There are many ways to make assessment more authentic

In recent times portfolios or 'work folios' have provided students with the opportunity to demonstrate their learning. Portfolios often come under the rubric of 'authentic' and 1 or alternative' assessment. Portfolios have the advantage of involving students with the collection and even the evaluation of the samples (Eggen and Kauchak, 2001). This article describes a way of getting students' work, but using an open-ended approach. Although here the curriculum subject is math, this type of activity could be used in most curriculum areas.