting representing Engaging Students through Performance Assessment

Do you remember the feeling of dread right before taking a test in school? I certainly can. Although this is a common experience among students, feelings of anxiety or ambivalence toward assessment do not have to be the norm. One alternative to traditional assessment is performance assessment—a method of assessment where students demonstrate their knowledge by constructing an answer, producing a product, or performing an activity.

Performance assessment allows students to play an active role in the assessment process, which experts have found increases their engagement and, in turn, enhances their learning. 1 Assessments can be designed so that students choose their topic or select the best way to demonstrate their understanding. Many students find performance assessment appealing because it allows them to take ownership of their learning.

Not only can students engage in the actual assessment, they can collaborate with teachers to:

  • Co-establish success criteria
  • Co-develop rubrics
  • Choose the topic
  • Choose a way to demonstrate their learning
  • Provide feedback to peers
  • Reflect on their experience
  • Self-assess and/or peer-assess

When students collaborate on developing a performance assessment, they deepen their knowledge of the standards and performance outcomes being taught and assessed.

Performance assessments—such as essays, projects, demonstrations, and portfolios—are all adaptable for use with distance learning. For example, an in-person science project that requires students to investigate characteristics of the ocean environment by creating a 3-D diorama can be completed remotely with some adaptations. Students could use materials in their homes or from nature to make a diorama or use technology to draw a model.

If you’re interested in learning more about performance assessments, explore this free, self-paced online course from REL Northeast & Islands at EDC . Comprising five 30-minute modules, the course teaches practitioners, instructional leaders, and administrators the foundational concepts of assessment literacy and how to develop, score, and use performance assessments. The course also provides several tools to help users develop performance assessments appropriate to their needs.

We hope this course will help you get your students excited about assessment activities—both for distance and in-person learning. Good luck!

1 Wang, M. T., & Eccles, J. S. (2012). Adolescent behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement trajectories in school and their differential relations to educational success. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 22(1), 31–39.

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Performance-Based Assessments: 4 Tips on How to Use Them in Your Classroom

Student delivering a performance-based piece in class.

Written by Victoria Hegwood

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  • Teaching Strategies

What are performance-based assessments?

The foundation of performance-based assessments, 4 tips for creating performance-based assessments.

  • Examples of performance-based assessments
  • How performance-based learning benefits learners

Making assessments work for your students

There are so many ways to evaluate where your students are and how well they are retaining lessons. You may use exit tickets , traditional quizzes, or some other type of assessment . 

Performance-based learning is an active, hands-on approach to student learning at any grade level.  This type of learning shifts away from worksheets and traditional testing models and leans into assessments that offer insight into a student’s understanding. 

It asks questions that don’t have a right and a wrong answer. The questions emphasize the student’s skills and encourage reflection. Student achievement is about producing a product, like a group project, or placing more emphasis on the process. 

This article will provide an overview of performance-based learning and the benefits of this approach. There will also be some tips for implementing performance-based assessments in your classroom.

Performance-based learning and performance-based assessments are a system of learning and assessing a student’s knowledge through a display of skills. 

In this system, student performance is not measured by a multiple-choice test or quiz. Instead, students are given assignments that mimic real-world situations. To successfully complete the assessment they must use content knowledge, higher-order thinking skills and problem-solving skills.

Assessment tasks could include creating a newspaper, acting in a play, or planning a sustainable neighborhood community. Students demonstrate critical thinking as they work through the challenges of these tasks. They are given the opportunity to show what they know rather than simply writing down facts.

Performance-based learning requires more collaboration between students and teachers than other teaching methods . Throughout this ongoing learning process, both teacher and student are able to work together and monitor progress. You will be able to see more clearly where the student is at and make adjustments to assist their learning. 

There is no one way to make the perfect performance-based assessments. What your students need and are learning is unique to your classroom. You can always tweak your lessons as needed.

However, there are a few key elements that make these types of assessments what they are.

Overall, performance-based assessments should be:

  • Authentic – The projects should be reflective of tasks that would be encountered in the real world or a workplace environment. 
  • Time bound – There is a set time limit for when the project needs to be done. This is similar to deadlines that learners will experience in the real world.
  • Open-ended – Students have flexibility in how the task can be completed. There is not just one right answer. 
  • Process/Product orientated - The end goal is ideally not just a typed paper. It is something tangible that students can see. There is also more focus on the steps taken to achieve the end goal. 

Performance-based assessments should reflect real life by being complex with the possibility of multiple correct answers. They should also have an urgency to solve the issue within a set period of time. 

For example, check out this example of a performance-based assessment used in a high school classroom below. In this assessment, students were asked to role play as air traffic controllers and use their math skills to assess a dangerous situation.

Ready to implement this method in your classroom but aren’t sure where to start? We’ve got 4 great tips to get you started creating an authentic assessment process.

Implementing a new assessment or teaching style is not easy. There will be bumps in the road, but these tips will help you successfully start using performance-based assessments. 

1. Set clear expectations

Performance-based assessments are more open-ended than traditional assignments and can be challenging for students to finish.

Because of this, it is important teachers make their expectations clear and outline how students will be graded. Share a scoring rubric with the criteria outlined. Previous examples are also helpful for students to use as inspiration. They provide a concrete example of what an ideal submission is or how others that missed the mark could be improved.

2. Start at the end

When planning an assessment, identify the learning objective of the lesson first and then work backward. Think about what is most important for a student to take away from the performance task. Then consider the clearest way that they can show they’ve learned that concept.

3. Practice, practice, practice

Despite the trending popularity of performance-based assessments, it should not be assumed all students will be comfortable with this method.

Use warm-up activities in other lesson plans that are similar to what will be required in the final. Know that students may need multiple attempts at understanding the task before they are able to complete it. Offer practice sessions whenever possible.

4. Leave room to show mistakes

It is important to create a space where students can show their process and where they feel okay with making mistakes.

Similar to the real world, students will not be perfect on the first try. But they should have multiple chances at success. Students need to feel comfortable enough to show their level of understanding and see where adjustments can be made.

