Examining the Costs of Performance Assessment

Performance assessment continues to gain popularity as a needed reform in the approach to student testing. As yet, however, there are few programs fully implementing the performance assessment approach in the contexts of large- scale assessment. This study examines cost factors associated with the development, administration, and scoring of performance-assessment tasks in the context of a statewide or other large-scale assessment program. Resources of money, time, and expertise required for performance assessment are discussed.