Authentic assessment in higher education
Authentic assessment asks students to apply knowledge and judgement to meaningful tasks that mirror real contexts; professional, civic or scholarly. It is attracting renewed attention as universities seek approaches that (a) drive deeper learning, (b) strengthen graduate readiness, and (c) remain robust in a world where generative AI is ubiquitous. With thoughtful design and the right workflows, institutions can scale authentic assessment fairly and efficiently and WISEflow is built to support exactly that.
WHAT IS MEANT BY “AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT”?
Authentic assessment evaluates students through tasks that resemble the contexts in which knowledge is used. Rather than asking learners to recall facts in isolation, it has them do the discipline: make decisions under realistic constraints, justify choices, and produce outputs that have relevance beyond the classroom.
A practical way to design authenticity is to consider five facets together:
- Task. The activity students undertake
Physical context. The conditions and tools they work with - Social context. The interactions expected (individual, team, external stakeholders)
- Form/result. The artefacts students produce and how they present them
- Criteria. Clear standards aligned to disciplinary or professional judgement
WHY IS EVERYONE TALKING ABOUT IT NOW?
ADVANTAGES AND REAL-WORLD DRAWBACKS TO PLAN FOR
Advantages
- Deeper learning and transfer: students integrate concepts and apply them in novel contexts
- Graduate readiness: tasks mirror real expectations and decision-making
- Integrity by design: process evidence and justification discourage shortcut behaviours
Challenges
- Workload and scalability – performance tasks need clear criteria, moderation and support
- Reliability and fairness – rubrics, calibration and exemplars are essential
- Fit to discipline – “realism” should serve the discipline’s ways of knowing, not replace them
COMMON AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT TYPES (WITH EXAMPLES)
Case investigations & policy briefs
Students analyse complex scenarios, propose evidencebased- actions, and justify trade-offsSimulations and practicals
From clinical stations to lab or decisionmaking- simulations under realistic constraintsPortfolios (including multi-modal)
Curated artefacts over time with reflective commentary on growth and standardsProject based outputs
Prototypes, datadriven analyses, or -communityfacing- deliverables for real or plausible clientsOrals, pitches and defences
Vivastyle- examinations and oral justifications that make thinking visibleHOW WISEflow SUPPORTS AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT AT INSTITUTIONAL SCALE (BY TYPE)
- Case investigations & policy briefs
- Simulations and practicals
- Portfolios (including multi-modal)
- Projectbased- outputs
- Orals, pitches and defences
- Supports rich prompts and resources via advanced authoring (50+ item types) for data, exhibits and multi-part tasks
- Enables openbook- delivery where appropriate, or closed-book conditions for specific segments or checkpoints
- Accepts multi-modal evidence (document + figures + short video/audio justification) in a single submission package
- Provides rubricbased- marking, double-blind options and external reviews to secure fairness at scale
- Offers inline annotations, audio feedback and cohortlevel- summaries for transparent, learningoriented- feedback
- Integrates with SSO, Turnitin and institutional systems/APIs for governance and evidence trails
- Orchestrates assessments that use real desktop or cloud applications within secure conditions, aligning with disciplinary practice
- Switches on lockdown / invigilated modes for highstakes segments; versions are actively maintained- via regular releases
- Supports timed windows and BYOD delivery to handle high enrolments without specialist labs
- Adds AIassisted- visual/audio monitoring where required by programme or regulator, while keeping logs for auditability
- Captures multi-file outputs (data sets, screenshots, memos) plus a reflective note to surface method and judgement
- Provides a dedicated portfolio flow to curate artefacts across weeks or years (text, media, links, reflections)
- Structures milestones and checkpoints with targeted feedback, supporting longitudinal development and standards alignment
- Enables external examiner access for sampling and calibration without exposing identities where policies require it
- Uses rubrics for progression, reflective depth and evidence quality; feedback can be aggregated at cohort level for parity
- Supports programmelevel- continuity (same portfolio through multiple modules) to evidence competence trajectories
- Accommodates multiartefact- submissions (prototype files, visuals, technical notes) and clientfacing- deliverables
- Uses rolebased- workflows and eight configurable roles to separate authorship, assessment and QA for complex projects
- Offers double-blind marking where suitable, and external review of moderation for defensibility in capstones
- Delivers rich feedback (inline, audio, cohort summaries) mapped to VALUEstyle- criteria (problemsolving-, integrative learning)