Equipped with these tips, you’re ready to get started! Now, on to a few of our favorite types of performance-based assessments. 

Examples of performance-based assessments to spark inspiration

Another perk to performance-based assessments is how creative teachers can be when creating lessons. There are many ways that teachers can fit performance-based assessments in their school district requirements to adhere to common core standards 

Performance-based assessments are versatile; they can be adjusted to fit more traditional summative testing like final projects or just average daily lesson plans. 

Here are 3 examples of performance-based assessments to give you some ideas about ways to incorporate them into your next lesson plan.

Four middle school students raising their hands to answer their teacher's question.

Debates are a popular choice in high school and middle school because they allow students to demonstrate many skills. A debating student will need to be competent in researching, reading comprehension, evidence evaluation, public speaking and civic skills.

There are so many topics that students can debate and different ways that a debate can be set up. Regardless of what subject you teach or what your lesson is about, you are sure to find a way to incorporate this activity into your classroom.

A teacher helping a student create a portfolio.

Portfolios are a collection of a student’s work throughout the school year. This work could include artwork, written papers or project summaries. You could also choose to include a summary of their grades or completed projects at the end of each quarter. 

This folder will help students and teachers alike in seeing the progress made along the way. Students feel encouraged by the growth that they are able to easily see and reflect on. 

In art or writing classes, a portfolio can also be a useful professional development tool outside the classroom. It can be used to apply to continuing education programs. It will continue to serve the student for years to come.

Performances

A student delivering a speech in class.

Performances may seem like they only have a place in drama class, but that isn’t the case. They can be used in your classroom no matter what subject you teach. 

For example, students can create a song about the parts of a plant or the process of evaporation. They could also write a play about important historical events. 

When using performances in your classroom, it’s essential to outline clear benchmarks, so that students know what elements are needed for success. Write out expectations when possible so that they can be easily referenced.

How performance-based learning benefits your learners

Utilizing performance-based learning as a teaching strategy will encourage student ownership of the subject matter. Students are involved in every step of the process. They are more engaged and motivated because they feel connected to their learning and take pride in their work.

Performance-based learning is also highly customizable . You can tweak projects and expectations for individual students to assist or challenge them. You can collaborate with students to create learning that is applicable to the student as well as the real world.

Performance-based assessments nurture students’ higher-order thinking skills , which are critical for developing an understanding beyond the memorization of basic facts. It sets students up for success outside the classroom.

Performance-based assessments can be a great option to better see the depth of understanding your students have of the material. There are many ways to use performance-based assessments in every grade level and subject area. Students will likely be more engaged and motivated in the learning process. 

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Performance-Based Assessment: How to Implement It in the Classroom

Performance assessment is an increasingly common assessment method that offers significant advantages over traditional high-stakes testing

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Top Hat Staff

Performance-Based Assessment: How to Implement It in the Classroom

Performance assessment is an increasingly common assessment method that offers significant advantages over traditional high-stakes testing.

What is a performance assessment?

Performance assessment is a summative assessment tool that is used as a substitute for high-stakes testing. It’s intended to focus more on practical or applied skills—more “do you know how to use your knowledge?” versus “tell me what you know.” Other common terms include “authentic assessment” or “performance-based assessment.”

So, what is a performance-based assessment? It can be an individual or group project, a portfolio (with potentially one or more pieces foregrounded) or an open-ended response exercise. The creation process of the work is then graded according to a set of pre-agreed criteria or a checklist, shared with the student in advance.

This is the “performance” part of the “performance assessment”—and this accountability for the process is what sets it apart from grading a regular assignment.

Performance assessment: Why now, and why in higher education?

Standardized testing is becoming increasingly outdated in K–12 contexts, according to a report published jointly by the Massachusetts Consortium for Innovative Education Assessment and the Center for Collaborative Education. This kind of traditional testing exacerbates socioeconomic differences while failing to properly assess skills pre-higher education. A new Quality Performance Assessment scheme is underway to “engage students in ways that standardized tests cannot, giving students more say in how they demonstrate their knowledge in culturally responsive ways.” 1

If this kind of shift in performance-based assessment is truly underway for the freshmen of the future, performance assessment is worth considering sooner rather than later.

Why use performance assessment?

Here are some benefits of performance assessment over standardized testing:

1. Performance assessment looks at higher-order thinking skills and problem-solving abilities. Other features like time management and clear communication are also tested in these kinds of assessments. This ultimately leads to a deeper and more meaningful learning process.

2. High-stakes standardized testing evaluates whether students know enough about a subject. Performance assessments, on the other hand, measure whether students can apply the knowledge appropriately in various contexts.

3. If interim goals are created and applied correctly, performance assessments allow students to monitor themselves. This type of metacognition, particularly in a test environment, is enormously beneficial to higher-level student learning.

4. Any instructors who use performance assessments need to include the standards they expect and the steps that they must take in applying the knowledge in the curriculum. This makes “teaching to the test” a positive teaching and learning strategy.

5. Performance assessments go hand-in-hand with modern teaching strategies like active learning and critical thinking. If a student undertakes collaboration and discussion in a classroom context (and in formative assessment), those learned skills will be more easily applied and evaluated in summative assessments, and eventually reflected in students’ performance. 2

How do performance assessments work?

The educator sets a task for which there is more than one route to completion or a complex problem to tackle with considerable leeway for interpretation.

Students must reach an answer—but the answer is not the most important part. Rather, the journey is the destination. Students must demonstrate competencies in production, communication and applying their content knowledge.

The most effective way of measuring this is by assigning a list of performance tasks, along with an achievement level for each. This list should be reasonably comprehensive and scoring for each task should take place on a scale.

These tasks can reflect industry best practices. A performance assessment example for a computer science class could be answering “Did the candidate effectively document their code?” That task could be measured on a grade of “not achieved,” “partly achieved” or “fully achieved.” A performance assessment example for an art class could be “Did the student correctly gather requirements to complete the project?” Final scores can then be calculated from this list.

The key to performance assessment is that students develop how they approach their tasks while understanding the standards to which they will be evaluated.

