Exploring Pedagogy: Authentic Assessment

Illustrate of an assessment with "A" grade

What is authentic assessment?

All assessments inherently do just that: assess. Authentic assessments, however, require students to apply what they’ve learned to a new situation. This is in comparison to a traditional exam that might ask students a multiple choice question. Identifying the correct answer can indicate learning, but doing so does not require students to apply what they’ve learned. This is where authentic assessments can come into play. 

In light of generative AI tools, integrating more opportunities for authentic assessment can help ensure that students are indeed learning what they need to learn to be successful in a course and beyond it. 

Some examples of authentic assessment strategies include:

  • Documentaries, videos, and podcasts
    • Students can be asked to create this types of media to synthesize and present information that they’ve learned
  • Case studies
    • Students can be provided with real-world case studies (individually or in small groups) where they can apply course concepts on real-world applications
  • Teaching 
    • Students can be asked to teach concepts or topics to their peers. Consider learning exercises like discussion leaders 

For additional examples of authentic assessments, take a look at this Faculty Focus article. This article is far from exhaustive as there are countless ways to use authentic assessments, and many of them are dependent on discipline. 

If you’re interested in exploring the use of more authentic assessments in your class, feel free to reach out to asteaching@nyu.edu to schedule a consultation. We’re happy to partner with you on student learning!