The Influence of Performance-Based and Authentic Assessment

Some of the characteristics of new reading tests include:

Building the reading assessment within a framework that views reading as a dynamic, interactive, constructive process; therefore, isolated skills are not measured.

Using longer passages that were not written for the test but that were originally written for students to read for information and enjoyment.

Assessing students' ability to read a variety of text types for a variety of purposes, such as reading expository, narrative, and procedural texts for enjoyment, for literary appreciation, for information, and so forth.

Asking students to respond to open-ended questions that allow for a variety of interpretations and a range of acceptable responses rather than asking students to choose the correct answer from four choices (NAEP Reading Consensus Project, 1992).