- Integrates via API/SSO so project data and grades flow to institutional systems without manual handling
- Includes dedicated modules for oral and practical exams, supporting scheduled slots, panels and artefact upload (slides, demo videos)
- Records short viva/defence artefacts alongside written work to make reasoning and attribution visible in the same flow
- Applies shared rubrics for clarity on criteria (argument quality, evidence use, audience impact), aiding crossmarker- reliability
- Supports external participation (e.g., industry guest assessors) under controlled permissions for authenticity and calibration
- Combines with secure options (if needed) or open-book modes when authenticity is best served by access to real resources
CASE: BUCERIUS LAW SCHOOL
Enhanced feedback, flipped classrooms and digital innovations: Bucerius Law School on the benefits of digital assessment in Germany
PRINCIPLES FOR DESIGNING AUTHENCITY WELL
Use the fivefacet- lens early
Specify task, context, social arrangements, form and criteria, aligned to intended practice
Make the process assessable
Require planning artefacts, drafts, prompt logs (where AI is permitted), reflections and short oral defences
Anchor judgement in rubrics
Calibrate with exemplars and adopt/extend cross-cutting rubrics (critical thinking, problem solving, integrative learning)
Balance workload with workflow
Build in feedback cycles, role separation and moderation strategies your systems can support at scale
GETTING STARTED: A PRAGMATIC PATHWAY FOR PROGRAMMES & INSTITUTIONS
Convert a single assessment to an authentic alternative using the fivefacet- lens and a clear rubric; add one visible process artefact (e.g., brief viva or reflective commentary).
CLOSING THOUGHT
COMMON QUESTIONS FROM HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS
Three shifts are driving renewed focus:
- Deeper learning demands tasks that create transfer and engagement.
- Graduate employability calls for realistic, practice-oriented challenges.
- Generative AI requires assessment formats that emphasise process, judgement, and justification—less vulnerable to automation.
Five facets help structure authenticity:
- Task students undertake
- Physical context and tools involved
- Social context (individual, team, external stakeholders)
- Form/results students produce
- Criteria aligned to disciplinary judgement
Together, these ensure assessments resemble real-world practice.
Authentic assessment promotes deeper learning, strengthens graduate readiness, and supports academic integrity by design by emphasising justification, process evidence, and realistic decision-making rather than rote recall.
WISEflow handles diverse assessment types, essays, portfolios, orals, simulations, all within one platform. It offers 50+ item types, open‑ or closed‑book delivery, multi‑modal submissions, rubric‑based marking, double‑blind workflows, moderation tools, inline feedback, and integration with institutional systems.
Use a five‑facet lens early, build in process evidence (e.g., drafts, reflections, prompt logs), anchor judgement in rubrics, calibrate with exemplars, and ensure that workflows, moderation and feedback cycles are supported by the institutional platform.
Authentic assessment reduces reliance on recall tasks that AI can easily complete. By requiring process evidence, prompt logs (when AI use is permitted), reasoning, and oral justification, it supports fair evaluation in an AI‑mediated world, emphasising judgement, not just output.
Authentic tasks require students to show reasoning, decision-making and process evidence—elements that are difficult to outsource or generate solely with AI. By embedding justification (e.g., oral defence, method notes, prompt logs), authenticity becomes an integrity‑by‑design strategy rather than relying on detection.
WISEflow allows students to submit documents, datasets, images, audio, video and written justifications as a single, unified package. This supports portfolios, project outputs, and practical tasks without forcing multiple upload points or external tools.
Yes, with the right workflows. Clear criteria, moderation processes, role separation, and digital support for feedback cycles make large‑scale delivery feasible. WISEflow’s double‑blind marking, external assessor options, and cohort‑level insights help institutions run authentic tasks reliably even in high‑enrolment modules.
REFERENCES
Wiggins, G. “The Case for Authentic Assessment.” Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation (1990). [uploads.te...blecdn.com]
Mueller, J. “What is Authentic Assessment?” Authentic Assessment Toolbox. [jonfmueller.com]
Gulikers, J., Bastiaens, T., & Kirschner, P. “A FiveDimensional- Framework for Authentic Assessment.” ETR&D (2004). [people.bath.ac.uk]
Sambell, K., & Brown, S. Guides and Compendia on Authentic Assessment (2021–2023). [lta.hw.ac.uk], [qqi.ie]
QAA. “Advice and resources on Generative AI” (2024). [qaa.ac.uk]
Kickbusch, S. et al. “Beyond Detection: Redesigning Authentic Assessment in an AIMediated- World.” Education Sciences (2025). [mdpi.com]
Ajjawi, R. et al. “From authentic assessment to authenticity in assessment.” Assessment & Evaluation in HE (2024/2025). [tandfonline.com]
