COVID-19 Information

Maynooth University Centre for Teaching and Learning

Toggle

In this section of the hub, you will find a short guide on the topic of Authentic Assessment. This guide outlines why authentic assessment matters, briefly considers research-informed thinking about authentic assessment, and provides a six-step task generator that can be used to create more authentic assessments. The guide includes some suggestions around what readers might want to do next, under this topic, and a list of references to resources and research.

The guide is complemented by a short video on the same topic. In the video Professor Sally Brown and Professor Kay Sambell discuss what authentic assessment is, outline the benefits of implementing authentic assessment for student learning and describe the six-step task generator that can be used to create more authentic assessments.

The Maynooth University guide and video are followed by a curated list of resources, some of which have been developed specifically for Maynooth University, and others which we have sourced directly, or adapted, from other HEIs. Each resource has a short description and includes a note of the home institution from which the resource was sourced, where applicable.

Authentic Assessment

Designing Authentic Assessment
Short Maynooth University research-informed guide written by Sally Brown and Kay Sambell on authentic assessment. Source: Maynooth University (Ireland).

Authentic Assessment - Student Guide Short Maynooth University research-informed guide for students written by Sally Brown and Kay Sambell on authentic assessment. Source: Maynooth University (Ireland).
'Authentic Assessment Task Generator' One page Maynooth University guide to a six-step authentic assessment task generator (Brown and Sambell). Source: Maynooth University (Ireland).

'Broadening Concept of Authentic Assessment' One page Maynooth University guide very briefly explaining how the concept of authentic assessment is evolving. Source: Maynooth University (Ireland).

‘Authentic Assessment in Irish Higher Education’. This short guide is part of the National Forum’s Insights series. It ‘explains the rationale for authentic assessment and presents some characteristics of this assessment approach’ (National Forum, 2017). Source: National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (Ireland).

‘Assessing Authentically’. This webpage provides an overview of authentic assessment including when to use it, benefits, challenges, strategies (including how to design authentic assessment) and case studies. It includes a short video on the use of authentic assessment. Source: University of New South Wales (Australia).

‘Authentic Assessment’. This webpage challenges some myths about authentic assessment, describes what authentic assessment is, suggests why one might use it and provides some guidance about how to plan for authentic assessment. Source: The University of Queensland (Australia).

‘Authentic Assessment’. This webpage describes what authentic assessment is including what makes assessment authentic, advantages and disadvantages. It includes links to other useful resources on the topic of designing authentic assessment tasks and suggestions for making assessment more authentic. Source: University of Technology, Sydney (Australia).

‘Authentic Assessment’. This short guide provides an overview of authentic assessment, notes some of the benefits, considers putting this approach into practice, comments on managing expectations and records some of the challenges. Source: University of Liverpool (UK).

Case Studies

‘Authentic Assessment Compendia’. Two compendia of examples of authentic assessment from diverse disciplines. The compendia have been compiled by Sally Brown and Kay Sambell (UK).

‘Authentic Assessment’. These webpages contain ‘exemplars and frameworks to showcase, inspire and act as a stimulus for development of assessment authenticity through the design process’ (Keele Institute for Innovation and Teaching Excellence). The case studies are organised as a project summary, aim, benefit for students, impact, and transferability. The webpages also include some reflective prompt questions about authentic assessment. Source: Keele University (UK).

‘Authentic assessment in a non-vocational discipline: consultancy-led assessment in Geography and Environmental Science’. Case study which describes ‘Three modules using authentic assessment in the form of consultancy reports aimed at real clients’. The link includes a video. Source: University of Liverpool (UK).

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and Accessibility