One of the conversations I feel most passionate about having with teachers is about authentic assessment. It's important to me because it isn't just good for students, its so freeing for educators to be given back some of the decision making power. Below is a multi-flow map I created to reflect what I see in much of my work.
Because this is the reality, it is with intentional clarity that I aim to shed light on what we can count as assessment. Margaret Heritage's book, Formative Assessment in Practice: A Process of Inquiry and Action, she brings it down to a statement I find myself repeating everywhere I go; "evidence of mastery can be found in anything that students say, do, make and write"
Of course the conversation about how evidence of mastery is proven and the various types of assessment is not always a simple one. But I would argue that it is within our talking about assessment that we grow as teachers and assessors.
In effort to support your conversations, here are some facets of assessment that are helpful to discuss as you plan new assessment activities and evaluate those you have been using for a while. These facets and the subpoints are a synthesis of my work and research, and are evolving as I continue the journey towards more authentically assessing students.
