3.8 – Designing Performance Assessments

This assignment was locked Jul 17, 2018 at 11:59pm.

Remember that in backwards design, teachers begin by identifying a learning target and then design how they will assess that target. While our focus in this program is mostly on the design and planning of instruction, we need to spend a little bit of time developing our understanding of best practices when it comes to assessments. In world languages, performance assessments provide the most effective means to gauge the students’ ability to understand and use the target language in realistic settings. 

Think about one lesson you are going to develop for your language learners (either during this program or your students in the future). Jot down your answers to the following questions ( or put them in a Google Doc). 

1. What is the learning target or can-do statement?
2. After the comprehensible input, the checks for understanding and the practice opportunities students will complete, how will they show you that they have achieved the target? In other words, how will you assess them? 

Read this article (Links to an external site.) and consider annotating it. For example: underline key ideas, put a star next to content you really like, and put a question mark next to the items you are questioning or need clarification on.

When you have finished reading and annotating, revisit your thoughts on question number 2, above: does the assessment that you proposed in number 2 meet the requirements of a “performance assessment” as described in the article? If not, consider how you might refine the assessment so that it is a performance task. Remember these questions from the article that you can ask yourself as you design performance assessments of your learning targets:

• Is the task targeted to the appropriate proficiency
  level?
• Is the task based on a real-world scenario?
• Is the task interesting?
• Is the task logical?
• Is the task written in inviting language?
• Is the context for the task one that would require the
  use of the target language?

Once you have refined your assessment so that it is performance task, complete and submit a short description of your assessment and also this feedback form (Links to an external site.) (completed) to provide a self-evaluation of the assessment you are planning. There are two ways to submit the feedback form for your assignment:

• Print the feedback form, complete it with a pen, take a picture of it or scan it and then re-upload it here.
• If you have full Adobe Acrobat (not just Adobe Reader), you may be able to download the form, complete it on your computer, save it, and then re-upload it here. 

This assignment is structured to allow you to upload a file to turn in the completed feedback form, and it also allows you to submit your short description as either “text entry”  or a “Website URL” if you have it in a Google Doc. If you are using a Google Doc, remember to click on the blue “Share” button in the upper right corner in order to get a link that we will be able to open.