What you need to make performance assessment successful

1. templates and scoring rubrics.

For students, performance assessments are a balancing act between the open-ended nature of the project, and the competencies and mastery they need to demonstrate to meet learning objectives. You can either share the full guidelines of how the project will be graded with your students. Instructors can also build templates for intermittent assessments that explain what must happen at each stage and when—for instance, an abstract, a first draft, and one for the final presentation.

2. Examples/benchmarks: Good (or bad)

Students who have set open-ended tasks for summative assessments will find previous examples crucial to success. These examples could be ‘ideal’ versions of work for them to follow. However, they could also be flawed or low-quality work that can be used as part of a teaching activity. For example, students can then try evaluating and discussing in class what they would improve, why and how in order to arrive at the correct answer.

3. Help your students prepare and practice

Although many of your students will have participated in performance assessments in the past, there will be others to whom the concept is completely new. Setting milestones, in the form of mini-performance assessments, in preparation for the final tally will help them get used to thinking in a new way. This may help reduce anxiety that might affect their overall performance.

4. Leverage your community

It’s rare that a performance assessment would just touch on a single course—they are almost always interdisciplinary. Rather than producing a performance assessment and the communications you need with your students alone—get assistance from fellow instructors in your field. This can also be a form of professional development for instructors. After all, if performance assessment is meant to measure real-world application of knowledge rather than producing another version of your lessons, your tasks should reflect real-world situations. And reality is seldom based on a single subject area. 3

  • Famularo, J., French, D., Noonan, J., Schneider, J., Sienkiewicz, E. (2018) Beyond Standardized Tests: A New Vision for Assessing Student Learning and School Quality. [White paper]. Retrieved from http://cce.org/files/MCIEA-White-Paper_Beyond-Standardized-Tests.pdf
  • >Hibbard, K.M., et al. (1996) A Teacher’s Guide to Performance-Based Learning and Assessment. Alexandria, Virg.: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development.
  • Performance Assessment. [White paper]. Retrieved from https://www.learner.org/workshops/socialstudies/pdf/session7/7.PerformanceAssessment.pdf

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Good procedure is emphasized when: There is no product The procedure is orderly and directly observable Correct procedure is crucial to later success Analysis of procedural steps can aid in improving product Learning is at an early stage Good product is emphasized when: Different procedures result in an equally good product Procedure is not available for observation Procedural steps have been mastered Product has qualities that can be identified and judged Degrees of authenticity-- Note: More here than in your textbook

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Performance-Based Assessment in Math

Instead of doing math problems with no context, students at this school role-play real jobs.

A student is working on a peper for his geography class.

Performance-Based Assessment: Math

Through performance-based assessment, students demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and material that they have learned. This practice measures how well a student can apply or use what he or she knows, often in real-world situations. Research has shown that performance-based assessment provides a means to assess higher-order thinking skills and helps teachers and principals support students in developing a deeper understanding of content.

How It's Done

Performance-based assessment can work with the curriculum, instruction, or unit that you're teaching right now. How would you design a performance-based assessment for this content? Because PBA requires students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills with the concepts that they've learned, this assessment requires them to create a product or response, or to perform a specific set of tasks.

At Hampton High School, teachers calibrate their assessments against a rigor scale with the goal of high performance. They use the common Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships framework to demonstrate that the higher levels of rigor and relevance embody higher-level cognition and application. "What's the level of performance?" teachers will ask when designing assessments. "Is the performance that we want from kids short-term memory and fragmented applications, or should they demonstrate comprehensive understanding of big ideas?" This shifts the focus from content measures to student performance measures.

For example, a performance task in history would require students to produce a piece of writing rather than answering a series of multiple-choice questions about dates or events. The value of performance assessment is that it mimics the kind of work done in real-world contexts. So an authentic performance task in environmental science might require a student to investigate the impact of fertilizer on local groundwater and then report the results through a public service campaign (like a video, a radio announcement, or a presentation to a group).

Performance assessment draws on students’ higher-order thinking skills -- evaluating the reliability of information, synthesizing data to draw conclusions, or solving a problem with deductive or inductive reasoning. Performance tasks may require students to present supporting evidence in an argument, conduct a controlled experiment, solve a complex problem, or build a model. A performance task often has more than one acceptable solution, and teachers use rubrics as a key part of assessing student work.

Math: Disaster Relief Mission

Hampton High School's pre-calculus teachers aimed to create a performance-based assessment that asked students to demonstrate their knowledge of concepts, and apply it to circumstances unfamiliar to them. They came up with Disaster Relief Mission, a simulation where students play the role of air traffic controllers and pilots responding to crisis situations around the country. In these situations, students have to figure out what math to use in order to rescue those in need.

In the Resources tab, you'll find all the math materials that Hampton teachers created for the Disaster Relief Mission project. These materials include:

  • Project directions
  • Rubrics to assess the project

Disaster Relief Mission is a sophisticated example of performance assessment, developed and refined over the past three years by Hampton's teachers. The prep work involved in such a project does require some time, including coming up with the missions, setting up the gymnasium with the correct coordinates, and configuring all the technology (iPods, FaceTime, and a Compass App) used in this exam. Teachers also spend some time training students on how to use the technology so that it won't be an issue during the actual work. Students are also trained for the roles of both pilot and air traffic controller, in case teams need to be reconfigured on the day of the exam.

Disaster Relief Mission PBA

Students are split into teams of three (one air traffic controller and two pilots) and given four disaster missions to solve. Each team is distributed across two locations (air traffic controllers in one room, pilots in the gymnasium), and all communicate via FaceTime.

The teachers set up ten missions in the gymnasium, each with different coordinates. However, students have only four problems to solve, allowing multiple groups teams work in the gym at the same time but not on the same problem.

A sample disaster relief mission looked like this:

Air traffic controllers are responsible for determining the angle and distance that the pilots need to move to get them from one mission to another. They calculate these numbers and relay them to the pilots via FaceTime. If correct, the pilots in the gym reach the mission site and then have to figure out what math will help them complete the mission. For example, will their calculations require the Law of Sines, Law of Cosines, right triangle trigonometry, or bearings?

