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The following are some examples of performance tasks, divided into products
and performances:
PRODUCTS
books (fables, cook books, stories, flip-flop
books, accordion books, scrolled books, big
books, cartoons, autobiographies,
PERFORMANCES
song contest, poetry contest, joke contest
biographies)
wall display (story train, collage, poster, ad,
bulletin board, exhibition)
computer game, board game, card game
advertising campaign
survey
poem/rap/advertising jingle
letter, petition, postcard
album (alphabet, family, zoo, holiday)
rules or instructions
pamphlet (e.g., road safety rules for parents)
3-D model
newspaper/ newsletter/article plan or diagram
game show
radio broadcast
multimedia presentation
poster presentation
dramatic performance
show-and-tell presentation
speech
video clip (news, weather, interview)
demonstration (cookery, craft)
debate
storytelling
Step 1
List the specific skills and knowledge you wish pupils to demonstrate.
Teachers should identify the goals (i.e. types of knowledge and skills) pupils
are expected to reach in each teaching unit. This step is quite simple, since
the knowledge and skills a pupil needs are the Curriculums standards and
benchmarks in the various domains. Once this list is compiled, the teaching
goals to be assessed through performance tasks (as opposed to other
assessment tools) should be selected.
Step 2
Design a performance task that requires pupils to demonstrate these skills
and this knowledge.
Teachers should set tasks that will demonstrate which language knowledge
and skills have been developed. The pupils performance on these tasks
should illustrate what they have learned and the degree to which they have
achieved the teaching goals. Performance tasks should be motivating,
challenging and appropriate to pupils language level and cognitive ability.
Foundation level tasks will be simple and structured, and as pupils become
more proficient and independent, the tasks will become more complex and
less structured. As mentioned above, the tasks should be related to real-life
experiences. See the list of performance task types above.
Step 3
Develop explicit performance criteria and expected performance levels
measuring pupils mastery of skills and knowledge (rubrics).
Determine criteria for successful task mastery. The Curriculum (for example,
p. 25) specifies criteria relevant to each domain. The following section on
rubrics will further clarify this point.
Rubrics
Introduction
How often have you tried to grade your pupils book tasks or other openended oral or written projects, and not known if you have graded them
accurately? Could you justify the grade if necessary? Would another teacher
give the same grade as you? In other words, how reliable is your
assessment?
Can you clearly evaluate your set goals using this task? Do these criteria
reflect quality performance on this task? In other words, is your assessment
valid?
Having well-defined rubrics increases the validity and reliability of
assessments.
What are rubrics?
A rubric is a scoring tool outlining required criteria for a piece of work, or what
is important to assess. It also indicates the weighting that has been
determined for each criterion, based on its relative importance to the overall
task, and describes what the performance would look like at different quality
levels. If the pupils receive this before beginning the task, they can more
easily internalize the criteria, understand how they will be assessed and thus
the performance level they should be striving for. Ideally, teachers develop
this together with pupils, though it can be prepared by the teacher and given
to the pupils for comments before they begin the task.
A checklist or assessment list is a simpler version of a rubric, specifying the
criteria. It only gives the highest level of performance, not all the performance
levels.
See below for an example of a checklist. Other samples can be found in the
section on Classroom Assessment Tools.
See below for a rubric to assess the benchmark of interacting for purposes of
giving and following directions. In this, pupils form pairs, giving and following
directions using a town map. The selected criteria are listed on the left.
Expected levels of performance for each criterion are outlined.
Unlike a traditional grade, which summarizes all aspects of pupils
performance in a single number, letter or word, a rubric provides information
The teacher will be able to justify the grade clearly, with reference to the
criteria. Moreover, involvement of pupils empowers them, leading to more
focused and self-directed learning.
Rubrics are easy to understand and use. They can be referred to in parentteacher meetings and pupilteacher conferences where performance is discussed.
Building a rubric
The following flow chart shows the process of designing a rubric. Samples of
rubrics used in tasks are presented in the section on Classroom Assessment
Tools.
Instructions
List the teaching goals,
including prerequisites
(enabling skills) that the
task should address.
These will be used to
judge pupils product or
performance.
Explanations
Think in terms of what you
want the pupils to accomplish.
Tips
Use the curriculum
benchmarks.
For example: criteria for an
oral presentation require
presentation skills (a catchy
opening, awareness of
audience, etc.) as well as
content, accuracy and fluency.
Time
Frame
Domain
Level
Benchmark
Social
Interaction
Foundation
Interacting
for purposes
of giving and
following
directions
Unit: ________
Enabling
Skills*
The
vocabulary
of directions
Familiarity
with maps
Asking and
answering
simple
questions
Performance
Task
A pair-work
activity:
Pupils take
turns to give
and follow
directions with
town map.
Assessment
Tools
Filled-in map
Self/peer checklist
Rubric
Independent
pair-work
* The enabling skills/prerequisites are the components enabling pupils to reach the benchmark.
They include, for example, practice of vocabulary and grammar items that are needed to meet the benchmark criteria.
The example shows this process for a single benchmark, interacting for
purposes of giving and following directions. The enabling skills/prerequisites
for this benchmark the vocabulary of directions, familiarity with maps, the
grammar of asking and answering simple questions and the ability to work
independently in pairs are mapped out on the Advance Organizer. These
skills must be taught before pupils perform the task.
To show the final stage of the process, let us take another, more detailed look
at the rubric for this benchmark.
Rubric for the benchmark Interacting for purposes of giving and following
directions
Criteria
Product
Fluency
Accuracy
(vocabulary
and
question
form)
Process
Quality/Levels of Performance
5
Did not get
message across;
did not find place
on map
5
Spoke hesitantly,
read out answers
5
Incorrect or no
expressions and
question forms
used
10*
15
Followed part of
route
20*
25
Got message
across: found place
on map
10
15
Fairly fluent
20
25
Spoke fluently
10
15
Some correct
expressions and
question forms
used
20
25
Correct
expressions and
question forms
used
5
No evidence of
cooperation and
practice
10
15
Some
cooperation and
practice
20
25
Took turns, listened
to each other and
practiced
This rubric includes the following criteria: product (Did they get the message
across?); fluency (Did they practice their performance? Did they speak
without hesitation?); accuracy (Did they use the correct vocabulary of
directions and the correct question forms?); and process (Was there evidence
of cooperation; did they work in pairs independent of the teacher?).