Teacher's Perception and Practice of Authentic Assessment in English Teaching in Elementary School

Abstract

This research is aimed to analyze the elementary school teachers’ perception and practice of authentic assessment in Sragen regency. This is descriptive-qualitative research. The subjects of the research were three English teachers from two private schools and a teacher from a public elementary school. Data were collected by interviewing the teachers and also observing teaching learning process. The technique of analyzing data in this research is the descriptive analysis. Hence, the collected data were interpreted and analyzed in detail based on the theory of authentic assessment to draw a conclusion. The findings showed that some teachers did not know exactly the meaning of authentic assessment, however actually most of them have practiced it in their classroom. They did not realize that they have applied authentic assessment in teaching learning process. It also showed that they perceived assessment as a test. Meanwhile, authentic assessment in their opinion was a test to measure the result of the students’ learning. Teachers used various types of assessment in the classroom; among others were observation, self assessment, and peer assessment and so on. The application of the authentic assessment should consider three aspects as stated in the regulation of the Minister of Culture and Education namely manner, skills, and knowledge.