chapter 3

Nature of I, 'i .
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performance- ';j/ ·.·.·
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Based Assessment JI
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overview /-:/tr/, l1
Traditional testing cannot measure a number
of skills directly. Skills requiring the demonstratioJl of
students' understanding by creating an answer, carrying
out performance, or producing a product which involves
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independent judgment, critical thinking and decision-
making are best assessed with performance test. This type
tf of authentic assessment provides -evidence of what the
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! chapter gives an introduction to performance assessment.
It discusses th_e nature, principles, types, advantages, and
ik limitations of performance~based assessment ·
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Section Intended Learning Outcome
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interpreting performance-based assessment.
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Chapter Intended Learning outcome
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At the end of the chapter. you should be able to
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analyze the nature and the essential characteristics of
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' performance-based assessment.
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ENGAGE
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. section we examined the principles of high quality assessment h..
Jn the previous
. b .
• tegratmg basic
' . . . . . . uy
ncepts of assessment and discussing thoroughly the d1ffere.n t types ·of 't
m . gco . and learning
utilized in the teaching . process. These for. ms of assessment
.
assessment em . • I ·
have been very effective ~n determining earning outcomes of the students.
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Most of the time, the teacher relied on paper-and-pencil test which measure, (
knowledge and understanding, not the ability of the learners to actually carry out the
performance. With the implementation of the Outcome-Based Education (OBE) acro~s the I
country, greater emphasis shall be given in assessing student outcomes through real life
(authentic) which requires students to work and canyon tasks to perform and do something.
Assessment in which students carry out activities or produce product in demonstrating their '
metacognitive knowledge, understanding and skills is called performance-based assessment
1. Meaning and Charac~eristics
Performance-Based Assessment is one in which the teacher observes and makes a
judgment about the student's demonstration of a skill or competency in creating a product,
constructing a response, or making a presentation (McMillan, 2007). In this assessment, the
emphasis is on the students' ability to perform tasks by producing their own authentic work
with their knowledge and skills.
Performance-Based Assessment (PBA) is an alternatjve form of assessment that moves
away from traditional paper-and-pencil tests (Ferman, 2005). It involves students producing
a project, whether it is an oral, written, individual or group performance. The students are
engaged in creating a final project that exhibits understanding of concepts they have learned.
Performance-based assessments proces~ tqe creati~e aspect of the s~dents in bringing
out -~hat they know and what they can do through different performance tasks such as
exhibits, projects and work samples. Hands-on experiences allow them to be more critical,,
motivated and involved when they are allowed to perform 0 ~ tbeir own. Students can acquire
and apply knowledge, skills and work habits through the different performance tasks whi"ch
~m 'gfu .
eamn l and engaging to the students.
. . Types of activities that best exemplified perform~nce-b~sed _assessments include
writmg a r~search report, solving and conducting ~":perim~nts and i~vestigations, return
dem~nstration, speech, skit, role playing, constructing and implementing seminar plan or
creating video presentation. ,,
It is stipulated in the DepEd Order No. 7, s. 2012 that the highest lev~I 9'asses , . ,•}:.
focuses on the pe"'"'or d . h.ch the students are expected to p " :,. ~ent.
11
1 mances (pro uct) w i
authentic performance tasks Th
Id "-tlea thto Jt
ent at this level shou ans~er the ,·t -~.,\ . .tlf. ,, ;,Uf · ,,
product(s) or Performance(~) d; ::::::t stu~ nts to produce as eV1dence c~- ' ; ~/ ' '
 Assessment of Learning 2
or understanding?"a11·c:
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their tearnmg t . do w e want them t0 provide evidence that they can transfer
or "How .
O re he situations?"
Moreover, Linn (1995) stated th t
.atuate o e e ctiveness ofathperformance assessments provide a basis of teachers
b th. th1 . ffe . e process
to 0 .
eollecOOn, mampu ation of mstruments) and th or procedure used (e.g. approach to data
ia5k (e.g. completed report of fesults co I e product resulting from performance of a
lcD wtedge, there Is unlikely to be si:'f eted art work). Unlike simple tests of factual
JIIUitiple
0 petformances and problem solul e right or best answer. Rather, there may be
rmulation, the organization of ideas th o~s that '?ay be judged to be excellent Problem
1~nality are all important aspects of ' e,;' mtegratton of multiple types of evidence, and
~per-and-pencil tests. p ormance that may not be adequately assessed by
· Performance productse are
les of their knowled an outputs pro.duced
· by the students that
· provide concrete
eiamP g d understandmg of the subject matter. These performances
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w them to demonstrate the applicatt· on-of what they have learned with
• their
· schemata as
allo
well- Students may also _engage m some tasks which are useful not only within the four walls
of the ~chool •~ch as domg fieI<;! work, demonstrating rules and guidelines, and engaging into
extension sel"Vlces. Process-onented assessments provide insights on the students' critical
thinking, logic and reasoning skills. These will lead them to independent learning and .set
goals for future use.
