Authentic Assessment Methods

for Mathematics
Six ways to use authentic assessment
math in the classroom
Performance assessment
Students can demonstrate what they have learned and how to solve problems
through a collaborative effort in solving a complex problem together. Not only
do they learn how to work in a team, but also how to brainstorm and utilize
their separate grains of knowledge to benefit the whole.

Short investigations
Typically, a short investigation starts with a basic math problem (or can be
adapted to any other school subject) in which the student can demonstrate
how he or she has mastered the basic concepts and skills. As the teacher,
ask the students to interpret, calculate, explain, describe or predict whatever it
is they are analyzing. These are generally 60- to-90 minute tasks for an
individual (or group projects) on which to work independently, writing answers
to questions and then interviewed separately.

Open-response questions
A teacher can assess the student’s real-world understanding and how the
analytical processes relate by, in a quiz setting, requesting open responses,
like:

 a brief written or oral answer

 a mathematical solution
 a drawing
 a diagram, chart or graph
These open-ended questions can be approximately 15-minute assessments
and can be converted into a larger-scale project.

Portfolios
As students learn concepts throughout the school year, they can be
documented and will reveal progress and improvements as well as allow for
self-assessment, edits and revisions. They can be recorded in a number of
ways, including:
 journal writing
 review by peers
 artwork and diagrams
 group reports
 student notes and outlines
 rough drafts to finished work
Self-assessment
After the teacher has clearly explained and provided the expectations prior to
the project and then, once the projects are complete, ask the students to
evaluate their own projects and participation. Responding to the following
questions will help students learn to assess themselves and their work
objectively:

 What was the most difficult part of this project for you?
 What do you think you should do next?
 If you could do this task again, would you do anything differently? If yes,
what?
 What did you learn from this project?
Multiple-choice questions
Usually, multiple-choice questions do not reflect an authentic assessment
math context. There are multiple-choice questions being developed that
reveal an understanding of the mathematical ideas required as well as
integrating more than one concept. These questions are designed to take
about 2 or 3 minutes each.
How Will You Assess?
After you have chosen your educational focus for a particular group of students, you can begin to
make decisions about how and when you will evaluate student progress. Assessment must involve
the collection of concrete information about musical skills and concepts accurately and objectively.

Two important elements of educational measures are reliability and validity. Reliability means that
scores are a true representation of students’ knowledge or skill level. You can trust the scores the
students receive. Validity is the extent to which an assessment accurately measures what it is
intended to measure. For example, if your goal is to measure students’ ability to sing a passage using
solfege, having them write in the solfege on the notation would not yield useful information.

Item Alignment and Development

It is important when designing measures of achievement that you align your assessment methods,
items, and tasks to match your learning objectives. The learning objectives will dictate the type of
assessment you use. You also want to develop assessment measures that are going to be simple
enough to be readily used in the classroom and which will provide data that is useful and can be
easily analyzed.

Rubrics
There are many different measures and item types that can be developed and used in the classroom.
As many teachers have music performance as a primary learning goal for students, rubrics become
an important tool for assessing progress. A rubric is a set of scoring criteria used to measure a
student’s performance on an assigned task.

Rubrics are useful because they add a level of objectivity to the assessment process. One of the most
beneficial aspects of rubrics is that they provide a written description of what a performance at each
of the different achievement levels should look like. This helps students to explore the various
achievement levels and what is expected to become proficient at each one. Rubrics also serve as
written documentation of student achievement that can be used for accountability purposes. Figure
1 is an example of a rubric that might be used to measure solo music performance.
As you become more comfortable with rubric development, an almost endless number of
adaptations can be created to accommodate any number of situations.

As an activity, you might work to define the levels of proficiency with the students. Be sure to create
the descriptions of each achievement level using terminology that your students can easily
understand. In this way, they will be able to use the information to improve their performance.
Rubrics also allow students to more fully grasp and internalize the learning objectives. Permit and
encourage students to use the rubrics to assess their own performance and that of others.

Other Measure and Item Types

In addition to rubrics, there are many other assessment tools that could be used to assess music
students. These could include portfolios, multiple-choice questions, true/false questions, matching,
short answer, reflective writing, exit slips, reports and projects, and more. Many musical concepts can
be assessed more easily using one of these item types. This includes information such as historical
context, form, notation and terminology, theory, ear training, critical analysis, and pedagogy. The
options are almost unlimited.

