Historical Performance Tasks
A performance task is any learning activity or assessment that asks students to perform to demonstrate their knowledge, understanding and proficiency. Performance tasks yield a tangible product and/or performance that serve as evidence of learning.
It is an alternative assessment to the traditional, multiple choice test. Recently, our team created our own performance tasks in a shared Google Doc. Each of us created and uploaded samples we could use with our students using the GRASPS model.
See characteristics of a performance task by Jay McTighe.
We were able to write comments and give constructive feedback to one another about the quality and design of our assessments. I chose to create two assessments that could be used in our “Freedom and Conflict” courses in Grades 7 & 8.
My first performance task puts students in the role of assistant to the Mexican ambassador. Upon receipt of the infamous Zimmerman Telegram, students must decide what to do with a document that played a significant role in the United States’ decision to enter World War I.
