The world of education is filled with acronyms and buzz-words. You may have heard of 'Performance Assessments' and wondered what this means. Probably the easiest way to think of this is to remember those "hands-on" projects many of us did in school: a map of the United States made out of clay, a poster on cells, or a report on George Washington. Today's performance assessments are much more than that.
Some of what you see in a performance assessment sounds familiar: group projects, portfolios, essays, etc. But the purpose of a performance assessment is for students to have a deeper knowledge of a subject and to put learning into the students' hands. (I know when I made that clay map of the United States back in 5th grade, it was easy to do and didn't require much thinking.) Performance Assessments also provide teachers and parents with an opportunity to see what each student knows and what each one is able to do.
A performance assessment that includes a clay map might be a group project where students would learn teamwork, cooperation, responsibility, and leadership skills. The students would each be responsible for a part of the project: perhaps focusing on one period of time in US history with one student investigating the politics of the time; another student learning about the culture and arts; and another investigating significant events. The project might include a handmade dress made in the style of the period (as one student did at the high school for a performance assessment) and another might create a diary of a person from that time. Think of how rich these experiences are for a student and how much research and learning goes into this kind of assessment- as opposed to an assessment that just involves multiple choice, fill in the blanks and true or false.
Recently, our high school teachers were involved in a 5 year grant that led them through the process of including performance assessments in their teaching. Their work was held up as an example for other schools in the state. They were then invited to present their work at a National Conference this past February. Over half of the high school teachers are involved in this initiative! I am proud of the work I see our students doing: they are creating, analyzing, and demonstrating their knowledge in ways that really show what they know and can do.
Our goal is to have all students taking part in performance assessments as part of their work in our schools. Teachers are currently writing competencies and will be including performance assessments as part of a student's evaluation. Don't be surprised when your student becomes an "expert" on a topic while creating something wonderful to show what they know and can do!
