Performance-Based Testing

I am going to be honest and tell you a little secret about me…I hate testing students. It can be mind-numbing and painful. I also don’t like giving grades for student work. But I understand that there needs to be accountability on the student’s part. And at some point, they need to see what they really can do in the language. So I test.

Testing causes anxiety for everyone, the teacher included. We worry if the test is a good one (whatever that means), if the test is valid, or if students are cheating during the test. I also worry about my expressions when I sign because I am concentrating on making sure no one is doing the aforementioned cheating. Can anyone understand my pain?

What if I told you that I can change your mind about testing? Would you believe me?

Several years ago I started changing my testing process and I can honestly tell you I look forward to testing days (as much as any teacher can). I can also tell you, students can’t cheat.

Performance Based Testing

Performance-based testing gives students the ability to showcase what they know and can do while demonstrating real-world tasks. In order to implement this type of testing, you have to be willing to put in some time.  

How you test is how you teach – meaning tests that are performance-based are assessing what students can do in the target language. During the unit of study, students must have several opportunities to practice these skills and receive feedback on them. There has to be a time in class where the teacher can give informal feedback or provide a rubric noting detailed comments. This means that your classroom should be a communication hub every day.

Feedback –  Providing input on errors and accomplishments takes time. It doesn’t matter if it’s class time or recorded videos scored at home at night. It all takes time out of the class schedule and your personal life. However, feedback is viatal. 

Revamping your materials – Changing tests means you can’t use the same test you did last year (you know the one students can cheat off of or guess the answers). However, creating performance-based tests does not take as long as creating a multiple choice test.

Scoring the tests – If you can manage to score students during a class period, then this is not an issue. If you have short class periods or a limited schedule, then grading may consume your time at night.

I hope you have not stopped reading this blog. I know I just pointed out the negatives to this type of testing. But I know there are a lot more positives than negatives. Let me help you see them.

Positives of Performance Based Testing

Communication – Requires and expects students to use the language in real-world situations.

Language – Demands that students use active construction of language and not memorized practiced language use.

Demonstrate – Develops an understanding of real-life language use in various situations, not just what is in the textbook.

Can Do – Shows what students can really do with the language and aligns with your communication expectations.

I hope the positives I listed above make you think about your tests and if they are truly testing what you expect students to know and do in the language. Performance-based testing builds on earlier content knowledge and processing skills. This type of testing allows students to “pull it all together.” This means students are always using new content and demonstrating retention of prior concepts.

The initial move to this type of testing does take time, as I mentioned above. However, once you get a few units completed, you will find that assessments can easily be created and further simplified through shared ideas and networking. Since our time is often limited, I can tell you that it is quicker to score these tests than written tests.

So do you like this idea? Want to try this? Want to learn more? Keep following the blog here and join Creative ASL Teaching on Facebook. 

Learn how to grade the performance-based assessment here.