| There has been a recent emphasis on transforming high schools to better prepare students for the global, knowledge-based economy of the 21 st century. The use of a variety of performance assessment strategies at the classroom level may play a vital role in the current educational reform movement to meet the demand for increasing rigor and developing 21 st century skills, as well as promoting student learning and informing instructional decision-making. This was a single-site, qualitative case study that was designed to detail the performance assessment practices of 11 science teachers within one high school.;The findings from this study indicated that teachers employed a variety of performance assessments, including a range of laboratory-based performance assessments. Teachers more frequently employed performance assessments that took up a defined amount of class time and were less likely to use more open-ended, authentic forms of laboratory performance assessments. Consistent with the literature on using performance assessment at the classroom level, teachers provided students with a clear understanding of the learning targets, shared assessment criteria in advance, provided students with models, and gave them ongoing feedback to improve their learning. However, there was a lack of emphasis on using portfolios, self-, and peer-assessment strategies, largely due to teacher attitudes and lack of time.;Teachers viewed performance assessment as having a broad range of applications for assessing students and the teacher responses suggested that performance assessment addressed key 2lst century skills and competencies. Laboratory performance assessments provided teachers with valuable information to adjust instruction, inform curricular decisions, and as a basis for professional development. Overall, there was variability in teacher implementation of performance assessment possibly due to teacher background, experience, or subject matter taught.;This study highlights the value of implementing performance assessment as a teaching methodology to improve inquiry-based science education, promote the development of 21st century skills, involve students in the assessment process, provide teachers with valuable information to inform instruction, and as a tool for professional development. |
