Alternative Assessment | CSCC Digital Education and Instructional Services (2024)

FAQs

What is an example of an alternative assessment? ›

Unlike traditional evaluation methods that only assess the student's knowledge, alternative assessment spurs the student to wear his or her thinking hat, and creatively apply the knowledge to solve a problem. Concept maps, portfolios, and open-tests are some familiar examples of alternative assessments.

Alternative assessment refers to those alternative or nonconventional forms of assessment that have emerged within classrooms since the 1990s in response to the perceived deficiencies of more traditional assessments, and especially of standardized tests.

Disadvantages of alternative assessments include use of student time, use of educator time, and inaccurate reflection of student progress and knowledge.

Alternative assessments are used to determine what students can and cannot do, in contrast to what they do or do not know. They encourage students to learn to apply knowledge rather than memorize material.

It focuses on assessing students' deeper understanding and skills rather than memorization and recall. Alternative assessment methods can provide a more comprehensive and authentic view of students' abilities.

Principles of alternative assessment include evaluating both the process and products of learning, focusing on higher-order thinking, and measuring non-cognitive outcomes.

Alternative Assessment as Formative Assessment

This approach allows instructors to improve their teaching by being able to clearly see what students are not understanding, and also allows students to improve their learning by identifying where their strengths and weaknesses lie.

Your starting point is the learning outcomes for the modules the alternative assessment should align with these outcomes. Ensure students have sufficient skills to demonstrate their learning. They should have an opportunity, where possible, to trial any unfamiliar method, without grading.

Alternate assessments are designed for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who are receiving instruction aligned with alternate achievement standards. Students identified by their IEP team for alternate assessment take the alternate version of all statewide summative assessments.

What is the difference between alternative assessment and traditional assessment? ›

Additionally, traditional assessment tools require learners to display their knowledge in a predetermined way (Brualdi, 1996). Alternative assessments, on the other hand, assess higher-order thinking skills. Students have the opportunity to demonstrate what they learned.

The most common problems encountered by ALS learners on the implementation of Alternative Learning System are family problems, marital problem, and school too far from home and financial problem as well.

To meet federal accountability requirements, the AA-AAAS must be aligned to grade-level content in each subject area. The achievement of grade-level content by students with significant cognitive disabilities is different from the achievement of other students, but the evidence of their work is compelling.

Alternate assessments are for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who are unable to participate in regular assessments even with extensive accommodations. Any student designated as an alternate assessment participant should have documentation within their IEP.

Alternative teaching is best used for times when any assessment data (whether formal or informal) indicates that a small group of students needs extra assistance before moving on or needs deeper enrichment while the majority of the class needs reteaching.

Alternate assessments are assessments based on alternate academic achievement standards (AA-AAAS). These assessments are intended for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who are unable to participate in general assessments even with accommodations.

In the Alternative Uses Task (AUT), developed by Torrance [21], the participant is asked to generate as many alternative uses as possible for a common object such as a pen, a brick, or a paperclip. For instance, alternative uses for a brick could include a bed riser, a place mat, or a weapon.

Example: One teacher works with students who need a concept re-taught while the other teacher extends the concept for remaining students. Alternative Teaching Definition: Alternative teaching strategies provide students with different approaches to learning the same information.

Learn about alternative ways to perform assessments for English Language Learners (ELL) students. It is important for ELL students to have the equitable access to education by varying the types of assessments given, such as using portfolios, pictures, role-playing, and paper-based assessment modification.