An Analysis of Alternative Assessment Methods With and Eye towards their Alignment with the NCTM Principles and Standards for School Mathematics and Achieve Inc.'s Foundations for Success Middle Grades Expectations

What follows is a review of a number of the most popular and widely used alternative assessment methods. It is in no way meant to be an exhaustive review of alternative assessment, and the author invites all readers to research the topic themselves, I am sure you will find it incredibly rich and full of ideas.

This paper endeavors to analyze selected methods of assessment with an eye towards how well (or how poorly) they align with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' (NCTM) Principals and Standards for School Mathematics and Achieve Incorporated's Foundations for Success middle grades expectations. Each method will be introduced, and possible benefits and drawbacks of implementation in the classroom will be explained. Also, potential uses of each method to enhance the NCTM principles of equity, learning, teaching, and technology integration will be discussed. Each will also be analyzed in terms of usefulness in meeting Achieve's expectations for the middle grades.

The alternative assessment methods considered here include Performance Testing, Observational Assessment, and Mastery Learning. Though Portfolio Assessment and Project-Based Assessment might have fit well under the Performance Testing umbrella, they will both be reviewed here individually, in deference to their importance and popularity in recent years. Also, so as not to completely deny the benefits of traditional assessment, it too will be discussed, though some minor changes to make it more effective will be proposed.