After students complete one mission, they restart the whole process for the next mission, until they complete all four. The whole PBA takes one class period to complete.

Evaluation/Utilizing Rubrics

Teachers design a rubric to measure the performance of students. The rubric is given to students ahead of time, so that they're clear about what they will be assessed on. For Disaster Relief Mission, the rubric is designed so that each team member -- whether pilot or air traffic controller -- receives the same number of points on the exam. For a perfect score, a team receives 45 points for completing and solving all four missions. The rubric assesses the accuracy of how well students solve each mission, including:

  • Looking at the accuracy of how polar coordinates were calculated
  • Looking at the accuracy of math used in each mission, including all calculations (not just final answers)
  • Supporting work, including maps that showed how the air traffic controllers determined the angles at which the plane would travel
  • Neatness of the work
  • How students collaborated and communicated as a team

If a team doesn't submit its calculations, for example, but has the correct answer, less points are given. If a team has a correct answer but the units of measure are missing, they're also given fewer points. The rubric allows teachers to grade across a spectrum, taking into consideration how accurate and complete the students' work is.

  • What Is Performance-Based Assessment?
  • What Is Performance-Based Learning and Assessment, and Why Is It Important?
  • What Is a Performance Task?
  • Performance Tasks for Math
  • Performance-Based Assessment for Hampton H.S. Disaster Relief Mission

Hampton High School

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What Is Performance Assessment?

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Project-based learning is nothing new. More than 100 years ago, progressive educator William Heard Kilpatrick published “The Project Method,” a monograph that took the first stab at defining alternatives to direct instruction. Predictably, the document sparked a squabble over definitions and methods—between Kilpatrick and his friend and colleague John Dewey.

Not much has changed. Today, despite major advances in ways to measure learning, we still don’t have common definitions for project-based learning or performance assessment.

Sometimes, for example, performance assessment is framed as the opposite of the dreaded year-end, state-required multiple-choice tests used to report on schools’ progress. But in fact, many performance assessments are standardized and can—and do—produce valid and reliable results.

Experts also emphasize the “authentic” nature of performance assessment and project-based learning, although “authentic” doesn’t always mean lifelike: A good performance assessment can use simulations, as long as they are faithful to real-world situations. (An example: In science class, technology can simulate plant growth or land erosion, processes that take too long for a hands-on experiment.)

In the absence of agreed-upon definitions for this evolving field, Education Week reporters developed a glossary based on interviews with teachers, assessment experts, and policy analysts. They’ve organized the terms here generally from less specific to more specific. These terms aren’t mutually exclusive. (A performance assessment, for instance, may be one element of a competency-based education program.)

Proficiency-based or competency-based learning: These terms are interchangeable. They refer to the practice of allowing students to progress in their learning as they master a set of standards or competencies. Students can advance at different rates. Typically, there is an attempt to build students’ ownership and understanding of their learning goals and often a focus on “personalizing” students’ learning based on their needs and interests.

Project-based learning: Students learn through an extended project, which may have a number of checkpoints or assessments along the way. Key features are inquiry, exploration, the extended duration of the project, and iteration (requiring students to revise and reflect, for example). A subset of project-based learning is problem-based learning, which focuses on a specific challenge for which students must find a solution.

Standards-based grading: This refers to the practice of giving students nuanced and detailed descriptions of their performance against specific criteria or standards, not on a bell curve. It can stand alone or exist alongside traditional letter grading.

Performance assessment: This assessment measures how well students apply their knowledge, skills, and abilities to authentic problems. The key feature is that it requires the student to produce something, such as a report, experiment, or performance, which is scored against specific criteria.

Portfolio: This assessment consists of a body of student work collected over an extended period, from a few weeks to a year or more. This work can be produced in response to a test prompt or assignment but is often simply drawn from everyday classroom tasks. Frequently, portfolios also contain an element of student reflection.

Exhibition: A type of performance assessment that requires a public presentation, as in the sciences or performing arts. Other fields can also require an exhibition component. Students might be required, for instance, to justify their position in an oral presentation or debate.

Performance task: A piece of work students are asked to do to show how well they apply their knowledge, skills, or abilities—from writing an essay to diagnosing and fixing a broken circuit. A performance assessment typically consists of several performance tasks. Performance tasks also may be included in traditional multiple-choice tests.

With thanks to: Paul Leather, director for state and local partnerships at the Center for Innovation in Education; Mark Barnes, founder of Times 10 Publications; Peter Ross, principal at Education First; Scott Marion, executive director at the Center for Assessment; Sean P. “Jack” Buckley, president, Imbellus; Starr Sackstein, an educator and opinion blogger at edweek.org; and Steve Ferrara, senior adviser at Measured Progress.

Have we missed any terms that confuse you? Why not write and tell us?

A version of this article appeared in the February 06, 2019 edition of Education Week as Performance Assessment: A Guide to the Vocabulary

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Performance-Based Learning: 15 Examples, Pros and Cons

performance-based learning examples and definition, explained below

Performance-based learning involves students being able to do something, perform something, or demonstrate something. Students develop specific skills related to the subject under study, which helps them see the connection between academic concepts and real-life situations.  

Students apply knowledge they have learned in class to a practical scenario. This allows them to exercise skills and gain a different perspective on the subject under study.

As Hibbard et al. (1996) explained,

“Performance-based learning and assessment achieve a balanced approach by extending traditional fact-and-skill instruction” (p. 5).

Performance-based learning can completely transform the educational experience of students. It is far more interesting to students and matches the active learning style of those that have trouble sitting still and listening for 50-minutes at a time.

Through active learning , students are believed to absorb information more deeply and learn about subtle nuances of a subject that cannot be fully understood through a traditional classroom lecture.

