Culminating Assessments

An effective performance task and culminating assessment in the 21^st century classroom place the student in authentic learning experiences. Students are given real-world goals and assigned a real-world role. They are given a real-world audience for this real-world situation, and the product or performance they are assigned is also real-world or authentic. The standards for acceptable performance are clearly articulated within the assessment task. The following acronym is a guide to creating authentic 21^st century performances or products to serve as culminating assessments:

Elements of an Effective Performance Task and Culminating Assessments

§ G = real-world goals

§ R = real-world role(s)

§ A = real-world audience

§ S = real-world situation

§ P = real-world products and performances

§ S = standards for acceptable performance

Examples of culminating assessments, with accompanying rubrics, are found within the instructional guides posted to Teach 21, http://wveis.k12.wv.us/Teach21/public/Iguide.