Alternative Evaluation Methods

Sharon Penn is a writer based in South Florida. A professional writer since

1981, she has created numerous materials for a Princeton advertising agency.
er articles have appeared in !"olf #ournal! and on industry blogs. Penn has
traveled e$tensively, is an avid golfer and is eager to share her interests with
her readers. She holds a %aster of Science in &ducation.
'y Sharon Penn, eow (ontributor
updated %ay 1), *+11
&valuating employees as they wor, in a team is one alternative evaluation method.
Alternative evaluation methods are used in education and in business to give a
fuller picture of the performance of the individual and identify educational or
training needs. -ndividuals in classrooms and in the wor,place are reviewed
regularly so shortfalls can be addressed .uic,ly. Students and employees need
to be aware of clear performance standards, so they ,now what is e$pected.
/eachers and supervisors use a range of alternative evaluation methods in
addition to formali0ed testing.
1. Alternative Assessments
Alternative assessments are evaluation methods that differ from traditional
evaluation techni.ues. /raditional evaluation methods include standardi0ed
tests with true1false .uestions, matching, fill2in2the2blan, and essay .uestions.
/his coo,ie2cutter approach to evaluation is often replaced or supplemented
with alternative assessments such as ma,ing a video or creating a
presentation. 3ften the individual wor,s with others to complete an alternative
assessment, and he has some say in what the tas, will be and how it will be
accomplished.
Authentic Assessment
Authentic assessments are made in a !real2life! setting using situations that
mirror situations the individual will actually encounter. "enerally the
instruction before the assessment is also in a real2life setting. -nstead of
evaluating the individual4s understanding of a particular s,ill, the evaluation is
made while the individual is applying the s,ill to an authentic situation. For
e$ample, instead of as,ing what a symbol means on a map, an authentic
assessment will as, the individual to use a symbol to find something on a map
in order to apply the information to a tas,.
Self-Assessment
Supervisors and teachers may re.uire individuals to perform a self2assessment
as part of a comprehensive evaluation strategy. /he employee or student can
use this self2assessment as an opportunity to ta,e responsibility for his own
performance and gain a measure of control over the evaluation process. A
self2assessment gives wor,ers and students the opportunity to highlight
specific s,ills and accomplishments. (ompleting a self2assessment sets the
stage for constructive discussions to set goals for the future. -t can also
provide the individual with a more in2depth understanding of performance
standards and add accuracy and fairness to the evaluation.
Performance Assessment
-n a performance assessment, individuals are observed while ma,ing, doing or
creating something. 3n the 5ob this may translate into the supervisor
observing the employee as she performs her duties. -n the classroom, the
teacher may assign a performance tas, where students are as,ed to do
something6 a product tas,, where students are as,ed to create something such
as an art pro5ect6 or a portfolio tas,, where students are as,ed to accumulate
essays and other items that provide an e$ample of their actual wor,.
7ead more8 Alternative &valuation %ethods 9 eow.com
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Alternative Assessment Techniques
Page 1 of 2
Excerpted from Reading Teacher's Book of Lists.
Standardi0ed tests, criterion2referenced tests, diagnostic tests, clo0e e$ercises,
unit tests, wor,sheets A these are some of the assessment tools fre.uently used
in evaluating reading proficiency. /he following four alternative assessment
techniques build on classroom activities to provide insight to student
learning.
1. Retellings
After students read a story or have one read to them, as, them to
retell it as if they ere telling it to a friend who never heard it
before. -t is important to let students ,now in advance that they
will be as,ed to do this. /o analy0e the retelling .uantitatively, use
a chec,list of important elements in the story Bsetting, plot,
resolution, etc.C and assign a score for each.
?ualitative evaluation focuses on students4 deeper understanding of
the story and ability to generali!e and inter"ret its meaning. /his
type of evaluation can be noted in the form of comments at the
bottom of the chec,list. 7etellings can be done individually or in
groups. /eacher prompts may be re.uired to help lead some
students through the story.
#. Portfolios
Portfolios are systematic collections of student wor, over time.
