Authentic assessment as described by Jon Mueller is “a form of assessment that requires students to perform real-world tasks that demonstrate meaningful application of essential knowledge and skills”.[1] Authentic assessment is assessment that mirrors what occurs in professional practice and is meaningful and relevant.[2] Authentic assessment differs from traditional assessments, particularly tests and quizzes, which can effectively determine whether or not students have acquired a significant proportion of the content knowledge taught in a particular subject, by demonstrating what a student can do rather than what they can recall which is often far less revealing about what a student actually knows.[3]

Authentic assessment which has been around since, at least, the 1980’s is already well known and widely used in professionally orientated subject areas where the connection between what is being taught and the students’ professional identity is much more obvious than in a typical HASS subject. There has been a focus on whether authentic assessment supplies better evidence of learning than standardised tests in the United States in K-12 teaching. But this isn’t my focus here rather I am interested in whether authentic assessment provides an opportunity for Humanities subjects to articulate the value of students’ learning to their lives after graduation. An authentic assessment task should be designed to replicate real-world challenges and the standards of performance expected of professionals in a field, with the potential future employment opportunities of graduates in mind. This requires some thought on the part of subject coordinators particularly in a Humanities environment where subjects are often not taught with clear vocational outcomes in mind and will require a slightly different approach from that used in clearly vocationally focussed subjects.

In an Arts environment, a particularly crucial element in designing authentic assessment is to ensure that we can convey to students where the sort of task we are asking them to complete would be relevant. This can be done by explicitly setting the scene in the assessment description “acting in the role of a museum curator you have been tasked with…”  or it can be done in class when discussing the task “this assessment replicates the sorts of tasks you might be asked to complete…”. This articulation of the task is critical as it allows students not only to see the importance of the work that they are being asked to complete but also presents them with an opportunity to consider potential professional pathways for themselves.

Examples of authentic assessments can include projects, portfolios, authoring an article for a (real or fictitious) newsletter or newspaper, designing a digital artefact, creating a poster for a science fair, debates, and oral presentations.

Advantages:

  • Authentic assessments are seen as more engaging than traditional assessment by many students.
  • Authentic assessments help to articulate the value of learning for students.
  • The design process itself provides an opportunity for a reflective re-evaluation of our subjects and how or if they prepare students for roles beyond university.
  • For some time it was believed that cheating would be almost impossible in authentic assessments, although we now know that is not true. Authentic assessment does reduce the likelihood of cheating in part because students value this type of assessment as they feel it adds to their employability, and also because authentic assessments cannot be found in essay mills.
  • Authentic assessments allow more student choice and construction in determining what is presented as evidence of proficiency. Even when students cannot choose their own topics or formats, there are usually multiple acceptable routes towards constructing a product or performance.

Disadvantages:

  • Authentic assessment can take significant effort to develop properly, however once developed doesn’t require the same effort to reuse.
  • Incorporating authentic assessment might require a rethink and redesign of a subject’s curriculum.
  • The subjective nature of authentic assessment might make it somewhat more difficult to mark.
  • As a new introduction that students are not accustomed to there may be some initial resistance to this new form of assessment.

Authentic Assessment in HASS subjects

I believe that there is not only a place for authentic assessments but that it’s vital we make space for these types of assessments. I am not suggesting we replace all of our traditional assessments, which at a tertiary level in Australia are predominantly essay-based, but that we consider where it’s appropriate to incorporate something else. A key factor in potential students going somewhere other than HASS subjects is employability. I spent approximately three years in a marketing role for the History department I was teaching in. During this time, I spoke to numerous potential students and their parents, and it became clear, very quickly, that many didn’t see a future in History (and the Humanities more broadly) if they weren’t interested in becoming teachers or academics.

I believe this misconception stems from the fact that we don’t articulate how what we’re teaching translates into the wider workplace effectively. Yes, to some degree this is that ‘skills’ discussion so many academics are sick of, but only in-so-far as we don’t articulate how the skills we already teach translate into the workplace. This leads to graduates applying for jobs with no answer to the perennial question from potential employers “how does your history degree benefit me?” we know from the data that eventually graduates get a job and do very well in a field they don’t necessarily see as connected to their studies and they don’t see that the skills they have learned have allowed them to be successful in their roles. These graduates tell their nieces, nephews and children not to pursue a Humanities degree because it did nothing for them. If we had only articulated how what they learned translates into the workforce, they could have become our strongest advocates which could in turn lead to increased interest in HASS subjects. This is a role that strategically placed use of authentic assessments could contribute to.

Are you using authentic assessments already? Please share your experiences.

Would you consider using an authentic assessment? What’s holding you back?

[1] http://jfmueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/whatisit.htm (Accessed 26/09/2022)

[2] Care, E., Griffin, P., & Wilson, M. (2017). Assessment and Teaching of 21st Century Skills : Research and Applications. Cham, SWITZERLAND: Springer International Publishing AG, p.29.

[3] http://jfmueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/whatisit.htm (Accessed 26/09/2022)