Designing for authentic assessment: a scoping review

Authentic assessment has been adopted in higher education for decades, and its values in promoting learning and enhancing students’ employability have been acknowledged. However, until recently, authentic assessment has mainly focused on replicating the tasks and performance standards typically found in the workplace. To maximise its educational potential, it is necessary to obtain a richer understanding of claims for authentic assessment in its various forms by reviewing its variety of assessment designs. This paper provides a scoping review of empirical studies identified as authentic assessments from 2000 to 2024. It characterises authentic assessment design and discusses the design challenges considering the evolving understanding of authenticity in assessment from broader perspectives of students and society. It concludes with a proposed design model to accommodate changing views of authenticity in assessment.