Researching performance based assessment: authenticity in assessment activities and processes to support the development of learner capabilities

Abstract

Introduction for the 2015 DATA Special Edition This paper was originally presented as a Keynote address at the Southern African Association for Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 21st International Conference, held at the University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, in January 2013. I was asked to present a Keynote that focused on assessment and, mindful of the conference theme of making Mathematics, Science and Technology Education socially and culturally relevant in Africa, the paper took the concept of authenticity as a major thread. The presentation drew on a number of TERU research projects, including one that Richard and I had conducted in South Africa in 1999. Using the projects as case studies, issues of authenticity were explored in relation to summative and formative assessment practices and related pedagogic approaches. Through an exploration using validity, reliability and manageability as lenses, the presentation offered some concluding comments on possible challenges and the potential of drawing on the research presented in a Southern African context. The paper here, that documents the keynote, has not previously been published.