There are, of course, other student evaluation strategies besides standardized tests, and there has been a lot of interest in alternative assessments recently. Much of this interest has been sparked by persons who have been dissatisfied with standardized tests. The most rabid of these test bashers would do away with standardized testing entirely. Others take a more moderate position-frequently concluding that both types of assessments are needed. Before going any further, it would probably be wise to pause to discuss terminology, loose as it is.
Alternative assessment seems to mean any alternative to testing.
If authentic assessment does not imply that everything else must be un authentic, then we are missing something. None of these methods of demonstrating proficiency was invented yesterday. They are all legitimate instructional tools, but attempts to use them as alternatives to standardized testing have met with difficulty because of reliability problems. Attempts to enhance repeatability and inter-rater reliability have not been totally successful while tending to drive costs beyond fiscally responsible limits. Some states that have embraced alternative assessments are now reversing gears and going back to norm-referenced tests or at least including them in a blend of evaluative tools.