Descriptive Assessment

Descriptive assessment refers to the process of collecting the authentic and naturally occurring behaviors of an individual with the objective of determining what characterizes his or her performance, what the individual is able or unable to do within the contexts of interest, and what the potential explanations might be for the identified [Page 567]performance. This approach has been used within a behaviorist framework in which behaviors are described and the antecedent and consequences surrounding identified behaviors are analyzed to determine potential causal effects. It is also used within a constructivist framework to detail and understand the behaviors and strategies constructed and used in appropriate and functional performances from a meaning-based perspective.

Often referred to as alternative, authentic, comprehensive, or performance assessment in general educational contexts, descriptive ...