. Some performance assessment proponents contend that genuine performance
assessments must possess at least three features (Popham, 2011):
, Multiple evaluation criteria. The student's petformance must be judged using more
than one evaluation criterion. -
• Pre-specified quality standards. Each of the evaluative criteria on which a student's
petformance is to be judged is clearly explicated in advance of judging the quality of
the student's performance.
, Judgmental appraisal. Unlike the scoring of selected-response tests in which
electronic computers and scanning machines can, onc_e programmed, carry on
without the need of humankind, genuine performance assessments depend on human
judgments to determine how acceptable a student's performance really is.
All educational institution expect students to demonstrate different skills in various
learning areas and most often subjected to classroom performance assessment. Some
characteristics of thi.s assessment whiCh can be observed in the actual classrooin setting
may Include student performance, creation, construction and production of prodiict which
~n assess deep understanding and reasoning skills. The performance involves engaging
ideas of importance and substance which students can explain, justify, and defend. Last\y., .
the perforinance should be grounded in real-word contexts which calls for authentlc\ty,_t>f~ ,
th
e performance
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Assessment of Learning 2
gives st11d•
T es of Performance Tasks alJ the learning targets . n the oth1
b . · of the pe rfiormance task is to• capture_ 0
2. YP actIVI·o·es and assessment • pportUni1
The main o Jecttve h' nd learning objectives, t that must be develoPed 0
shaJI be aligned to the teac mj :ssessment is the final outpu onstration, tasks and o
the focus of performan~\~":: form of problem-solving, de~cesses, skills and prod
3. Stre 11
completed. These coui h t ould influence the thinkmg p ce-based assessment As VI
authentic experiences t a w ks B low are some performan
required from performance tas . e rypes of a
assessmer
(Musia~ 2009): bl solving are important s
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. Solving a problem. Critical thinking a nd :r':ii/::arners. Teachers may inclu1 3.1 1
that need to be sharpened and developed blems or issues to be solved
activities and make sense of complex au th entic_ p~o pendent thinkers and learn
the students. This helps the students become~n ; 1st century.
for life, and help them meet the challenges_of e. hich the students are as 3.2
. . • An · iry tasks 1s one m w . .
2.2 Completing an mqwry. mqu . d standing about a topic or 1ssn
to collect data in order to develop their un er h based acti'vities
•
Examples of inqui~es include saenc~ ·
mves tigation' researc
ine what data are •need
and interviews or mdependent studies. Students determ
3.3
and under what conditions that data should be collected, present data and devel
conclusions. d · · larify.
2.3 Detennining a position. This task requires students to make ec1s1on or c
position. Case analysis and issue relate~ activities or debate are some examples
this task.
2.4 Demonstration Task. This task shows how the students use knowledge ~• 3.4
skills to complete weU-defined complex tasks. Students explain or describe ho·
something works or hOw to do something when they perfonn these tasks. Examples
are: demonstrating steps_or-procedures of cooking, explaining the earthquake safety
procedures and demonstrating how to set up microscope for VieWing slides. T 3.5
focus of demonstration tasks is accuracy in clarifying the steps of process as well
as carefu_l reaso~in~ conce_~ing the '.'3tionale for •~ch step of the Process.
z.s Developmg 1 Exlub1ts. Exhibits are VISual Presentations or displays th t d J'ttle
· from th e creators. An exh'b•
or no exp anation · offered to ""Plain da nee 1 te
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or show something. Classroom applications include exhibit of best ,,; ~mo~stra.
or paintings, projects or even portfolios. or • pictures
2.6 Presentation Task. This is a work or task performed in front f .
Tl1
Storytelling, singing and dancing, musical play or theatrical O • an audience.
presentations which demonstrate presentations tasks. acting are som, .assessm
2. 7 Capstone Performances. These are tasks that occur at the end . , t~'- De~
study and enable •~dents to show knowledge and ~kills in the con;r a Ptograf!l " PerJ
the world of praclicmg professionals. These tasks include resear h Jct that matchd
teaching, internship or on-the-job training. c Paper; Practla ;>~:' .,..,,..,,
.€.icon: tas~
With the different types of performance tasks, the teacher may decide \v
materials should be used, specifies the instructions for performance, descrfb bat and w
,
outcomes toward which students should work, tells the students they are bein es the kinds
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 , Assessment 0 1 Learning l
. es students opportunitiesrfoto p repare themselves for the assessment. Performance tasks
gt\' h other hand can b
on t e ·ty t e pe rmed also in a typical and natural setting, which glve students
oPP 0 rtum o pe11orm particula r activity
• • which
. the teacher would llke to assess.
