Assessment of learner performance that is as closely related to a real life situation as possible and is not artificial or contrived. One way to make an assessment more authentic is to have learners choose the particular task they will use to demonstrate what they have learned. (Source: ASCD).
Authentic assessment involves the collection of information from a rich range of sources, including, importantly, the individual. Portfolios, checklists, work samples, diaries, permanent products, pencil-and-paper tests, observations and other forms of assessment may shed light on what the learner knows or is able to demonstrate, and the direction(s) required in one’s learning programme. (Source: Wyatt-Smith & Joy Cumming 2009).
See also ‘
Performance assessment’.