It has been suggested that performance assessment and portfolio assessment may allow students with disabilities to demonstrate their knowledge and skills more fully. (a) Define those two terms. (b) What suggests to you that these practices may be more useful in assessing the skills of students with disabilities than traditional paper and pencil tests?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answer:
(a) Performance assessment: assessment activities that ask students to use their knowledge and skills to solve complex, real world problems, and in realistic tasks.
Portfolio assessment: use of collections of work samples to track and evaluate student progress.
(b) Both processes engage all of the learners' abilities and allow them the richest context in which to display their skills. Such practices are also more likely to indicate what the learner is actually able to do, rather than relying on the ability to perform splinter skills on demand on a classroom test. Finally, they permit multiple ways to demonstrate the skills and knowledge needed to achieve a goal, allowing learners to capitalize on their strengths rather than being evaluated solely on their weaknesses.