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Authentic Assessment in Online Higher Education: Connecting Adult Learner Needs With Industry Expectations

Authentic Assessment in Online Higher Education: Connecting Adult Learner Needs With Industry Expectations

Mary A. Tkatchov (Western Governors University, USA) and Dan Ervin (Western Governors University, USA)
Copyright: © 2022 |Pages: 18
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-8275-6.ch011
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Abstract

Among the increasing pressures on today's higher education providers are the call from employers for improved preparedness of graduates for entering the workforce and the expectation from students that their learning be personalized and targeted toward their unique professional goals. Authentic performance assessment is proposed as an opportunity for higher education to collaborate with industry and create targeted and personalized skills-based performance assessment for adult learners as a means for closing the skills gap between school and work. This chapter provides in-depth descriptions of the characteristics of authentic performance assessment and steps and strategies for creating them.
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Beginning With A Vision Of The End Goal

Yolanda is a full-time elementary school teacher who is pursuing a master’s degree in educational leadership at an online university. She has just completed a school policy course, and she offered this feedback on her end-of-course evaluation:

The school policy proposal I developed for an assessment in this course was so relevant to my work. I discovered an interest in school policy and developed a closer relationship with my principal. I sought advice from my principal while putting together an anti-bullying policy proposal for this assessment, and my school is now adopting the policy! Not only was this experience personally rewarding, but it actually allowed me to make a difference on my campus.

Key Terms in this Chapter

Rubric: A tool used to evaluate the quality of a performance assessment and to communicate evaluation criteria.

Iterative: Repetitious or being performed in repetitive activities or cycles.

Ambiguity: A condition in which the outcome to a task is unclear and more than one interpretation or solution is possible.

Transparency: A quality of an assessment for which the purpose, requirements, and evaluation criteria are clearly communicated to the learners.

Context: The setting and set of circumstances for a task used to support authentic, real-world application of knowledge and skills.

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