Assessments can be used as bell work and don’t have to be long or interfere with instructional time.
Sometimes only a few questions will provide you with a wealth of useful information on the progress
of your students. Written assessments can provide valuable information and should not be
neglected. They can be created to reinforce the established goals and objectives and strengthen
what students are learning in class.

Formative Assessment
The assessments you have created are then used to monitor student progress during instruction and
to provide ongoing feedback to the students. This is referred to as formative assessment and is an
essential step in the assessment cycle (and is contrasted with summative assessment which happens
at the end of the unit). The feedback from formative assessment should provide concrete
information on how to make improvements toward achieving the learning objectives. Avoid general
feedback such as “good job” or “keep practicing.” This provides little guidance to students. Students
require information that is specific and individual. They need to know what they have done well and
what they have yet to achieve. Formative assessment is best when it is embedded in instruction and
is ongoing.

Music teachers often assume that as ensemble performance improves, students are learning.
However, we often have little formal evidence to know for sure. Additionally, if learning objectives
and specific goals for each rehearsal are not clearly communicated to students, they have no real
way of knowing how to measure their progress. Using the assessment tools you have created will
allow you to measure that progress in a tangible way. Remember also that students can be helpful in
assisting you to gather data and track progress. During the formative assessment phase, rubrics are
an effective assessment tool and are great for providing useful feedback to students.
Practical Assessment Strategies
One way to decrease the amount of class time required to assess students is to evaluate them
individually as they are rehearsing in class. As they are performing, walk amongst the ensemble,
rating the students as you pass by. Students are performing authentically within the context of the
group. Other ideas might be to have individual sections play alone, hear students by stand, sing/play
one or two on a part, or any other method you can think of to isolate students. Pick a different group
of students each day limiting the amount of time on any given day taken by assessment. You can
also sample from the music being performed. You don’t need to have students play an entire work.
Make comments using an assessment tool and then provide feedback individually to the students.

At least a few times during each assessment cycle you will want to use a more formal mode of
assessment to collect formative assessment data. Using a recording system that minimizes disruption
to the ongoing class activities would be helpful in this case. Students record and submit their
performances to the teacher. For this, teachers have multiple options. Recordings can be made
during class. For example, you could send students one by one to have one opportunity to record
their performance. Another option is to have students record their performance tests outside of
class. In this way, students could have multiple opportunities to record and submit their best
performance. You can choose whichever method best meets your needs.

Technology can be very helpful in your collection of data. A software program like SmartMusica
allows students to practice and perform receiving direct feedback on how they are doing. It also
provides a method for the teacher to offer personalized feedback about a student’s performance.
Teachers can keep track of what their students are working on, determine how long they are
practicing, and maintain digital records of their performance for future reference.

Portfolios
Portfolios are another great assessment tool. Rubrics and other assessments you administer become
artifacts in the student’s portfolio. The options for artifacts are limitless. Students should participate
in the construction of the portfolio and have opportunities to include self-reflections and
assessments of their progress.

Students become invested and are proud of their work and the portfolio’s construction provides
students new insights into their growth and musical understanding.

Self-Assessment
Provide students the opportunity to self-assess. This can be done at the group or individual level.
Self-assessment provides students with guided opportunities to measure their own learning in
relation to the learning outcomes. Another benefit is that students are able to more clearly articulate
course goals and requirements. Peer assessment can also be helpful when you structure the
feedback to be positive and constructive.
Have students complete a one minute paper or an exit slip that has them reflect on their learning.
Students answer questions such as:

1. What was the most important thing you learned today?

2. What questions do you have?
3. What was the one thing that helped you learn the most this week?
4. What is the one thing in class that is least helpful to your learning?
5. Which musical passage do you struggle with most?

It is important, however, to report back to the students what you have learned from this feedback
and how that information can be used to improve student learning. Reflective writing develops
critical thinking and reveals the thoughts of the students, which would otherwise be unknown.

Summative Assessment
Summative assessment occurs at the conclusion of the learning process to evaluate student
achievement on the learning objectives. Data gained from summative assessment is a way to
summarize student learning and is usually formal. It also frequently serves as a baseline to set future
goals. Assessment tools that work well for the summative assessment of music performance are
checklists and rating scales.

Uses for Assessment Data

Assessment data has many uses. Providing information that students can use to improve their
learning and giving teachers the ability to make decisions on their teaching are big ones. Assigning
grades is also a primary use. Develop your grading procedures using the assessments you have
created and administered throughout the learning process.

