The match between current national assessment initiatives in reading and validated dimensions of authentic assessment

Abstract

The current emphasis on national standards and accountability in education is accompanied by a burgeoning concern for educating individuals who are able to competently perform complex tasks necessary for success in "real world" situations. The ability to perform flexibly in "real world" situations implies movement toward authentic assessment of high-level thinking skills that match criterion performance settings and transcend traditional subject matter divisions. Recognizing the cognitive complexity of reading and the need for critical and evaluative reading in diverse situations, assessment and standards initiatives have strived to provide a more authentic assessment of reading processes than that which is found in previous standardized tests.

This study examines the match between authentic assessment tasks associated with two major national assessment initiatives in reading (The NAEP Trial State Assessment in reading and The New Standards Project reading) assessment and validated dimensions of authentic assessment.

A panel expert reviewers in the areas of reading, educational measurement, and assessment were involved in a multistage validation process which culminated in the identification of 31 important dimensions of authentic reading assessment. These dimensions describe content and format, scoring and interpretation, and technical aspects of assessment. Task, items, and texts; assessment frameworks; and administration, scoring, and interpretation procedures of The NAEP Trial State Assessment in reading and The New Standards Project reading assessment were examined to determine the fit between characteristics of the assessments and each validated dimension. Profiles are provided which offer a graphic illustration of the relationships between each of the two initiatives and dimensions of authentic assessment. Where fit does not exist between assessment characteristics and specific dimensions of authentic assessment, feasibility of compromise between the goals of high-stakes assessment and authentic assessment are explored. Implications will be discussed for developing assessment systems that incorporate local curricular decisions and national concerns for efficiency, comparability, and reliability.