What Is Alternative Assessment and Why Is It Needed?
Many of the reigning theoretical assumptions on which contemporary testing and assessment rely are based on behaviorist views of cognition and development. In the 1990’s, we have come to realize that new, alternative ways of thinking about learning and assessing learning are needed. Gardner (1993) argues that there is a resurgence of interest in the idea of multiplicity of intelligences. He and other researchers claim the existence of mental modules (i.e., fast-operating, reflexlike, information processing devices). Fodor (1983) espoused the view that there are separate analytic devices involved in tasks like syntactic parsing, tonal recognition, and facial perception. Others (Sternberg, 1988, Perkins, 1981, Gruber, 1985) have investigated the concept of creativity. Their studies have shown that creative individuals do not have unique mental modules, but they use what they have in more efficient and flexible ways. Such individuals are extremely reflective about their activities, their