/hese collections help students and teachers assess student growth
and development. -t is essential that students develop a sense of
onershi" about their portfolios so they can understand where
they have made progress and where more wor, is needed.
o Portfolio $ontent
/he content of portfolios will vary with the level of the student and will depend on
the types of assignments they are given in class. -n addition to completed reports,
poems, letters, and so forth, portfolios often contain first and second drafts. 7eading
logs and audiotape recordings can also be included. As portfolios are assembled, it
is important that students %ee" them in a "lace here they have easy access to
them. Students should be encouraged to browse through their portfolios and share
them with classmates.
o $riteria for Selecting &tems for Portfolios
Although almost all wor, may initially be included, portfolios can .uic,ly become
unmanageable if they are too large. Portfolios that will form the 'asis for
assessment can be assembled at the end of each term and at the end of the school
year. A specific number of items for inclusion Boften five or si$C and criteria for
selecting them should be agreed to by the teacher and students.
o Evaluation of Portfolios
Portfolio evaluation often occurs at three levels( the student, the student4s peers,
and the teacher. For each piece selected, students may be as,ed to describe briefly
why they chose it, what they learned, and what their future goals are. Students can
also be as,ed to prepare an overall evaluation of their portfolio.
$lassmates are frequently enlisted in portfolio evaluation. /heir evaluation can
focus on what they see as the special strengths of the portfolio, their personal
response to some item in the portfolio, and a suggestion of one thing their classmate
could wor, on ne$t.
Portfolio evaluation by the teacher should build on that of the student4s and peer4s.
Although the teacher evaluation may result in a grade, it is important that an
opportunity be found for discussion with the student. /his discussion should
culminate in agreement on future goals.
Although not a part of the formal evaluation process, it is helpful, particularly for
elementary school children, for parents to review the portfolios. Portfolios can be
sent home or they can be reviewed at the time of the parent2teacher conferences. -t
is essential that teachers ta,e steps to hel" "arents understand that their role
should 'e to "rovide encouragement and that they should focus on the positive
and not be critical.
D Reading )ogs
ave students ,eep a log of all their inde"endent reading at school and at home.
/he log should include wor,s completed and wor,s started but not completed. -n
addition to the name of the boo, Barticle, etc.C and author, the log should include
personal reactions to the selection. Periodic discussions of these logs will provide
insight on how the student is developing as an independent reader and suggest ways
in which the teacher can give added encouragement. /hese logs can be placed in
students4 portfolios.
D $hec%lists
(hec,lists can be completed by both readers and students. For e$ample, a chec,list
can be used by a teacher to assess word and letter ,nowledge. /he first step is to
develop a list of the concepts to be tested. /he student is then as,ed to demonstrate
understanding of these concepts using a real boo,.
/he teacher uses the chec,list to identify those concepts that have been mastered
and those that need further wor,. Students can use chec,lists to revie their on
or%. /eachers and students can prepare a list of specific s,ills that need to be
wor,ed on Bfor e$ample, a capital letter at the beginning of each sentenceC, and
students can then use this list to chec, their own wor,.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE..

Assessing )earning
Alternative Assessment
Alternative assessment uses activities that reveal what students can do with
language, emphasi0ing their strengths instead of their wea,nesses. Alternative
assessment instruments are not only designed and structured differently from
traditional tests, but are also graded or scored differently. 'ecause alternative
assessment is performance based, it helps instructors emphasi0e that the point of
language learning is communication for meaningful purposes.
Alternative assessment methods wor, well in learner2centered classrooms because
they are based on the idea that students can evaluate their own learning and learn
from the evaluation process. /hese methods give learners opportunities to reflect on
both their linguistic development and their learning processes Bwhat helps them
learn and what might help them learn betterC. Alternative assessment thus gives
instructors a way to connect assessment with review of learning strategies.
Features of alternative assessment8
Assessment is based on authentic tas,s that demonstrate learners4 ability
to accomplish communication goals
-nstructor and learners focus on communication, not on right and wrong
answers
Fearners help to set the criteria for successful completion of
communication tas,s
Fearners have opportunities to assess themselves and their peers
*esigning tas%s for alternative assessment
Successful use of alternative assessment depends on using performance tas,s that
let students demonstrate what they can actually do with language. Fortunately,
many of the activities that ta,e place in communicative classrooms lend themselves
to this type of assessment. /hese activities replicate the ,inds of challenges,
and allow for the ,inds of solutions, that learners would encounter in
communication outside the classroom.
