Possible Exam 1 Questions

1. Choose three characteristics that distinguish most authentic or performance assessments from most traditional assessments. For each characteristic, explain whether my critique assignments resemble more an authentic or a traditional assessment.

2. a) You want to evaluate your students on how well they can defend a position. Create a rubric that could be used to evaluate student performance on such a task. Include at least three criteria in your rubric. Design the rubric so that it could apply to written or oral examples of the behavior.
b) How can the rubric you created for a) be used for developmental purposes?

3. a) What does it mean to say in the traditional assessment model that curriculum drives assessment?
b) What does it mean to say in the authentic assessment model that assessment drives the curriculum?

4. Identify a standard you don't believe is adequately addressed in your classroom or school.
a) Briefly explain why that standard should receive more attention.
b) Briefly describe a constructed-response item that could be used to assess part or all of that standard.
c) Briefly describe a product or performance assessment that could be used to assess part or all of that standard.

5. How might the owner of a dog obedience school test the reliability and validity of the inferences drawn from the school's "final exam" for the dogs?

6. A colleague comes up to you and says, "Hey, you took that assessment course. What do you think of this standard I just came up with for my class: 'Students will participate in a variety of cultural events to expand their respect for different perspectives.'" If you believe the previous statement is a good standard, explain why. If you don't believe so, write it so it is a good standard and captures at least a little of the essence of the original statement. Then, explain (tactfully) why your version is a better standard.

7. A process skill that students can develop is the ability to check their own work.
a) How might a teacher meaningfully measure that skill?
b) How might a student self-assess on that skill?

8. Select any other question on this exam except this question. For that question, identify two levels of cognitive objectives within Bloom's taxonomy that you believe that question is measuring. Explain why you believe the question is measuring those two levels.

9. I described in class (and on the website) four parts or steps to creating an authentic assessment. Explain why completing the first step successfully is most important. In answering this question, explain how it would be difficult to successfully complete the remaining three steps (addressing each of the remaining three steps separately) if the first step had not been effectively developed.