Evaluation of Alternative Assessment Methods Used in Elementary Schools

Abstract

This literature review investigate alternative assessment in order to highlight key findings in this research field; to identify challenges and facilitate its adoption; to illustrate gaps or shortcomings in the literature, and to further contribute to the body of research on alternative assessment. Descriptive content analysis was used to review, identify and describe the general trends and research results in a particular scope. Using the content analysis, 42 studies regarding alternative assessment were collected and analyzed. Multiple variables including: study method, participants, research area, research design, context of the study were extracted, and categorized according to teacher perceptions related to pedagogy, student impact, challenges in implemention and teacher competency on alternative assessment methods. The major findings were that although some teachers do not feel competent in using alternative assessment; they nevertheless have positive attitudes towards these methods, and they believed that the methods improve students’ higher-level thinking and creativity.