It recognizes and respects the role of the learner in assessment, for each researcher has recognized that without the active participation of the learner then assessment is potentially limited and likely to be less successful. This dialogue with students in the reports suggests that teachers are continuing to define and expand the concept of active learning to include assessment, which appears in the reports as predominantly authentic. From reading these papers it becomes clear that authentic assessment is rarely static, nor does it demand a conformity of approach by either teacher or learner. The reports reflect the complex and demanding nature of authentic assessment. In a number of ways the authors show that it is harder to devise and to implement than are tests and exams.
Authentic assessment takes more time.
It puts a greater burden on teachers and demands more from students. And yet the teachers writing for this project consistently state that this is the form of assessment which works best for improving their students' learning. Such statements are based on practice, reflection and inquiry, refined and developed over years of teaching. Even when the route appears more demanding, the teachers whose reports are shared here take it with little hesitation because they believe that the assessments they are developing will better serve students' needs. It appears from at least two of the papers that some students, by their senior secondary years, are conditioned to forms of assessment that they consider predictable and that they are initially resistant to authentic forms of assessment.