There is a saying often attributed to Peter Drucker – “what gets measured gets achieved.” I think the quote is “gets done” but that always feels a little clumsy. Although it’s easy to argue that the statement is crude and simplistic, it has a real-world truth.

Such is the inherent challenge with exams. Once a syllabus is written and a pass mark set, the students’ goal often shifts from trying to learn the subject to simply figuring out what needs to be done in order to pass. This, in turn, creates a ripple effect for teachers, especially if their performance is measured by pass rates. They will inevitably adapt their teaching methods to align with that target.

“Measure what is measurable and make measurable what is not so” Galileo

Having spent over 30 years helping accountancy students pass high-stakes exams, I’m not personally going to criticise this (exam driven) approach, though I appreciate many will. I have seen how effective it can be in providing clarity and focus for students, helping them manage the huge amounts of information they are required to learn, and in many ways making what might seem impossible – possible.

But this isn’t an argument for ‘teaching to the test’, it’s an acknowledgment of a fundamental truth that targets shape behaviour, regardless of how well intentioned the original objectives. Keep this in mind as we discuss one of the solutions currently being proposed to improve assessment, it’s called – Authentic Assessment.

“If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it” Peter Drucker

Authentic assessment
First a definition, authentic assessment (Grant Wiggins 1989) involves evaluating learners through realistic tasks that reflect the types of challenges they will face in the workplace. It prioritises realism, and encourages learners to “do” the subject, mirroring or simulating the real-world. These assessments measure a learner’s ability to apply knowledge and skills to complex, realistic tasks. There are two main components, one a real-life task that needs to be completed by the learner and two, a rubric by which their performance can be measured.

Beyond the exam room – Instead of asking learners to sit in a room for two maybe three hours regurgitating memorised content, an authentic assessment might need the learner to prepare a portfolio, complete a project, engage in a debate, and even enter a realistic business environment, as required for a case study or simulation. Many consider them more engaging and motivational largely because learners can appreciate their real-world application. They also foster the development of critical thinking, problem-solving and ease the transition into the workplace.

“Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted” Albert Einstein

But they are not a panacea – and there area number of problems with authentic assessments, not least the lack of consistency in measuring performance. This is because they prioritises validity (measuring what it’s supposed to) over reliability (consistent results – marking scripts to the same standard). The issue with reliabilty is partly the result of not having a “perfect” model answer that can be used as a benchmark, nor a sufficiently robust rubric (marking guide). Traditional exams by way of contrast aim for high statistical reliability through objective scoring but allow little flexibility in rewarding learners who produce creative or original answers and arguably benefit those who are just good at exams.

In addition to the difficulty in objectively measuring success, as a method of assessment they are not well defined, for example what exactly is the “real world,” and what is meant by “authentic.” One company’s definition of the workplace will be very different from another.

One final observation, although authentic assessment has been proven to increase employability type skills, there is no evidence to show that having been assessed in this way increases you chances of getting a job!

What gets measured……
Changing the assessment directly alters the focus for both learners and teachers, shifting it towards real-world tasks means that learners are less a consumer of information but active participants in its use. For teachers, instead of concentrating on delivering content their role becomes more facilitative, guiding learners through complex tasks rather than just lecturing. And overall this change in approach is hugely positive.

But as highlighted above, it comes at a cost, there is some confusion over what authentic actually means, and measuring success becomes subjective making it difficult to mark consistently. This last point is important, because it means that one person may interpret your answer as a pass and another as a fail – it then becomes the luck of the draw!

The answer….well one of them – think of assessment not as a single exam but as a framework under which several different formats and approaches can be used. The assessment framework will expose the learner over several modules or even several years to a blend of formal (reliable) exams and authentic (valid) exams. The outcome, might just give us – the best of both worlds.