Date of Award
Spring 5-15-2009
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science (BS)
Department
Early Childhood Education
College
College of Education
Abstract/Description
Assessment is defined as "almost any form of measurement and appraisal of what students know and can do." These forms can include, but are not limited to: tests, reports, observations, and questioning. There are two main subgroups used when describing assessment: trasitional and alternative. The term traditional assessment refers to a paper and pencil based test used to determine what a student knows and can recall, i.e. the Palmetto Achievement Challenge Tests (PACT). The term alternative assessment refers to "almost any type of assessment other than standardized tests." (McAfee & Leong, 2-3) This subgroup can be divided into various types of alternative assessments. Alternative assessment includes, but is not limited to, observations, checklists, student portfolios, and self-evaluations. The type focused on throughout this paper is authentic assessment, with the purpose of determining whether authentic assessment requires higher-order thinking skills than traditional assessment. The main focus of the paper is to determine which test shows more about what the student knows about the intended topic.
Creative Commons License
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Recommended Citation
Brawley, Nikki, "Authentic Assessment versus Traditional Assessment: A Comparative Study" (2009). Honors Theses. 146.
https://digitalcommons.coastal.edu/honors-theses/146