Traditional Assessment Strategies

As stated earlier, standardized testing is the traditional assessment strategy most often used in education, both K-12 and adult. The two major types of standardized testing are norm-referenced measures and criterion-referenced measures.

  • Norm-referenced measures compare an individual's performance to the performance of groups of people, i.e., the norm group. Presented in terms of percentiles, stanines, or grade levels, these measures show whether a student “knows” more or less than other persons in the group. The tests of General Education Development (GED) and the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) are examples of this kind of standardized test.

  • Criterion-referenced measures evaluate student performance against skills they are expected to achieve. Their progress is measured against specific criteria, such as the knowledge needed to master a specific job, life-related tasks, etc. Although less common than norm-referenced measures, many adult educators will recognize the Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE) as an example of a criterion-referenced measure.

Authentic, Performance-based Assessments

Authentic, performance-based assessments are designed to supply direct evidence of what a student is able to do in contexts that have a real work or life purpose. In other words, students supply answers, perform actions, and/or create products that demonstrate their mastery of the learning standards, goals, and objectives. Authentic, performance-based assessments, which may be considered less traditional, include:

Portfolio Assessment
Portfolio assessment presents a collection of student work completed over a period of time, documenting progress. Student work might include essays, artwork, self-assessments, etc.
On-the-Job Assessment
On-the-job assessment occurs as the student performs an actual job. All facets of performance -- work skills, work behaviors, interpersonal relations, etc. -- are observed.
Situational Assessment
Situational assessment is also based on observation of realistic activities. This kind of assessment usually takes place in more structured environments, such as school classrooms or workshops.
Work Sample Assessment
Work sample assessment involves parts of jobs taken from work settings and placed in a more controlled setting. This is most often used in vocational assessment settings where much information must be collected in a brief time.
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