Performance-Based Learning Examples

  • Demonstrating knowledge through creating a product: A high school English literature teacher asks students to choose a famous play by Shakespeare and transform it into a comic book.
  • Learning to drive: The process of learning to drive is a great example of performance-based learning because it can’t be merely theoretical. The student sits behind the wheel and performs the task. When assessed in a driving test, it’s also a performance-based test.
  • Developing a practical plan based on what has been learned: Students studying to be paramedics are instructed to develop an emergency management plan for an airplane accident.
  • Working on an outdoors project: An entire elementary school creates natural science lessons that directly engage children in gardening .
  • Physically building something: Every year, the students in a physics course participate in a competition on which group can construct the strongest bridge out of paper and tape.
  • Assessing students based on role-play scenarios: Professor Santos has his HR students conduct role-plays on how to tell a senior employee that their contract will not be renewed.
  • Applying math to real life: A team of math teachers put together an assignment called Mission Relief that involves students playing different roles to guide an airplane to safety using mathematical formulas.
  • Creating new technology in class: Advanced Design students choose to design a tech gadget. They are assessed on the product quality, fit for market, and how well it solves real-life problems for consumers.  
  • Creating a book: Dr. Flannigan lets her elementary education students create their own pop-up book on a theme of their choice.
  • Teaching practicum: Teacher education students spend a lot of time at university reading books and talking theory. But in the courses where they go into a classroom and practice teaching, they get the biggest benefit because they get to perform the craft they’ve been learning all about in class.

Benefits of Performance-Based Learning

Key benefits include:

  • Students are assessed on their practical application of knowledge rather than mere theoretical understanding.
  • Teaching and learning is skewed toward active learning rather than passive learning. Active learning is believed to be more effective for long-term intellectual, physical, and social development.
  • Students get to see and learn about the complexities of application of theory to real life, allowing for learning about the nuances of concepts.
  • Learning tends to lead to the creation of a product, which can be a motivational force for learners.
  • The connection between school and out-of-school life (e.g. life skill development and workplace skill development) tends to be emphasized.

Weaknesses of Performance-Based Learning

  • It is difficult to administer normative standardized tests for many performance-based assessment tasks. This makes it hard to generate quantifiable, comparable, and standardizable grades for students.
  • The term can be seen as overly vague. Other concepts, like active learning and project-based learning have significant overlaps with this concept, but have much more scholarly research underpinning them.

Performance-Based Learning Case Studies

1. oral presentations.

Oral presentations can be used in almost any course. It gives students an opportunity to develop extremely valuable communication skills and build self-confidence.

For example, instead of writing a lengthy term paper on the industrial revolution or some other historical event, students can construct a PPT and make a class presentation.

Writing a term paper does build certain skills, but communicating with others and learning how to present information verbally is a common job task in many occupations.

Certain rigorous elements of conducting research can still apply, such as reading the relevant research, making a reference section, and using appropriate citation practices during the presentation. But the skills the students exercise are far more pragmatic.

2. Dramatic Performances

Putting on a dramatic performance is a collaborative activity that doesn’t just involve students acting on stage. There are many other roles for students to play in this kind of performance-based project.

The term dramatic performance can refer to dance, a recital, reading of poetry, or a performing a play. Although being on a stage in front of an audience is a great way to build social confidence, there are many other benefits.

For example, students must learn fundamental project management skills. They have to devise schedules, assign leadership and work teams, allocate resources, and learn about teamwork and conflict resolution . 

These are all very valuable skills for students to practice in the safety of an academic context.

3. Science Fairs

Maybe one of the best examples of performance-based learning is the science fair. Giving students an opportunity to display their project at an exhibition, describe it to others and field questions, are all skills they can carry with them long after graduation.

Of course, there is a lot of learning accomplished while the students work on their projects as well. For example, rather than reading about the plant life cycle, students can actually learn about it by planting their own seeds.

They can document the entire process by taking photos or making sketches of each stage. Their display can also contain text, images, and graphs. Students will still need to read, but they will also learn how to pin-point key information for their display. This sounds simple enough, but it is a key skill that has to be developed with practice.

4. Consumer Science Project

University students in a consumer science course can learn about the expectations of customers by conducting a focus group or a survey that solicits their opinions.

For example, the professor may ask students to design, administer, and analyze a customer satisfaction survey for a restaurant.

Working in groups, students will begin by brainstorming questions to include in the survey and narrowing down those that are most relevant to the type of restaurant their project targets.

The group could then partner with a local restaurant and obtain permission to collect data for a given period of time. Once data collection has been completed, the group will perform various analyses and create several graphs and charts that highlight the key findings.

Learning how to formulate a point of view and convey those points in a public setting can be a very daunting task for most middle school and high school students. It takes a keen understanding of argument potency and a high degree of self-confidence to go head-to-head against an opponent.

However, there may be no more important skill than being able to identify the flaws in a point of view and then counter with convincing statements that support a different position.

The skills needed in debate also include conducting research and practicing civility and diplomacy . Even if not in a formal debate context, the give-and-take of arguments is a common occurrence in the classroom and later in life at business meetings.

Performance-based learning gives students an opportunity to take what they have learned in the classroom and apply it to an activity or project.

It is a great way for students to see the connection between concepts in a textbook and their application to a practical situation.

Preschool teachers to university professors implement performance-based learning in their classrooms to help students develop skills that they will use throughout their lifetime.

These skills include learning how to manage projects, collaborate with others, search for and weigh evidence, as well as performing in a public setting in a professional manner.

Burguillo, J. C. (2010). Using game theory and competition-based learning to stimulate student motivation and performance. Computers and Education, 55 (2), 566-575. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2010.02.018

Hibbard, M. K., Elia, E., & Wagenen, L. van. (1996). A teacher’s guide to performance-based learning and assessment . Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Street, L. A., Martin, P. H., White, A. R., & Stevens, A. E. (2022). Problem-based learning in social policy class: A semester-long project within organizational policy practice. Journal of Policy Pracctice and Research , 3 , 118-131. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42972-022-00047-4

Wirkala, C., & Kuhn, D. (2011). Problem-based learning in K–12 education: Is it effective and how does it achieve its effects? American Educational Research Journal, 48 (5), 1157–1186. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831211419491

Ernst, Dana & Hodge, Angie & Yoshinobu, Stan. (2017). What Is Inquiry-Based Learning? Notices of the American Mathematical Society, 64 . 570-574. https://doi.org/10.1090/noti1536

Beyrow, M., Godau, M., Heidmann, F., Langer, C., Wettach, R., & Mieg, H. (2019). Inquiry-Based Learning in Design. Inquiry-Based Learning – Undergraduate Research (pp. 239-247). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14223-0_22

Lee, V. S., Greene, D. B., Odom, J., Schechter, E., & Slatta, R. W. (2004). What is inquiry guided learning. In V. S. Lee (Ed.), Teaching and learning through inquiry: A guidebook for institutions and instructors (pp. 3-15). Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing.