3. Strengths and Limitations
As we explored the nature O f per1ormance
" assessment and exammed
· the different
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cyp es of assessment tasks ' severa l aut horit1es
· • discussed the advantages of performance ,
assessments over other assessments. i,
3.1 Perfor~ance assessment clearly identifies and clarifies learning targets.
Authentic perf~rmance tasks such as real world challenges and situations can
closely match with the various complex learning targets. This offers a direct way to
assess what the students know and can do within the variety of realistic contexts.
3.2 Performance assessment allows students to exhibit their own skills, talents,
an_~ ~~ertis~. Tasks show integration of the student's skills, knowledge and
abilities, proVIde challenge and opportunities to exhibit their best creation. This
also assesses the ability "to do" of the students.
3.3 Performance assessment advocates constructivist principle of learning.
Students are more engaged in active learning and give more opportunities to
demonstrate their learning in differ-ent ways in complex tasks. Students use their
previous knowledge to build a new' knowledge structures and be actively involved
in exploration and inquiry through different tasks.
3.4 Performance assessment uses a variety of approaches to student evaluation.
This offers students a variety of way of expressing their learning and increases· the
validity of student's evaluation. Teachers may share criteria of assessment before
the actual evaluation so thatstudents can use this criteria as well.
3.5 Performance assessment allows the teachers to explore the main goal
and processes of teaching and learning process. Teachers may reflect and
revisit learning targets, curriculum and instructional practices, and standards as .
a
they utilize performance-based assessment. They may use variety of teaching
strategies and techniques, and explore how students will use the instructional
material and resources given to them. ,
Though performance assessments offer several advantages over traditional objective
assessment procedures, they have some distinct limitations as well.
1. Development of high quality performance assessment is a tedious process~
Performance assessment needs careful planning and implementation. It is very time
·:~t~fr
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consuming to construct good tasks. Teachers have to make sure that the performan(;e •
tasks expected from the students are authentic and match the outcome to b~ assessed,
and not with other qualities that are not part of the outcomes to be assessed. Quality
scoring rubrics are difficult to create as well. , :l~ t ~,
2. Performance assessment requires a considerable amount of time to admint•r,: t)
Paper-and-pencil takes 15 to 20 minutes per tasks to complete depending on the nu~ber Wti
of items. Most authentic tasks take a number of days to complete. Most of the tin\~,,.
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performance assessment is administered to small groups of st11dents unlike traditi~
testing which is simultaneously administered to an entire class.
3. Performance assessment takes a great deal of time to score- The mor~ complex ~
process and performance, the more time you can expect to spend on sconng. To red,q
the scoring time, crafting a high quality rubrics is recommended. : 'fl
4. Performance task score may have lower reliability. This resulte~ to inconsisten"q
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of scoring by teachers who interpret observation quite differently. Wtth complex tasks_ .
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multiple correct answers, and fast-paced performances, scoring depends on teachen- I
own scoring competence. ·
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5. Performance task completion may be discouraging to Jess able students. SOllte
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tasks that reqmre students to sustain their interest for a longer time may discourage
disadvantaged students. They may have partial knowledge of the learning target but ma,
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fall to_ complete the task because it does not allow them to utilize this partial knowled
elfectiVely and efficiently. ge
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below:A summary of strengths an d weaknesslls of performance
. assessment. is presented
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Strengths Weaknesses I
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Integrates assessment with instruction. Reliability may be difficult to establish.
learning occurs during assessment. Measurement error due to subjective
nature of the scoring may be significant.
Provides opportunities for formative Inconsistent student performance across
assessment. time may result in inaccurate conclusions.
Tends to be more authentic.than other Few samples of student achievement.
types of assessments.
More engaging; active involvement of
R~quires considerable teacher time to
students.
prepare and student time to compte1~.
Provides additional way for students to •
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!ill · Difficult to plan for amount of time I
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show what they know and can do.
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Emphasis on reasoning skills. ''
Limited ability to generalize to a larger ,;:r •,.
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domain of knowledge. ' l
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Forces teachers to establish specific •t
criteria to identify successful
performance.
Encourages student self-assessment. 'I:\
Emppasis on application of knowledge.
Encourages re-examination of instruetional
goals and the purpose of schooling.
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