AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT vs.

STANDARD ASSESSMENT: A Comparative Study

By
Shema Shearvie Ivory F. Quebec

Instructional Planning, Procedure and Assessment in Social Science/Social Studies

December 2018

Authentic Assessment vs. Standard Assessment: A Comparative Study

 Assessment is the process of gathering of student performance over a period of time to
determine learning and mastery of skills, such evidences of learning can take the forms of
dialogue record, journal, written works, portfolios, tests and other learning task. The overall goal
of assessment is to improve student learning and provide students, parents and teacher with a
reliable information regarding student progress and extent of attainment of the expected
learning outcomes. There are two subgroups used to define assessment: Standard assessment
and authentic assessment.

Authentic assessment is a test if the student applies the knowledge in the real word
situation. According to Frey & Schmitt authentic assessment is a part off children on going
learning of life inside the classroom. The measurement of ones intellect in authentic assessment
how student face challenge in the real life situation and deal with a long term solutions is a
signifies authenticity of learning compared to standard assessment.

Standard assessment is a paper and pencil test used to determine of what students
recall during and after the lesson. Through this type of assessment that teacher determines the
students weakness and strengths, and also their struggles and point of succeeding acceleration
in learning process.

To disparate between standard and authentic assessment by comparison of test given

for an example of baking a cake. The part of the test is multiple choice test; this test is standard
assessment. The second part is the actual baking of a cake; this is the authentic assessment.
Authentic assessment observes or examines student hands on performance on intellectual task,
while standard assessment requires only the ability to recall the knowledge.

Theories
Educators and theorist supports each other’s process how learning is validated in the
classroom. B. F. Skinner. Jen Piaget, Albert Bandura and Lev Vygotsky are theorists who
supports that the learning should be authentic rather than paper and pencil test (Standard
Assessment). They believe that the students must interact for the rapid changing and
demanding world. Students must compete with world to give a long-term relation to world and it
beneficiaries (the future).
The demonstration of behavior is an active learning of a student which B. F. Skinner
believed as a stimulus response on conditioned behavior. Student’s behavior change if they
had developed schema as to Jean Piaget. Schema is a mental confiscation of experience that
includes a particular organized way of cognitively and responding to complex situation or set of
stimuli. Bandura believed that students may learn through observation, without doing nothing.
Their visual senses direct them to a learning, but this condition sets an educible behavior. While
Lev Vygotsky works on Zone of Proximal Development where behavior achieved from the help
of an adult until they reach to independent learner.
Why Assess?
There are two types of assessments. Formative assessment and summative
assessment. Formative assessment is to gather information to improve the learning process.
Summative assessment used at the end of learning schedule. This two are used in determining
the effectiveness in the classroom activities.
Authentic assessment is used to find out what the student can do through hands on
experiences. Besides from hands on experience teachers also observe on what type of learner
the student and their behavior. Because of this information guides to assist there growth and
development.
In digestion, teacher assess their student to attend there development and learning. It
also adds a guided classroom plan and judgments. Assessment can identify students
interpersonal and communications skills.

Goals of Assessment
The purpose of assessment should provide teachers an imperative information to a
better instruction in the following classroom activities where in it address the needs and lacking
of the students’ performance in the classroom. The ability to reflect is one of the important high
light of the classroom assessment, as to it is also a way in improving the classroom instructions.
Authentic assessment is based on idea that it should be performed on what the students
has learned or expected development in learning throughout the learning process.
Assessment should be not be used to compare students but serves as a function to
which a students is lacking of. We have to remember that students have different type of
learning.

Bloom’s Taxonomy
Benjamin Bloom on this taxonomy based on three domains: affective, psychomotor, and
cognitive. Cognitive domain was the hierarchy of the three domains. Knowledge,
comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation are the levels of cognitive
domain. This level was later on changed to remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing,
evaluating and creating. Because of the complexity of thinking that requires progress from
remembering to creating.
This provides educators another way to define a higher order of thinking skills for the
student. Teacher will determine the level of thinking which is required as Bloom Taxonomy to
accomplish the assessment. The objective of blooms taxonomy is to identify the various types of
learning or levels of learning.

Standard Assessment vs. Authentic Assessment

Standard Assessment Authentic Assessment
Evaluation of students learning content and Measurement of student proficiency in performing
determine if they succeeded the acquired the real life task and provide students diverse learning
knowledge to demonstrate at their best.
 Evaluate through there competency
Measurement of knowledge content. Gives a complete picture of student’s
Demonstrate knowledge through selective performance.
response by giving a correct answer by paper
and pen tests.
Multiple choice
True or False
Indirect learning evidence Direct learning evidence through demonstration of
knowledge and skills that relevant to the given
task.
Giving students a time to practice or recall Giving student a opportunities to construct new
their cognitive ability of knowledge being knowledge of what is being taught.
taught.
Teachers as evaluator Student and teacher involvement and engaging to
learning.
Separation of assessment from teaching and Integration of assessment from instruction.
learning. Test comes after instruction to Assessment happens thought-out instruction and
evaluate student learning content. activity.
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Advantages and Disadvantages

Standard Assessment Authentic Assessment
Advantages Disadvantages Advantages Disadvantages
Easy to score Glimpse of student Clear development of Hard to evaluate
growth and students growth
development
Lesser time to Limited option of Many alternative Time consuming
prepare Easy to demonstration ways of learning
administer
Objective, reliable Students work alone. Promotes team work Lack of objectives,
and valid collaboration and reliability and validity
intrapersonal skills. if not properly guided
Economical Invokes the feeling of Reduces anxiety Less economical.
anxiety.
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Conclusion
Assessment is to guide student and teacher growth and development as part of the
learning process. Teacher assess student to follow/ monitor their learning. In this manner also
the teacher will find a way to attach to the student to serve as guardian to the process and help
student development their skills. Standard assessment provides only statistical data. It may not
require a higher order thinking skill as defined by bloom. Authentic assessment is encourage
higher order thinking skill. As a word it self authentic, literally as being true and already been
experience in a real life encounter as what being an outcome I preparation in there maturity. Not
only giving solution but also in action or execution.
For year in the classroom setting, the standard assessment is their focus which recalling
is the high level. It’s good somehow because the student will not forget the lesson. By that it’s
easy for them to catch up to their next grade level because they recall what they studies in the
past.
Authentic assessment is focus on what student can do as they understand the lesson.
Where they can create a new knowledge which they can use as advantage. Encourage student
to be productive.
Both of these two gives or provide information of the their student about their skills,
knowledge as a requirement to be competitive in there near future. Standard and authentic
assessment can be both useful to seek student ability to think and recall what they learn.