Seltzer, E. (1977). A comparison between John Dewey’s theory of inquiry and Jean Piaget’s genetic analysis of intelligence. The Journal of Genetic Psychology , 130 (2d Half), 323–335. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221325.1977.10533264

Dave

Dave Cornell (PhD)

Dr. Cornell has worked in education for more than 20 years. His work has involved designing teacher certification for Trinity College in London and in-service training for state governments in the United States. He has trained kindergarten teachers in 8 countries and helped businessmen and women open baby centers and kindergartens in 3 countries.

  • Dave Cornell (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/dave-cornell-phd/ 15 Theory of Planned Behavior Examples
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  • Chris Drew (PhD) #molongui-disabled-link 15 Theory of Planned Behavior Examples
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16.13: What performance assessments can be used for secondary social studies?

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  • Page ID 87684

  • Jennfer Kidd, Jamie Kaufman, Peter Baker, Patrick O'Shea, Dwight Allen, & Old Dominion U students
  • Old Dominion University

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Learning Objectives

  • Understand traditional methods of assessment
  • Understand the goal and advantages of performance assessment
  • Understand how performance assessments can be used to teach Social Studies.

Traditional Assessment

Traditional assessment is the evaluation of student learning using traditional methods of achievement collection. Most traditional assessments are developed to determine a students understanding and recollection of events after the instruction has been delivered. Typical traditional assessment tools consist of fill-in-the-blanks, true-false, multiple-choice tests, matching and other similar mechanisms. Students typically are required to select an answer or recall information to complete the assessment. These tests may be standardized, such as the Stanford 10, NAEP, Benchmark, AP and SAT tests as well as the Virginia SOLS. Traditional assessment tests do not, by definition need to be as structured or inflexible as these more familiar state and national tests. Teachers can create their own evaluation tools that follow the traditional methods of assessment.

"Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government;... whenever things get so far wrong as to attract their notice, they may be relied on to set them right."—Thomas Jefferson

The driving force behind traditional assessment is the theory that the primary goal of schools is to help shape and develop productive citizens. This theory is used to formulate objectives whose goal is to develop historically literate individuals who are able to identify historical figures, events and dates. Many traditions assessment tools do not focus on the subject of history. The Stanford 10 is a traditional assessment tool that focuses on Reading vocabulary and comprehension, data analysis and math problem solving. SAT scores also focus on math, reading, and writing fundamentals. The NAEP, however is a national assessment that focuses not only on math, reading and science; but also civics and US history. A copy of the recent US history results can be found at: http://nationsreportcard.gov/ushistory_2006/ . The Virginia Standards of Learning have elements of history and in 4th grade Virginia history is assessed.

Performance Assessment: Goals and Advantages

Performance assessments, which are also often called "authentic assessments", provide for a teacher to evaluate knowledge through the use of engaging activities. Students are not forced to complete multiple choice questions, instead they are asked to construct, record, display or explore topics through presentations and writing. Those instructors who use performance assessments require students to not only memorize information, but more importantly encourages them to synthesize knowledge through data collection, reflection and constructive assignments. Students are asked to analyze and explain historical events through research and the development of journals, projects, and other demonstrable means.

Students are often asked to use their current knowledge to come up with theories or solutions to hypothetical situations. Typical questions may include, "How would life in the South after the Civil War been different if President Abraham Lincoln had survived his assassination?" The students may be asked to create a journal as a southerner in the years following the Civil War under President Lincoln's reconstruction policies. An Instructor may ask the students, "How did Pasteur and Lister change how doctors performed medicine?" The students could create a play of a debate between doctors of the 18th century and late 19th century.

Often performance assessments include extended tasks and assignments that require ongoing research and collection of data that is carried out over several hours or weeks. This form of assessment is widely used to develop a students ability to synthesize information into creative writing assignments. Journals and portfolios are often created by the students to demonstrate their learning acquisition as well as allowing for presentations to their classmates.

Where traditional assessments may ask multiple choice questions about a particular subject matter, performance assessments allow teachers to assess not only acquired knowledge, but also the ability of students to create brochures, oral presentations and essays. Unlike traditional assessment, students are fully aware of how they will be assessed and what they need to accomplish to be successful. This allows the students to judge their own work as they create their projects. Performance assessments are based on the particular curricula of a specific school system and classroom. Unlike traditional assessment whose tests are created by anonymous administrators and test producers, performance assessments are created and developed by the teachers in the classroom. Performance assessments allow for scaffolding of knowledge and not simply learning random facts without context.

Instructors that use performance assessments need to create a rubric with which to judge the students successful completion of the assignments. One of the criticisms of performance assessments is the random nature of the grading. Traditional assessments are often created and graded by national or state organizations. To effectively use performance assessments the rubric needs to be created, explained to the students, and adhered to during the grading process. Follow the following link to understand more about the role of the rubric in performance assessments. score.rims.k12.ca.us/standards/performanceassessment/

Performance Assessments in the Social Studies Classroom

Performance assessments can easily be incorporated into history and social studies classes. Unlike math and science courses writing and presentation assignments are easily interwoven into the curriculum. Some examples of how one might use performance assessments in an American history course might include splitting the students into groups. Each group would be given the names of eight US Presidents. The group would be given the opportunity to do independent research through the computer lab and library to determine the success of their assigned Presidents. The rubric for assessment would clarify to the students that they should judge each President on specific qualities such as accomplishments, crisis management, political Skill, appointments, character and integrity. With this information the students would rate their eight Presidents and create a presentation to deliver explaining how they came to their conclusions. Through this activity the students escape simply know which President was the 12th or 14th, or which President was in power during war. The students add context and synthesis to simple memorization requirements. The students will learn how to create presentations, respect differing opinions, and determine how to narrow, edit and refine their findings to support their opinions. Each student in the class will learn more through the other classmates research then they would learn by memorizing book information alone.

