Assessments in the 21^st Century

Assessments in the 21^st Century differ from standardized assessments in three ways: “standardized conditions, secrecy of content and individual results” (Bellanca & Brandt, 2010, p.307).  With standardized assessments the idea is that if all conditions are controlled, such as time, room, pencil used, and rules of administration, then the only variable will be the knowledge of the students.  The students work alone and are given no help by teacher or classmates.  Test content is kept confidential in order to be fair to all students, therefore students have to learn and memorize all facts possible on the subjects tested.  Individual scores are the focus of standardized tests. The idea is to “single out the best of the best” (Bellanca & Brandt, 2010, p.310).  With 21^st Century assessments variability is the norm, and is considered “neither good nor bad, but merely reflective of the complexity of the tasks and processes entailed in authentic assessments” (Bellanca & Brandt, 2010, p.319).  Instead of secrecy surrounding the test items, openness is encouraged.  Possible test questions are made available to all students and students are encouraged to contribute to the list as well. Working in teams and individually students are coached into the work habits of the new world economies, where “performance will be measured not by the success of the individual, but by the success of the team, perhaps a multinational team with members spanning the globe” (Bellanca & Brandt, 2010, p.310).  

What types of metrics are used to assess 21^st Century skills?  Does your school/district use any of these? Which would you like for your school/district to use?

As stated in this chapter “information acquisition is a necessary but insufficient condition for assessing 21^st Century skills” ((Bellanca & Brandt, 2010, p.315) “without a combination of critical thinking, problem solving, effective teamwork, and creativity, learning remains stagnant, more useful for passing a test than solving a real-world challenge” (p.314).  There are five key areas of assessment of the 21^st Century skills: learn, understand, create, explore and share.  Each of these can be applied to every core subject.  With the application of these realms to an area of study, teachers can develop lessons that are interdisciplinary and enriching.  Students will not just focus on the facts but learn to apply, explore, and create.

What is the 21^st Century take on the individual verses team results?

The definition of leadership has shifted from rank and status to influence and service. The world no longer operates on individual success, and information is no longer only the privilege of a few.  Sharing and co-creation are the new ways of operation.  Creativity and innovation are enhanced by learning from others, and exchanging ideas.  The 21^st Century framework encourages team work and individual work, keeping in mind that “exploration is an inherently collaborative endeavor” (p.319).

Consider your ideal school—How does it compare to your current school?  What do you think your students will describe as an ideal school?

In my ideal school, I would have teams of teachers for each grade level. Each would teach his/her own subject but come together with the other subject teachers to enrich each of their lessons with the five realms of learning, understanding, exploration, creativity and sharing.  Then I would like to take a leader from each of those teams and create another team to map out the curriculum from grade to grade, so that we see a progression of enrichment going from one level to the next.  I do not see this in our current school.  Each teacher just teaches in their own subject and grade level.  I think the students would enjoy the inclusion of the five realms because it would definitely engage them and allow them to apply the facts that they are expected to memorize.  This inclusion of creativity is always more fun and helps the students retain the information.

 

References:

Bellanca, J. A., & Brandt, R. S. (2010). 21st century skills: rethinking how students learn. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.