This is something I struggled with as a beginning year teacher, is to have my assessments authentic. I would put together a multiple choice test on what I taught. I was so swamped with keeping up, I forgot to focus my goals and align the work to the standards which I was gradually becoming familiar with as I latched on to a coworker to help me get by. The biggest help in starting this backwards design idea was switching to standards based grading. In our gradebook we have to make sure that all assessments line up to a standard. This forced me to really take a a look at the assessments I was providing and simplify my testing. Rather than long tests with many nonsense questions, I learned to pick key questions and reference the benchmark that the students were being assessed on. For each test now, some might include the students being assessed on 3 different things. This not only helps me so more specifically what standard students are understanding, but it helps me figure out my reteaching for the upcoming lessons rather than reteaching everything!

Design the curriculum backward from the assessment.
Evaluate along the way using benchmarks.
Give students time to revise after self-assessment and peer assessment.
Continually adjust your assessment tools.
Be innovative to improve assessment.

I really like the way that Sandy explained that authentic assessment creates clear goal and changes teaching from what to how. I think my goal everyday is to decide how my students can connect to the content. If there aren't real world connections then the conent will not be retained. I also love that authentic assessment rarely has one anwser. There are so many students who aren't engaged because of the of being wrong. Authentic assessment eliminates this and builds confidence in each student.

I like the idea of going backward from the assessment to the design of the lesson because this gives your instruction a true goal: you know where you are headed before you start. I think this type of assessment is very practical because it truly addresses the real point of education which is to be able to do something with the knowledge one has aquired. So much of what students have to learn in school seems pointless and is just not retained over time (ie Jay Leno asking 5th grade questions to college students that are always answered incorrectly), so having this type of assessment helps because the instructor has to figure out a way to make the information relevant to real life (which is not always possible, I think).

I thought that the tips that were given to help formulate authentic assessment were very good. Having teachers work backwards from the creation of the assessment is a very good idea because it makes you think about what you are really assessing and what it is that you are truely trying to get the students to learn. I also liked the idea of having the teacher give the students time to re-assess after peer assessment. This will allow the students to look at what they are learning and what they still need to work on and learn.

I love the tips that you gave for authentic assessment. I never thought about working backwards to develop an assessment. I agree that authentic assessment allows for teachers to see the "how" aspect of learning, instead of the "what" aspect of learning. An assessment is going to guide our instruction better if we can see how they think and not just whether or not they can tell you the answer. How do you choose what to assess using authentic assessment? (subject, lesson, skill, etc.)

There are many ideas we want our students to take from lessons. I really connected to the idea of real world situations, and how well that was said, "real-world issues or activities are seldom limited to one content area". I agree you do have to "integrate" the curriculum to be able to assess what students can do. I like that what students have learned should be something tangible. It takes the idea way that they have the information memorized, because it means something to them.

I, too, think the baseball analogy is a great way to explain authentic assessment. While I also believe that no paper and pen test can truly measure what our students know, the law makers see that as the ONLY way to measure what students know. That is an unfortunate, for both us and more importantly, our students. I liked the idea of creating the assessment first, and then developing the instruction around that. I do use many forms of authentic assessment in my classroom, but I then sruggle to incorporate enough tests and quizzes to satisfy the people running the show. How do you find a good balance?

The authentic assessment article is very informing. I have to agree with others how the baseball analogy hit home with me too. This can simply mean that students do perform better hands-on than testing. I also like the part in the article where Sandy explains what authentic assessment is and the breakdown of how authtentic assessment is simply about how and what the student learns without the pen and paper test. I am an hands on person and would prefer to learn that way if possible.
After watching the video I learned about backward planning. I have never heard of this technique before and thought how interesting it sounded. Here is my question, why can't we educators get an inservice training something worth learning and something like this that will benefit student progress?

I really liked the scenario that Sandy used with Yankees baseball player, it was a great way of helping others understand exactly what authentic assessment was about! I totally agree with the statement about teachers going through the difficulty of having to be creative when it comes to teaching their students. The traditional method of teaching is not for every student! I have come to find it very boring and repetitive in the classrooms I have taught. Students are more interested learners when they understand the concept of what you are trying to get them to learn. For those educators that love to teach, it shouldn't matter how much time and effort it takes. I believe a degree of excellence should be shown through how we teach. What is also important is how we adjust assessment for students to improve. We must remember that all students should be viewed as individuals and each child may learn different ways. We want to have a purpose for learning and allow the students to be able to problem solve and show that they understand what is being taught. "The quality of understanding over time" should be placed on a wall in every classroom as a focus point for teachers.

I, too, like planning backward from the assessment. You know where the students need to go, so designing lessons in reverse makes sense.