Another example of performance assessment in American history would be to give the students the opportunity to describe how North America and the World would have been different if the South would have won the Civil War. The essay and presentation would be judged on a rubric of content, clarity, continuity, creativity, and correct use of grammar. This activity would promote the research skills of the students as well as their English writing proficiency.

If you give yourself a moment you could probably come up with hundreds of ways to use performance assessments in the classroom. These assessments take a little more time in that you must create a rubric and explain the requirements to the class, but these assessments allow the students to develop their research, writing and presentation skills. This benefits them much more than simply developing multiple choice and fill in the blank test taking skills.

"I have a conviction that education is important to the preservation of our republican government, and that it is also essential to its protection against foreign power."—Thomas Jefferson

"If the children are untaught, their ignorance and vices will in future life cost us much dearer in their consequences than it would have done in their correction by a good education."—Thomas Jefferson

Exercise \(\PageIndex{1}\)

1. Traditional Assessments are most frequently:

a. based on tasks to find an answer through activity and analysis.

b. multiple choice.

c. in class question and answer.

d. based on portfolios and writings of students.

2. How can performance assessment be used in a classroom setting?

a. Have students take a final exam at the end of the quarter.

b. through classroom discussion.

c. by using a pop quiz to probe for knowledge.

d. have students keep a journal with reflections of things they have learned.

3. What teacher created item is necessary when using performance assessments?

a. a large multiple choice test.

b. a rubric for grading.

c. a fun and interesting matching quiz.

d. a 750 word essay assignment.

4. A language arts teacher asks to collaborate with you on a history lesson. What performance assessment task could you apply.

a. have the students read the teacher's notes to the class.

b. a quiz on proper vocabulary and syntax.

c. place students in reading groups to produce a journal describing the Battle of Hampton Roads from a sailors perspective.

d. have students read the history book and create a proper outline.

Boyd, Julian, Papers of Thomas Jefferson , Vol. 6 (Columbia, Mo., 1966), pp. 359–360. Retrieved 1/30/2008, http://www.history.org/history/teaching/enewsletter/volume2/march04/primsource.cfm .

Ford, Paul Leicester, The Writings of Thomas Jefferson (FE) 10 Vols., New York, 1892–99, http://etext.virginia.edu/jefferson/quotations/jeff1370.htm [1/30/2008]

Brown, Janet; Shavelson, Richard. New ways to measure what students know and can do. (performance assessment) Science for Everyone: It's in Your Hands Instructor (1990) March 1, 1994 COPYRIGHT 1994 Scholastic, Inc.

Brown, Janet H.; Shavelson, Richard J. Does your testing match your teaching style? Instructor (1990) September 1, 1994 COPYRIGHT 1994 Scholastic, Inc.

REEVES, DOUGLAS B.; Defending Performance Assessments Without Being Defensive. School Administrator, June 1, 1997 COPYRIGHT 1997 American Association of School Administrators.

Garrido, Jose Luis Garcia. European Education, vol. 34, no. 3, Fall 2002, pp. 42–60.

Locke, John. Some Thoughts Concerning Education. Vol. XXXVII, Part 1. The Harvard Classics. New York: P.F. Collier & Son, 1909–14; Bartleby.com, 2001. www.bartleby.com/37/1/. [01/30/2008].

Michele Erina Doyle and Mark K. Smith (2007) ‘Jean-Jacques Rousseau on education’, the encyclopaedia of informal education, http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-rous.htm . Last update: 12/28/07

Monroe, Will S. (1900) Short History of Performance Assessment: Lessons Learned, Journal article by George F. Madaus, Laura M. O'Dwyer; Phi Delta Kappan, Vol. 80, 1999

scuole.bo.it/comenius/index.html (2003), retrieved 1/30/2008

Suzanne, Mary, Hallie, Bert, and Michelle. www.acadweb.wwu.edu/OSL/ [1/30/2008]

IMAGES

  1. PPT

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  2. A Comparison of Traditional and Performance-Based Assessment Essay

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  3. Performance Based Assessment Essay Example

    essay test is an example of performance based assessment

  4. PPT

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  5. PPT

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  6. 8+ Performance Assessment Templates

    essay test is an example of performance based assessment

VIDEO

  1. Performance Testing: Why it's Important and How to Do it Effectively

  2. Performance-based assessment- authentic assessment

  3. Placement and Diagnostic Assessment (Difference)

  4. Conducting Performance-Based Assessment

  5. What is a performance-based assessment? #classroom #newteacher #teachercertification

  6. Performance-Based Assessment Part 2

COMMENTS

  1. Performance-Based Assessment: Reviewing the Basics

    The definition of performance-based assessments varies greatly depending on author, disciple, publication, and intended audience (Palm, 2008). In general, a performance-based assessment measures students' ability to apply the skills and knowledge learned from a unit or units of study. Typically, the task challenges students to use their higher ...

  2. What Is Performance-Based Assessment?

    Performance-based assessment is an evaluation approach that focuses on measuring someone's ability to apply their knowledge in the real world, instead of solely testing knowledge acquisition. ... For instance, in a language learning class, students can create a portfolio of assignments like essays, reports, and presentations, all written in the ...

  3. Performance-Based Assessment: A Comprehensive Overview

    1. Performance-based assessment (PBA) is an increasingly popular strategy for assessing student learning, offering a comprehensive and holistic approach that measures both knowledge and skills. This type of performance-based assessment requires students to demonstrate their understanding of a concept or topic by applying their knowledge in a ...

  4. What Is Performance Assessment?

    Performance task: A piece of work students are asked to do to show how well they apply their knowledge, skills, or abilities—from writing an essay to diagnosing and fixing a broken circuit. A ...

