Assessment Standards
6. Problem connected to the World Beyond the Classroom
The task asks students to address a concept, problem or issue that is similar to one they have encountered or are likely to encounter in life beyond the classroom.
7. Audience Beyond the School
The task asks students to communicate their knowledge, present a product or performance, or take some action for an audience beyond the teacher, classroom, and school building.
The relationship between the assessment standards, the content standards, and the teaching standards emphasizes a point heard over and over in education Good assessment is an integral part of good instruction.
It is important to remember that not every task we ask students to do in school needs to be authentic or must contain all of the seven standards listed above.
Sometimes students need to learn and practice skills or acquire knowledge that will serve as a foundation for future work. However, as we design our lessons and assessments, it is important that we keep these concepts and standards in mind so we can incorporate them into the teaching and learning as often as possible.
For more in-depth information, refer to the "Assessment" section in the Michigan Curriculum Framework and the booklet, A Guide to Authentic Instruction and Assessment: Vision, Standards and Scoring by Fred Newmann, Walter Secada, and Gary Wehlage. (Wisconsin Center for Education Research, 1995) Both of these resources can be found in the MAISD Discovery Center.