/he following criteria define authentic assessment activities8
/hey are built around topics or issues of interest to the students
/hey replicate real2world communication conte$ts and situations
/hey involve multi2stage tas,s and real problems that re.uire
creative use of language rather than simple repetition
/hey re.uire learners to produce a .uality product or performance
/heir evaluation criteria and standards are ,nown to the student
/hey involve interaction between assessor Binstructor, peers, selfC
and person assessed
/hey allow for self2evaluation and self2correction as they proceed
&ntroducing alternative assessment
Gith alternative assessment, students are e$pected to participate actively in
evaluating themselves and one another. Fearners who are used to traditional
teacher2centered classrooms have not been e$pected to ta,e responsibility for
assessment before and may need time to ad5ust to this new role. /hey also
may be s,eptical that peers can provide them with feedbac, that will enhance
their learning.
-nstructors need to prepare students for the use of alternative assessments and
allow time to teach them how to use them, so that alternative assessment will
ma,e an effective contribution to the learning process.
-ntroduce alternative assessment gradually while continuing to use
more traditional forms of assessment. 'egin by using chec,lists
and rubrics yourself6 move to self and peer evaluation later.
(reate a supportive classroom environment in which students feel
comfortable with one another Bsee /eaching "oals and %ethodsC.
&$plain the rationale for alternative assessment.
&ngage students in a discussion of assessment. &licit their thoughts
on the values and limitations of traditional forms of assessment
and help them see ways that alternative assessment can enhance
evaluation of what learners can do with language.
"ive students guidance on how to reflect on and evaluate their own
performance and that of others Bsee specifics in sections on peer
and self evaluationC.
As students find they benefit from evaluating themselves and their peers, the
instructor can e$pand the amount of alternative assessment used in the
classroom.
Alternative assessment methods
&ffective alternative assessment relies on observations that are recorded using
chec,lists and rubrics.
$hec%lists
(hec,lists are often used for observing performance in order to ,eep trac, of
a student4s progress or wor, over time. /hey can also be used to determine
whether students have met established criteria on a tas,.
/o construct a chec,list, identify the different parts of a specific
communication tas, and any other re.uirements associated with it. (reate a
list of these with columns for mar,ing yes and no.
For e$ample, using a resource list provided by the instructor, students contact
and interview a native spea,er of the language they are studying, then report
bac, to the class. -n the report, they are to
'riefly describe the interviewee Bgender, place of birth,
occupation, familyC
&$plain when and why the interviewee came to the Hnited States
Iescribe a challenge the person has faced as an immigrant
Iescribe how the person maintains a connection with his1her
heritage
Students are told that they will need to spea, for a minimum of three minutes
and that they may refer only to minimal notes while presenting. A chec,list
for assessing students4 completion of the tas, is shown in the popup window.
(hec,lists can be useful for classroom assessment because they are easy to
construct and use, and they align closely with tas,s. At the same time, they are
limited in that they do not provide an assessment of the relative .uality of a
student4s performance on a particular tas,.
Ru'rics
Ghereas a chec,list simply provides an indication of whether a specific
criterion, characteristic, or behavior is present, a rubric provides a measure of
.uality of performance on the basis of established criteria. 7ubrics are often
used with benchmar,s or samples that serve as standards against which
student performance is 5udged.
7ubrics are primarily used for language tas,s that involve some ,ind of oral
or written production on the part of the student. -t is possible to create a
generic rubric that can be used with multiple spea,ing or writing tas,s, but
assessment is more accurate when the instructor uses rubrics that are fitted to
the tas, and the goals of instruction.
/here are four main types of rubrics.
1. Holistic rubrics
olistic scales or rubrics respond to language performance as a whole. &ach score
on a holistic scale represents an overall impression6 one integrated score is assigned
to a performance. /he emphasis in holistic scoring is on what a student does well.
olistic rubrics commonly have four or si$ points. /he popup window shows a
sample four2point holistic scale created for the purposes of assessing writing
performance.
