Performance assessment is a task that allows the student to construct a response, create a
product, or perform a demonstration to show what they understand and can do. It reveals students’
understanding since students apply knowledge and skills rather than recall and recognize (Mctighe &
Ferrera, 2016). Performance Assessment is well suited in assessing the application of a contentspecific-knowledge, integration of knowledge across subject areas, and lifelong learning
competencies which are effective decision making, communication, and cooperation (Shepherd,
1989).
Traditional assessments answer the question “Do you know it?” Performance assessment, on the
other hand, answers the question “How well can you use what you know?”
Nature of Performance-Based Assessment
Performance-Based Assessment is one in which the teacher observes and makes a judgment about
the student ‘s demonstration of a skill or competency in creating a product, constructing a response,
or making a presentation (McMillan, 2007 as cited by Cajigal and Mantuano, 2014). In this assessment,
the emphasis is on the students’ ability to perform tasks by producing their own authentic work with
their knowledge and skills.
The performance-Based Assessment process is the creative aspect of the students in bringing out
what they know and what they can do through different performance tasks such as exhibits, projects,
and work examples. Hands-on experiences allow them to be more critically motivated and involved
when they are allowed to perform on their own. Students can acquire and apply more knowledge,
skills, and work habits through the different performance tasks which are meaningful and engaging to
the students.
Performance Task Features (Chun, 2010)
1. Real-world scenario
Students assume roles in a scenario that is based in the “real world” and contains the types
of problems they might need to solve in the future.
2. Authentic and complex process
The scenario reflects the complexity and ambiguity of real-world challenges, where there
might not be a right or wrong answer, where solutions might not be obvious or given, where
information might be conflicting or partial, and where there might be competing
frameworks or positions from which to view the situation.
3. Higher-order thinking
The task requires students to engage in critical thinking, analytic reasoning, and problemsolving.
4. Authentic performance
The “product” the students create reflects what someone assuming that role would
produce: a memo, presentation, or other write-up.
5. Transparent evaluation criteria
The learning outcomes drive the creation of the task.
Purposes of Performance Assessment
1. Improves student learning.
2. Measures students' ability to apply the skills and knowledge learned to a complex
real-world task.
3. Used as either a formative or summative tool.
Example:
A performance assessment built around a complex reasoning task, such as problem-solving
or decision making, requires the synthesis of information from multiple sources. As students
sort through the information and draw conclusions, a teacher can observe students’
reasoning skills in action and, if necessary, provide support to those who are struggling. This
would be a type of formative assessment. The students’ final presentations, on the other
hand, maybe judged based on a rubric and given a score. That would be an example of using
a performance task as a summative assessment
Types of Performance Task
1. Process-oriented Assessment
 Concerned with the actual task performance rather than the output or product of the
activity.
2. Product-Oriented Assessment
 Kind of assessment wherein the assessor views and scores the final product made and not on
the actual performance of making that product.
Principles of Performance Assessment (Mislevy, 2005)
1) Drawn directly from realistic work samples.
The first principle of performance-based assessment is a realistically simulated work
performed in a context that typically measures work products or observations of
performance, rather than conventional tests.
2) Competency-based and criterion-referenced.
The second principle of performance-based assessment is that it is competency-based
rather than knowledge-based, because the performance-based assessment must fully
describe the competencies being assessed, including knowledge, skills, and attitudes.
3) Use a triangulation strategy.
The third principle is a triangulation of measurement through means such as collecting
work products from multiple projects, or observations of the same job performance across
multiple contexts or cycles of performance.
References:
Performance Assessment Definition and Meaning - Top Hat
Designing_Performance_Assessment_M2_Reading_Assessment (ascd.org)
Performance-Based Assessment: Reviewing the Basics | Edutopia
Chun, M. (2010, March). "Taking teaching to (performance) task: Linking pedagogical and
assessment practices." Change: The Magazine of Higher Education
PROCESS VS. PRODUCT ORIENTED PERFORMANCE BASED ASSESSMENT – Mongcal & Diaz (wordpress.com)
Performance-Based-Assessment-in-the-Classroom.pdf (jaymctighe.com)
(PDF) Application of Principles of Performance-Based Assessment to Corporate Certifications
(researchgate.net)