Authentic Assessment

Too often the term "rigorous measurement" gets equated with traditional testing. Jon Mueller has an extensive website (Links to an external site.) about what he calls 'authentic assessment'. He defines authentic assessment as, "A form of assessment in which students are asked to perform real-world tasks that demonstrate meaningful application of essential knowledge and skills."

Authentic assessments are the manifestation of 'experience', 'reflection', 'action' and 'evaluation' in the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm. We consider assessments to be authentic when they are:

  • Performance-based: Challenges learners to show what they can do, along with what they know.
  • Integrative: Requires learners to pull together skills and knowledge from multiple areas.
  • Useful: Motivates learners to improve in the areas where they are weakest (think about the stumbling blocks you identified for your student persona).
  • Relevant: References the learner’s situation and life experiences.
  • Evaluative: Solicits the learner to participate in the evaluation process.

Focus on evidence students can take with them

ePortfolios are online spaces where students collect digital artifacts as evidence of their learning. One way to keep focused on authentic assessment is to design learning activities that result in work that could be used as evidence of learning in an ePortfolio. Imagining how you might design an assignment so that the resultant work could be included in an eportfolio is an easy, concrete way to think about authentic assessment.

Clear expectations

Communicating your expectations is critical to involving students in the evaluation of their own work and learning. Evaluation is an important aspect of the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm and The Circle. This can be accomplished by providing either good exemplars or a rubric.

If you choose to go the rubric route, Canvas has a rubric tool that can simplify your life and allow you to quickly and effectively give structured feedback to your students. Many instructors like to use the rubric tool along with the audio feedback when grading. Your instructional designer will be happy to help you set this up.

Rubrics available in CDLI's lab*

One drawback to using a rubric is that it can take time to craft an effective one. We have a Rubric Station in the CDLI lab with all of the AAC&U rubrics, as well as other rubrics faculty have used. You are welcome to take individual rubrics or an entire set. The AAC&U rubrics are also available on CDLI's website. These are already formatted for Canvas as well as in Word Doc and PDF format: CDLI Rubric Downloads Links to an external site.. Here are the rubrics we have on hand in the lab:

  • Discussion Rubrics
  • Presentation Rubrics
  • All of the AAC&U Rubrics:
    • Civic Engagement
    • Creative Thinking
    • Critical Thinking
    • Ethical Reasoning
    • Information Literacy
    • Inquiry and Analysis
    • Integrative Learning
    • Intercultural Competency
    • Lifelong Learning Rubric
    • Oral Communication
    • Problem Solving
    • Quantitative Literacy
    • Reading
    • Teamwork
    • Written Communication
  • Other Miscellaneous Rubrics

*We are happy to help you find other rubrics specific to your needs.

 

A note about preventing cheating

Our awareness of the potential for students to cheat is heightened in online education, even though opportunities to cheat are available in face-to-face courses too. Many instructors worry that students will cheat during online quizzes or exams. They worry that online formats will make plagiarism easier. But, according to Michael and Williams (2013), studies investigating if cheating is more prevalent in online or face-to-face courses are mixed.

A number of strategies and tools have sprung up to address faculty fears; instructors may assign timed quizzes assuming that students won't have time to look up answers or they require their students to submit work through plagiarism detectors like TurnItIn. But policing students with technology often is not an effective approach and these technologies aren't foolproof.

The best defenses against cheating are well-designed assignments and rubrics.

Cheating doesn't work with authentic assessments, and authentic writing assignments are harder to plagiarize than they are to write.

In addition to well-designed assignments, consider the following deterrents:

  • Review Seattle University's Academic Integrity policy in your introduction and throughout the term.
  • Give your students guidance regarding how much collaboration is acceptable.
  • Ask students to develop a class honor code as a group.
  • Scaffold assignments. Require students to turn in portions of assignments throughout the term starting with ideation and moving toward the final product.
  • Require small group work and peer-reviewed assignments.
  • Require students to use video of themselves answering questions or doing presentations.
  • If tests are necessary, use open book tests. Don't use the same test twice.
  • When your class begins, don't hesitate to ask follow-up questions in discussions such as, "What led you to that conclusion?" or "Can you expand on that point?".


Seattle University has adopted an Academic Integrity policy, Links to an external site. which provides direction for what to do if you suspect a student has cheated. Also, this Academic Integrity Download tutorial

can be uploaded into your Canvas course as a "Quiz" by following these instructions Links to an external site.. For further suggestions, consult Best Practice Strategies to Promote Academic Integrity in Online Education and the Faculty Focus special report Promoting Academic Integrity in Online Education Links to an external site..