ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the advantages PBA provides for us as the teacher. Performance-based assessment lends itself to self-directed learning. Providing instructional feedback on a multiple-choice test is not the easiest thing to do. Performance-based assessment allows for much more instructional feedback. When using PBA the teacher needs to be prepared to offer lots of feedback, even when the student has mastered a skill. Instructional feedback does require more time from the teacher. Performance-based assessment prepares students for this real-world skill. Performance-based assessment lends itself to higher order thinking skills, a must-have in gifted classrooms. Once the students have figured out their invention, the final product has to be presented to a judge who evaluates the invention’s merits and students’ clarity of communication.
