Authentic assessment: creating a blueprint for course design |
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| Authors: | Verónica Villarroel Susan Bloxham Daniela Bruna Carola Bruna Constanza Herrera-Seda |
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| Institution: | 1. Center for Research and Improvement of Education (CIME), Faculty of Psychology, Universidad del Desarrollo, City of Concepción, Chilevvillarroel@udd.cl http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3000-2248;2. Faculty of Education, University of Cumbria, City of Carlisle, UK;3. Center for Research and Improvement of Education (CIME), Faculty of Psychology, Universidad del Desarrollo, City of Concepción, Chilehttp://orcid.org/0000-0001-7424-2959;4. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Universidad de Concepción, City of Concepción, Chile;5. Faculty of Psychology, Universidad del Desarrollo, City of Concepción, Chile |
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| Abstract: | Authenticity has been identified as a key characteristic of assessment design which promotes learning. Authentic assessment aims to replicate the tasks and performance standards typically found in the world of work, and has been found to have a positive impact on student learning, autonomy, motivation, self-regulation and metacognition; abilities highly related to employability. Despite these benefits, there are significant barriers to the introduction of authentic assessment, particularly where there is a tradition of ‘testing’ decontextualised subject knowledge. One barrier may be the lack of conceptualisation of the term authentic assessment sufficient to inform assessment design at the individual course level. This article tackles that omission by a systematic review of literature from 1988 to 2015. Thirteen consistent characteristics of authentic assessment are identified leading to the classification of three conceptual dimensions: realism, cognitive challenge and evaluative judgement. These dimensions are elaborated and used to propose a step-based model for designing and operating authentic assessment in individual higher education subjects. |
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| Keywords: | Authentic assessment higher education workplace |
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