This gives students the chance to display their mastery of very specific skills. In many performance-test settings, students are asked to carry out very detailed procedures or create certain products to prove that they can apply their expertise. The educator usually monitors the performance of the students and assesses them based on this. While performance assessments could take a lot of time, are exhausting, and are subject to bias when grading, there are methods of addressing these problems.  

For example, students who are learning foreign languages can be evaluated via an oral presentation, while students who are in science classes could be requested to carry out experiments under preset conditions, with teachers observing the presentations being made. One good way of dealing with the probable bias introduced during performance assessments is to have these sessions recorded and either use a group of educators or an external evaluator to assess them, before a decision is made about the student’s grade. A universal scoring guide should be used in the grading process.

A comprehensive performance assessment system should consist of these three basic components (in some variation or the other):

Developmental Checklists: They cover domains like mathematical thinking, language and literacy, and physical development. They’re planned to reflect developmentally appropriate practices. Teachers use such checklists all through the year to create profiles of their students’ individualized progress in acquiring knowledge, developing skills, and mastering vital behaviors.

 Portfolios: These depict the students’ work that reveals their progress, efforts, and achievements over time. Students can compile their work from the classroom in their portfolios, either on their own or with the help of their teachers. When both teachers and students work together, they can talk about the latter’s interests and progress, which can help teachers plan and develop new activities for their students to focus upon.

 Summary report: This includes a brief narrative summary of each student’s classroom performance. It’s rooted in a teacher’s records and observations that are kept as part of the system. To complete this summary, teachers should review the checklists and portfolios cautiously. Next, they should make overall judgments to report to administrators, parents, and others about each student’s activities and progress.

Each of these three components of performance assessment is necessary. Without ongoing checklists, teachers can’t keep track of students’ progress toward the planned curriculum goals. Without portfolios, differences in a students’ quality of work over time won’t be easy to assess. In the absence of summary reports, there won’t be any easily comprehensible information for school administrators, parents, and teachers.