  5. LET Reviewer Professional Education Prof. Ed.: Assessment and

    d. Essay tests are an example of performance-based assessments. 20. Under which assumption is portfolio assessment based? a. Portfolio assessment is a dynamic assessment. b. Assessment should stress the reproduction of knowledge. c. An individual learner is adequately characterized by a test score. d.

  6. Back To Basics: What Is Performance Based Assessment (PBA)?

    Performance-based assessment is advantageous for both teachers and students. For students, it helps to apply in-class learning to situations outside of the classroom. For teachers, it offers deeper insight into the learning needs of students. At the same time, they offer a way for students to better measure their own understanding and success.

  7. Performance-Based Assessment

    Performance-based assessment requires students to solve a real-world problem or to create perform, or produce something with real-world application. It allows an instructor to assess how well students are able to use essential skills and knowledge, think critically and analytically, or develop a project. It also offers a measure of the depth ...

  8. PDF Performance Assessments: A Review of Definitions, Quality ...

    Set within the context of a move toward performance assessments, this literature review draws from 12 years of performance assessment research available in peer-reviewed journals. Examined are the variety of ways performance assessments are defined; the quality features of performance assessments; and outcomes associated with their use.

  9. PDF Performance-Based Learning and Assessment

    What are some examples of types of performance-based assessment tasks? Performance-based assessments range from simple, "on-demand" tasks that can be completed in a brief amount of time, such as an inclass writing exercise or short- -answer test; to longer and/or ... • Analyzing literary or historical documents in an essay

  10. Engaging Students through Performance Assessment

    Performance assessments—such as essays, projects, demonstrations, and portfolios—are all adaptable for use with distance learning. For example, an in-person science project that requires students to investigate characteristics of the ocean environment by creating a 3-D diorama can be completed remotely with some adaptations.

  11. Performance-Based Assessment

    Performance-Based Assessment. This form of assessment requires students to perform hands-on tasks, such as writing an essay or conducting a science experiment. Such assessments are becoming increasingly common as alternatives good old "memorize, dump, and forget" tests. This concept is also known as authentic assessment.

  12. Performance-Based Assessments: 4 Tips on How to Use Them in Your Classroom

    Performance-based learning and performance-based assessments are a system of learning and assessing a student's knowledge through a display of skills.. In this system, student performance is not measured by a multiple-choice test or quiz. Instead, students are given assignments that mimic real-world situations.

  13. Performance-Based Assessment: How to Implement It in the Classroom

    1. Templates and scoring rubrics. For students, performance assessments are a balancing act between the open-ended nature of the project, and the competencies and mastery they need to demonstrate to meet learning objectives. You can either share the full guidelines of how the project will be graded with your students.

  14. 17.6: What are the benefits of essay tests?

    Essays, along with multiple choice, are a very common method of assessment. Essays offer a means completely different than that of multiple choice. When thinking of a means of assessment, the essay along with multiple choice are the two that most come to mind (Schouller).The essay lends itself to specific subjects; for example, a math test ...

  15. PDF Assessing for Learning: Performance Assessment

    proponents of performance tests hold that the ideal performance test is a good teaching activity (Shavelson & Baxter, 1992). Viewed from this perspective, a well-constructed performance test can serve as a teaching activity as well as an assessment. For example, Figure 13.1 illustrates a performance activity and assessment that was

  16. Overheads for Unit 8--Chapter 11 (Performance-Based Assessment)

    Sample little of the content domain unless cumulated over a long period; Differences. Essay is the more familiar and established form of non-objective assessment ; ... Like essays, performance-based assessments require scoring rubrics (analytical or holistic) Unlike essays, they may also require rating scales to assess live performances ...

  17. Performance-Based Assessment in Math

    Through performance-based assessment, students demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and material that they have learned. This practice measures how well a student can apply or use what he or she knows, often in real-world situations. Research has shown that performance-based assessment provides a means to assess higher-order thinking skills and ...

  18. PDF Paradigm Shift: From Paper-and-Pencil Tests to Performance-Based Assessment

    ly known as performance tests. (See Table 1 for examples of paper-and-pencil and performance test items.) In addition to involving students in actual communication, performance tests are carefully designed to pose tasks "that are based directly on the learners' intended (or hypothesized) use of the target language" (Bailey 1998, 215).

  19. What Is Performance Assessment?

    Standards-based grading: This refers to the practice of giving students nuanced and detailed descriptions of their performance against specific criteria or standards, not on a bell curve. It can stand alone or exist alongside traditional letter grading. Performance assessment: This assessment measures how well students apply their knowledge, skills, and abilities to authentic problems.

  20. Performance-Based Learning: 15 Examples, Pros and Cons

    3. Science Fairs. Maybe one of the best examples of performance-based learning is the science fair. Giving students an opportunity to display their project at an exhibition, describe it to others and field questions, are all skills they can carry with them long after graduation.

  21. What is Performance-Based Assessment?

    Performance-based learning and performance-based assessment are methods of teaching and appraising children based on how they carry out specific tasks or activities, as opposed to more traditional test formats. This approach allows children to demonstrate their knowledge and how they would apply it to real-world scenarios.

  22. LET Reviewer: Assessment and Evaluation of Learning Prof Ed.

    Yes, essay test is the best in measuring any type of knowledge. ... Essay tests are an example of performance-based assessments. 20. Under which assumption is portfolio assessment based? a. Portfolio assessment is a dynamic assessment. b. Assessment should stress the reproduction of knowledge. c. An individual learner is adequately ...

  23. PDF Alternative Assessment: Definitions, Examples, Tools, and Resources

    Tests that incorporate performance items or tasks are the most basic of performance-based assessments. Examples of these are open-ended questions, essays, and inquiry tasks. Computer-based simulation tasks are also a type of performance-based test; the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), for example, offers a computer-based ...

  24. 16.13: What performance assessments can be used for secondary social

    Performance assessments can easily be incorporated into history and social studies classes. Unlike math and science courses writing and presentation assignments are easily interwoven into the curriculum. Some examples of how one might use performance assessments in an American history course might include splitting the students into groups.