This article briefly describes research and authentic assessment and outlines methods for developing rubrics which offer a more authentic approach to assessment. It offers a rubric for assessing secondary students' original research, along with benchmarks showing examples for each criterion. It also suggests ways to translate rubric assessments…

Poster presentations are one way scientists present their latest research findings at professional meetings. This format also works well in the classroom and gives students the opportunity to communicate the results of their experiments (perhaps the most critical portion of their studies). In a performance-based task such as a poster session,…

This year-long assessment project grew out of a need to establish an authentic assessment program (intermediate and terminal, formative and summative) as students entered the secondary grades. The project provided a framework for skill lessons correlated to the state (New York) curriculum and the textbook, which continued throughout the year,…

During the academic year, psychology students at Wytheville Community College are exposed to many aspects of psychology and psychological research. After students complete several minor research projects, they undertake a psychology symposium. Students are divided into small groups, and each group presents a research idea to the instructor. When…