Other uses for the data might include ensemble placement, chair placement, to place students
together who are at similar achievement levels or to place students with tutors, to communicate
progress to parents, and to track student improvement. Assessment data has many uses all of which
could be extremely helpful in improving your program.

Conclusions
Assessing students in a way that truly reflects their learning in the classroom is key to improving your
music program. Assessment should provide information to students on an individual level that will
provide them with clear direction toward improvement. A good assessment system provides
accountability and helps to place the responsibility for learning on the student.

Do not reinvent the wheel. Take advantage of the expertise of those around you and be open to
sharing your ideas with others. If you need help or want feedback about something you are doing,
don’t be afraid to ask. In addition, as you create or find assessments that have worked for you, keep
them.
20 interactive teaching activities for in
the interactive classroom
by Ruben Knapen — Jun 13, 2018

Interactive teaching is all about instructing the students in a way they

are actively involved with their own learning process. There are
different ways to create an involvement like this. Most of the time it’s
through

 teacher-student interaction
 student-student interaction
 the use of audio, visuals, video
 hands-on demonstrations and exercises

You encourage your students to be active members of your class,

thinking on their own, using their own brains, resulting in long-term
memory retention. Not only the students' knowledge will improve, but
their interest, strength, knowledge, team spirit and freedom of
expression will increase as well.
In this blog post, I wall talk about the use of interactive methods for
teaching, encouraging more dedication towards the lesson material.
We will see some interactive teaching tools, interactive teaching ideas
and interactive teaching games.
Not only will I talk about the use of interactive methods of teaching, I’ll
give you some examples of methods used in the present classroom as
well.
Ready? Here are some of the most effective ways to engage your
pupils!

3 Effective interactive teaching strategies to

encourage speech in your classroom
First, I want to put some activities in the spotlight. The following
interactive student activities are three of the most effective ways to
encourage more speech in your classroom.

1. Think, pair and share

Set a problem or a question around a certain topic, and pair

up your students. Give each pair of students enough time so they can
reach a proper conclusion, and permit the kids to share their
conclusion in their personal voice. This way your students will be
engaged, communicating, and remember more of the class than ever
before.

2. Brainstorming
 Interactive brainstorming is mostly performed in group
sessions. The process is useful for generating creative thoughts and
ideas. Brainstorming helps students learn to work together, and above
all, learn from each other. You’ll be surprised of all the great ideas
they come up with! Check out these 8 fun brainstorming apps you can
use in your classroom, or use BookWidgets' Mindmap widget to
structure thinking.

3. Buzz session

Participants come together in session groups that focus on a

single topic. Within each group, every student contributes thoughts
and ideas. Encourage discussion and collaboration among the
students within each group. Everyone should learn from each other’s
input and experiences. As a teacher, you could give your students
some keywords to spark the conversation.
Of course, there are many other interactive teaching ideas as well. I
split up the activities in different categories:

 Individual student activities

 Student pair activities
 Student group activities
 Interactive game activities

Individual student activities

4. Exit slips
 These are best used at the end of the class session. You’ll
ask the students to write for one minute on a specific question. It might
be generalized to “what was the most important thing you learned
today”. Then, you can decide if you are going to open up a
conversation about it in your next class. You can ask them if they still
remember what they wrote down. Need a digital exit slip template?
Try this one from BookWidgets and learn more about the possibilities
of an exit slip.

5. Misconception check

Discover students' misconceptions. See if students can

identify what is the correct answer, when given a false fact. It’s useful
when going over a previous lesson. It encourages students to think
deeply and wager all the possibilities.

6. Circle the questions

Make a worksheet or a survey that has a list of questions

(make them specific) about your topic, and ask students to circle (or
check) the ones they don’t know the answers to. Then, let them turn in
the paper.
Create corners concerning different questions that were circled. Let
your students work on the extra exercises and explanation in the
corners, individually. As your students will all have circled different
questions, you have to give each student a different
and personilized order to visit the corners.
7. Ask the winner

Ask students to silently solve a problem on the board. After

revealing the answer, instruct those who got it right to raise their
hands (and keep them raised). Then, all other students have to talk to
someone with a raised hand to better understand the question and
how to solve it next time.

Student pair activities

8. Pair-share-repeat

After a Think-pair-share experience, which I’ve written about

in the first interactive learning lesson idea, you can also ask students
to find a new partner and share the wisdom of the old partnership to
this new partner.

9. Teacher and student

Let students brainstorm the main points of the last lesson.

