What am I Assessing?

Example

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The following example explains how the NAEP graphic is represented in a performance assessment unit (ACTFL calls this an Integrated Performance Assessment).

Level: Novice-High German (middle/high school)

THEME: Going to School

Interpretive Task: Visit the website for the Hans und Sophie Scholl-Gymnasium in Ulm, Germany (picture from school website: permission fro use requested).
Find out where the school is located in Germany and who Hans and Sophie Scholl were. Include why you think the school selected this name. After you visit the links under “Wissenswertes" write down what you learned about the school. In what ways is it like or different from your school? (NOTE: This task is completed in English since it assesses how well the students understood the information on the website. Students can also fill in a teacher provided sheet to record the information from the website.)

Presentational Task: Using the Hans und Sophie Scholl-Gymnasium “Homepage” as a model, design an introductory web page with links for your school.

Interpersonal Task: With a partner look at the websites you each designed. Using German, state what is the same and what is different between your websites and also between your websites and the website for Hans und Sophie Scholl-Gymnasium.

This task targets a beginning language student in a middle school or high school. It could, however, be used by any level with two considerations.

First, the website reference would have to reflect the level of the students involved in the project. Second, the degree of simplicity/complexity demanded in the performance needs to reflect the language level of the students who are completing the assessment. Refer to the Evaluation section for information about designing rubrics and scoring guides.

As you consider this performance assessment, notice how the three tasks are interrelated. What the students learn in the Interpretive Mode can be used in the Presentational and Interpersonal Modes. What the students learn in the Interpretive and Presentational Modes is the basis for the Interpersonal Mode. The assessment is authentic: it uses a real website of a school in Germany and then asks the students to create their own websites. (NOTE: This task can be used for other languages using a link to a school of the language you are teaching.)

The underpinning of the four ‘C’s is apparent.

The students learn about schools in Germany to increase their knowledge of German Culture. By reflecting on the name of the school, the students can gain greater understanding of the people of Germany, how they look at the world and the way the school is organized.

The students are asked to compare their school to the school in Germany, thereby addressing the Comparisons standard.
Using technology to visit and design a website models Connections. And via the Internet, the students are extending their learning beyond the classroom thus reflecting the Communities standard.