Q: What do “alternative assessments” mean?
A: When we want to know what students know, we give them a test or a quiz. These forms of testing are great ways to know what students know, but they don’t always reflect the application of the skills they are learning every day. In other words, tests and quizzes are an essential part of the learning process, but should not be the only forms of assessment that teachers use to evaluate children’s knowledge. Forms of testing that are not actual “tests” are called alternative assessments in the world of education. Below, I have outlined a few possibilities for alternative assessments in elementary through high school:
Elementary School
- Bookmark. A typical test to know what a student knows about a book or short story would consist of questions or a book report. Instead, teachers can tell students that they need to create a bookmark with a synopsis on one side and key vocabulary on the other. This bookmark can then be transferred to the next book for use. At the end of the year, the student can also compile a scrapbook of all the bookmarks created for the reading that year. This not only tests the students’ knowledge of the contents of the book, but also helps them see their progression as the year continues.
- Recipe. For math and science, a great alternative assessment is to give the students a recipe and ingredients for cookies or any other delicious baked good. Then, give the students instructions for halving or doubling. Depending on the level of the student, fractions can be involved. If possible, the school can also provide measuring cups and spoons so that students can work to actually measure out the contents of each ingredient. Multiplication, division, and measurement are all tested in this alternative assessment.
- Time line. For social studies teachers assigning a different time period in history to different students in order to create a timeline can be an effective testing measure. The time lines would require students to understand the sequence of historical events and additionally force them to think about cause and effect.
High School
- Literature circles. Students in high school can read books in groups and discuss those books with their peers. In order to ensure that students are held accountable for their reading and discussions, teachers can audio-record these conversations and evaluate them on depth of conversation and sophistication. This alternative assessment adds verbal presentation into an English classroom that might otherwise only include written assessments.
- At-home labs. Science classes don’t always have the material, space, or time for lab work, but there are great labs that teachers can assign to students to be completed at home. Many of these labs require everyday household items and regular kitchen equipment. With these labs (and the lab reports students write up after), students can demonstrate their knowledge of both math and chemistry in addition to an in-class written test.
- Director’s notebooks. When reading plays (especially ones written a long time ago), students are often confounded by the language. A great way to test students’ knowledge, while also engaging and motivating them, is to have them create “director’s notebooks.” In these director’s notebooks, they would annotate the scripts with difficult vocabulary, stage directions, and tone. Then, the students would perform the scene for the class, thereby demonstrating their knowledge of the subject at hand.
In addition to, not instead of…
Alternative assessments are an extremely important part of understanding what students know beyond the scope of tests and quizzes. That said, tests and quizzes do hold an important place in the classroom. Children’s minds work in different ways and therefore different assessments are necessary to help teachers understand just what their students grasp and understand. An added bonus is that they can help boost children’s self-esteem if they don’t usually excel through traditional testing methods.