Then, pair up your students and assign them 2 roles. One of them is
the teacher, and the other the student. The teacher’s job is to sketch
the main points, while the student’s job is to cross off points on his list
as they are mentioned and come up with 2 to 3 points that the teacher
missed.

10. Wisdom from another

 After an individual brainstorm or creative activity, pair
students to share their results with each other. Then, call for
volunteers who found their partner’s work to be interesting or
exemplary. Students are often more willing to share the work of fellow
students publicly than their own work. Of course, you can always
encourage sharing their own objectives as well.

11. Forced debate

Let students debate in pairs. Students must defend the

opposite side of their personal opinion. It encourages them to step
away from their own beliefs and teaches them to look through a
different coloured glass for once in a while.
Variation: one half of the class takes one position, the other half takes
the other position. Students line up and face each other. Each student
may only speak once, so that all students on both sides can engage
the issue.

12. Optimist/Pessimist

In pairs, students take opposite emotional sides of a case

study, statement, or topic. Encourage them to be empathic and truly
“live” the case study. You’ll discover some good solution proposals
and your students will learn some exceptional social skills.

13. Peer review writing task

 To assist students with a writing assignment, encourage
them to exchange drafts with a partner. The partner reads the essay
and writes a three-paragraph response: the first paragraph outlines
the strengths of the essay, the second paragraph discusses the
essay’s problems, and the third paragraph is a description of what the
partner would focus on in revision, if it were her essay. Students can
learn a lot from each other and from themselves as well! Here are 10
more creative self-assessment ideas.

Student group activities

14. Board rotation

This interactive learning strategy is even more interactive

than the others! Divide your class into different groups of students and
assign them to each of the boards you’ve set up in the room. Assign
one topic/question per board. After each group writes an answer, they
rotate to the next board. Here, they write their answer below the first
answer of the previous group. Let them go around the room until all
the groups have covered all the boards. Not that many boards in your
classroom? Try using tablets and BookWidgets' interactive
whiteboard.

15. Pick the Winner

Divide the class into groups and let them work on the same
topic/problem. Let them record an answer/strategy on paper or
digitally. Then, ask the groups to switch with a nearby group and let
them evaluate their answer. After a few minutes, allow each set of
groups to merge and ask them to select the better answer from the
two choices, which will be presented to the complete class.

16. Movie Application

In groups, students discuss examples of movies that made

use of a concept or event discussed in class, trying to identify at least
one way the movie makers got it right, and one way they got it wrong.
Think about movies showing historical facts, geographical facts,
biographies of famous people, …

Interactive game activities

Create in interactive classroom full of interactive learning games.
Games are so much fun for students, since it doesn’t feel like learning.
With BookWidgets, you can make interactive learning games like
crossword puzzles, pair matching games, bingo games, jigsaw
puzzles, memory games, and many more in minutes (and there’s a
Google Classroom integration as well).

17. Crossword puzzle

The crossword game is perfect to use as repetition activity.

Choose a list of words and their description, and BookWidgets creates
an interactive crossword for you. The crossword game transforms
these boring lessons into a fun experience. Here you can read more
about how to create them and for which topics you can use them (not
only for teaching languages)!

18. Scrabble
 Use the chapter (or course) title as the pool of letters from
which to make words (e.g., mitochondrial DNA), and allow teams to
brainstorm as many words relevant to the topic as possible. You can
also actually play scrabble and ask students to form words from the
newly learned vocabulary.

19. Who/what am I?

Tape a term or name on the back of each student. You can

also tape it on their forehead. Each student walks around the room,
asking “yes or no” questions to the other students in an effort to guess
the term. Of course, the term has something to do with your lesson
topic.

20. Bingo

Bingo is a fun game that can be used for all sorts of

exercises: language exercises, introductory games, math exercises,
etc. Take a look at this blog post with all the different bingo
possibilities here. You’ll be surprised about how many interactive
lesson activities you can do with just one game.
Want to create a bingo game yourself? You can start for free right
here:

Create a Bingo Game

Wrap up
That’s it! Like in any list, you could add many other interactive
teaching ideas. I could go on for quiet a while myself. But what about
you? Tell me about your creative, interactive classroom ideas by
adding them to this Padlet board below. This way, we can build out
this article with many more great ideas!

1. Think-pair-repair

In this twist on think-pair-share, pose an open-ended question to your class and ask
students to come up with their best answer. Next, pair learners up and get them to
agree on a response. Get two pairs together, and the foursome needs to do the same
thing. Continue until half the group goes head to head with the other half.

