Week 7: Big Progress, But Not the Whole Picture: Authentic Assessment in Action

Authentic assessments let students apply learning to real-world problems, revealing skills that tests alone can’t show (Sullivan & McConnell, 2017). In my experience, authentic assessments spark deeper thinking and creativity, but by themselves, they don’t give the full picture. When combined with formative, summative, and standardized assessments, they provide a more complete view of student progress and guide instruction more effectively.