A well2,nown e$ample of a holistic scale is the American (ouncil on the /eaching
of Foreign Fanguages BA(/FFC Proficiency Guidelines B198JC. owever, the
A(/FF guidelines are not appropriate for classroom use, because they are intended
for large2scale assessment of overall proficiency and are not designed necessarily to
align with curricular ob5ectives or classroom instruction.
olistic scoring is primarily used for large2scale assessment when a relatively .uic,
yet consistent approach to scoring is necessary. -t is less useful for classroom
purposes because it provides little information to students about their performance.
2. Analytic rubrics
Analytic scales are divided into separate categories representing different aspects or
dimensions of performance. For e$ample, dimensions for writing performance
might include content, organi0ation, vocabulary, grammar, and mechanics. &ach
dimension is scored separately, then dimension scores are added to determine an
overall score.
Analytic rubrics have two advantages8
/he instructor can give different weights to different dimensions. /his
allows the instructor to give more credit for dimensions that are more
important to the overall success of the communication tas,. For
e$ample, in a writing rubric, the dimension of content might have a total
point range of <+, whereas the range for mechanics might be only 1+.
/hey provide more information to students about the strengths and
wea,nesses of various aspects of their language performance.
owever, analytic scoring has also been critici0ed because the parts do not
necessarily add up to the whole. Providing separate scores for different dimensions
of a student4s writing or spea,ing performance does not give the teacher or the
student a good assessment of the whole of a performance.
Primary trait rubrics
-n primary trait scoring, the instructor predetermines the main criterion or primary
trait for successful performance of a tas,. /his approach thus involves narrowing
the criteria for 5udging performance to one main dimension.
For e$ample, consider a tas, that re.uires that a student write a persuasive letter to
an editor of the school newspaper. A possible primary trait rubric for this tas, is
shown in the popup window.
/his ,ind of rubric has the advantage of allowing teachers and students to focus on
one aspect or dimension of language performance. -t is also a relatively .uic, and
easy way to score writing or spea,ing performance, especially when a teacher wants
to emphasi0e one specific aspect of that performance.
4. Multitrait rubrics
/he multitrait approach is similar to the primary trait approach but allows for rating
performance on three or four dimensions rather than 5ust one. %ultitrait rubrics
resemble analytic rubrics in that several aspects are scored individually. owever,
where an analytic scale includes traditional dimensions such as content,
organi0ation, and grammar, a multitrait rubric involves dimensions that are more
closely aligned with features of the tas,.
For e$ample, on an information2gap spea,ing tas, where students are as,ed to
describe a picture in enough detail for a listener to choose it from a set of similar
pictures, a multitrait rubric would include dimensions such as .uality of description,
fluency, and language control, as the e$ample in the popup window shows.
&ncor"orating alternative assessment into classroom activities
-nstructors should plan to introduce alternative forms of assessment gradually, in
con5unction with traditional forms of testing. Hsing a combination of alternative
assessments and more traditional measures allows the instructor to compare results
and obtain a more comprehensive picture of students4 language performance than
either alternative or traditional measures alone would provide.
At first, the instructor should use chec,lists and rubrics to evaluate student
performance but not as, students to do self and peer evaluation. Ghen creating
chec,lists and rubrics, instructors can as, students to provide input on the criteria
that should be included in each. /his approach gives the instructor time to become
more comfortable with the use of alternative assessments, while modeling their use
for students. /he process helps students understand how they will benefit from
alternative assessment and how they can use it effectively.
'ecause alternative assessment depends on direct observation, instructors can most
easily begin to use it when evaluating students4 writing assignments and individual
spea,ing tas,s such as presentations. 3nce an instructor has reached a level of
comfort with chec,lists and rubrics, they can also be used when observing students
interacting in small groups. Ghen doing this, however, the instructor needs to be
aware that group dynamics will have an effect on the performance of each
individual.
3nce students are familiar with the use of chec,lists and rubrics for evaluation, they
can gradually begin to assess their own learning and provide feedbac, to their
peers. /his aspect of alternative assessment can easily be included in the evaluation
segment of a lesson Bsee Planning a FessonC. -n classrooms where traditional forms
of assessment are re.uired, this gives the instructor multiple ways of measuring
progress without increasing the time students spend ta,ing traditional tests.