2. Improv games
If your classroom is museum-level quiet no matter how you try to liven things up, try
some low-stakes (read: not embarrassing) improv activities. In the three things in
common game, pairs figure out the most unexpected things they share. Or challenge
your students to count to 20 as a group with one person saying each number – but no
one is assigned a number, and if two people talk at the same time, everyone starts
again at 1.

3. Brainwriting
You’ve probably tried brainstorming, but have you tried brainwriting? In this approach,
students begin by coming up with their own ideas, either on paper or using visual
collaboration software. Building in time for individual reflection leads to better ideas and
less groupthink.

Download our free eBook to get practical checklists, handy guides and other
resources to help you create amazing active learning spaces on your campus.
4. Jigsaw
Help students build accountability by teaching each other. Start by dividing them into
“home groups” (4 or 5 people works well). Assign each person in the group a different
topic to explore – they’ll regroup to work with all the students from the other groups who
are exploring the same idea. Once they’ve mastered the concept, students return to
their home group and everyone shares newfound expertise.

5. Concept mapping
Use your walls or displays to visually organize ideas. Collaborative concept mapping is
a great way for students to step away from their individual perspectives. Groups can do
this to review previous work, or it can help them map ideas for projects and
assignments.

6. The one-minute paper

How much could you explain in one minute? At the end of class, set a timer and ask
students to write down their most eye-opening revelation or biggest question. This
activity lets students reflect on learning and build writing skills – plus you’ll get a window
into their understandings and misunderstandings. Here are more prompts you can use
to get students writing.
7. Real-time reactions
When students are watching a video, a mini lecture or another student’s presentation,
have them share their real-time reactions. This helps students spot trends and consider
new points of view. You can set up a hashtag to allow for live tweeting, or use cloud-
based collaboration software displayed at the front of the room to get the same effect
with none of the distractions.

8. Chain notes
Write several questions on pieces of paper and pass each to a student. The first student
adds a response (use a timer to keep things moving quickly) and then passes the page
along to gather more responses. Multiple contributions help build more complete
understanding. A digital alternative involves using apps to share responses both
simultaneously and anonymously (QuickShare in Span™ Workspace works great for
this). Then your class can examine the responses and identify patterns and missing
pieces.

9. Idea line up
Choose a question that has a range of responses, and then ask students where they
stand – literally. Have them come to the front of the classroom and organize themselves
in a line, based on where on the spectrum of answers they find themselves.
10. Mystery quotation
Test how well students can apply their understanding of an issue or theoretical position.
After they’ve explored a topic, show them a quotation about it they’ve never seen
before. Their task is to figure out the point of view of the person behind the quotation –
and justify it to the class. Students can debate this issue in small groups before
beginning a whole-class discussion.

11. Idea speed dating

Have students cycle through your space, sharing insights about a topic or their elevator
pitch for an upcoming project. As they present their learnings multiple times on several
“speed dates,” students’ presentation skills and perspectives will grow.

12. Peer review

The process of peer review is as old as academia, and it’s never too early to start. Have
students swap drafts of their essays, proposals or lab reports, and then come up with
comments and questions for each other. Make sure to be clear about what the goals are
(using rubrics helps). For example, students could identify compelling arguments,
unanswered questions and holes in logic.
13. Quescussion
Ever played Jeopardy? Then you’re ready for quescussion. It’s like a standard class
discussion but only questions are allowed (students call “Statement!” if someone slips
up). If you play this game at the beginning of the course, the questions can help shape
your course. Make sure to write them down – if you’re using Span Workspace, students
can contribute right from their devices.

14. Sketchnoting
Instead of taking traditional lecture notes, try getting your students to sketch a
picture that represents what they’ve learned during class. Remember, it’s not about the
quality of the art – it’s about how drawing prompts students to visualize their
understanding and look at their learning from a different perspective.

15. Empathy mapping

Take a page from the designers’ handbook and get students to explore deeper by
embracing a perspective. It’s deceptively simple – write down what a person says,
thinks, does and feels. The ability to slow down and immerse yourself in another point of
view is valuable. In design thinking, empathy maps help designers create better
products for users. But this process can be just as valuable for analyzing characters
from literature, historical figures or political stances.

Let’s keep adding to this list. What are your favorite active learning activities?
Free active learning eBook
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learning classrooms need a refresh? In this eBook, you’ll find practical checklists, handy
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Topics: Active Learning

Posted on August 22, 2018