The first two elements of Section C focus on assessment design, looking specifically at how well the assessments match authentic tasks or problems students will face in their future education or careers.

C1: Authenticity
C2: Validity
Resources

C1: Authenticity

ALIGNED: Assessment activities lead to the demonstration of learning outcomes.
EXEMPLARY: Assessments are designed to mimic authentic environments to facilitate transfer.

Overview

This element speaks to the design of assessments that allow students to apply learning in ways that mirror authentic work in the field. Authentic or "real-world" assessments are one way to not only encourage transfer of the knowledge--the knowledge is practiced and tested in ways it actually will be used--but also a way to lessen the effects of the assessment design on the outcomes. It's also a great way to build in those higher-order thinking skills in Bloom's Taxonomy: apply, analyze, evaluate, create.

Authentic assessments ask students to demonstrate learning by applying what they have learned to problems or scenarios appropriate to the discipline.

Aligned courses include assessments that allow students to use demonstration and application (vs. multiple choice or memorization) to show mastery of objectives. Note that the rubric doesn't ask for ALL assessments to meet this standard. A course is Incomplete if there is "little to no evidence of authenticity."
Exemplary courses go one step further in the focus on demonstration to mimic real-world environments. This allows students to practice applying their learning in ways that prepare them for careers in the field of study. Students in a screenwriting course may write a script; students in a business course may create a report.

Examples

Here are a few examples of authentic assessment:

write for a publication (real or fictitious)
address a real-world problem
construct a product (e.g. website, proposal, play, etc.)
participate in a simulation or a role-play activity
create a portfolio
perform a skill (sing, act, play an instrument, etc.)

To learn more about authentic assessment, check out @ONE's Authentic Assessment Guide, which includes EIGHT examples from CCC faculty!

C2: Validity

ALIGNED: Assessments appear to align with the course objectives.
EXEMPLARY: Assessments match the objectives and learners are directed to the appropriate objective(s) for each assessment.

Validity goes hand-in-hand with authenticity. Valid assessments align with the course and unit objectives, ensuring that students are tested on the knowledge and skills outlined in those objectives.

To be valid, an assessment has to measure what it says it is trying to measure. So, for instance, a test that seeks to measure fitness by only timing how fast someone can sprint does not have face validity, as there are many more factors to fitness than running speed.

To ensure your assessments meet C2, you should be able to clearly connect your assessments to your course objectives and the unit objectives that support them. If, for example, one of your objectives is "argue for or against corporate personhood," a multiple-choice quiz would not be a valid measurement of this objective because it does not allow students to present an argument. A discussion, essay, or team presentation would align with the objective.

Exemplary courses explicitly connect the assessment to the learning objective(s), such as by including that objective within the assessment instructions.

In this 2.5-minute video, Aloha Sargent explains how she establishes validity through her introduction of the objectives and how assignments are presented:

Resources

CVC's Course Design Resources for C1-C2:

Related Resources:

Authentic Assessment in the Online Classroom
Authentic Assessment in STEM Courses (video) and Authentic Assessment in STEM Courses (slides)

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