What Are the Different Forms of Authentic Assessment?
If assessment is authentic, ongoing, and integrated with classroom instruction, then it is easy to see that it will take many different forms (Stiggins, 1994; Valencia, 1990). Some assessments are more formal, others more informal. Formal Assessment Some formal assessments provide teachers with a systematic way to evaluate how well students are progressing in a particular instructional program. For example, after completing a four- to six-week theme, teachers will want to know how well students have learned the theme skills and concepts. They may give all the students a theme test in which students read, answer questions, and write about a similar theme concept. This type of assessment allows the teacher to evaluate all the students systematically on the important skills and concepts in the theme by using real reading and writing experiences that fit with the instruction. In other situations, or for certain students, teachers might use a skills test to examine specific skills or strate
