**1. Introduction**

Due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, students were suddenly required to complete their assessments online. Similarly, higher education (HE) institutions and instructors likewise suddenly forced to ensure competency achievement among students online. Lund and Kirk [1] report that performance-based assessment (PBA) focuses on judgment and observation. Typically, such approaches involve the assessor's observation of the learner while performing a task or reviewing a task that has already been performed by a student before evaluating the overall quality of the product. Although teachers often design performance-based tasks to enable individual learners to demonstrate their understanding of the instructional content by applying it in different situations, effective performance-related tasks entail the acceptance of many forms of solution. In most cases, for this approach, students are called upon to defend or explain their solutions [2]. It is critical to understand that

performance-related tasks constitute both an opportunity for the assessment of the quality of learning and feature an instrumental aspect for the learning process.

According to Stanley [2], PBA is an alternative to traditional testing approaches. This approach entails the use of a critical problem-solving process that is not only essential for the learning context but also extends to real-world situations. Logically, these forms of assessment call for students to develop a product or respond to a question in a way that demonstrates their understanding and skills [3]. For this reason, this approach does not admit of a right or wrong answer in an absolute sense. Instead, PBAs call for learners to play an active role in the performance of the given task and in the entire assessment process as a whole. In most cases, the tasks are interdisciplinary and practical, to enhance their applicability. As Lind and Kirk argue [1], PBAs do not provide any deeper insight into how students are learning but do provide a clear direction on how they understand the content that they are studying. With this knowledge, educators are better able to understand the specific aspects in which a learner may need further assistance. In response, they can modify their instruction to suit these needs.

A separate study [4] indicates that PBA is focused on students' engagement in specific learning tasks to demonstrate their level of knowledge and skills. These tasks are often based on issues that arise in real-life situations and are student centered. Usually, teachers conduct PBAs through speaking with or listening to students as they complete learning tasks. Assessment is a continuous process that enables teachers to identify a learner's ability to reason and think [1]. Teachers can use assessments to adapt their teaching practice based on the performance of their students. According to Stanley [2], PBA enables students to learn while being assessed and to acquire selfevaluation skills. As such, it could be argued that this type of assessment promotes self-improvement and continuous learning among students. This chapter discusses PBA through inquiry-based learning (IBL), with particular emphasis on online assessment with competency-based learning.

### **2. Understanding performance-based assessment**

PBA is a fundamental means of ensuring that assessment can be both beneficial and interactive for both learners and educators. Generally, PBA is for providing assessors with the chance to measure performance and competence as the assessed students demonstrate their skill [1]. It has been argued it is necessary for PBAs to portray real-life situations. Likewise, it should exhibit an effective strategy for the test takers to develop their responses. Broadly, PBA helps orient the test toward productive writing, speaking, or any other selected skills rather than highlighting preselected responses. For instance, PBA activities should allow students to display written and oral skills, perform experiments, develop projects, and participate in oral interactive activities in small groups or at an individual level [1]. These learning activities can promote the overall authenticity of the entire assessment process, motivating the learner to use the skills that they have acquired in real-life situations.

PBA has proven beneficial in several ways. In particular, the contextualization of the principles of assessment under PBA shows a high level of validity, washback, and authenticity [2]. Washback refers to forms of negative or positive impact that result from testing, taking the form of a teaching and learning process. Stanley [2] reports that positive feedback can promote learning and form a basis for the establishment of a positive atmosphere within the classroom. Further, it can enhance overall cooperation between educators and learners. In essence, it strengthens the position of learners and gives them

#### *Perspective Chapter: Performance-Based Assessment through Inquiry-Based Learning DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109217*

a chance to share their views. Indeed, learners have the chance to discuss their overall performance with their educators to enable them to improve their ongoing learning.

Furthermore, performance assessment can involve a high level of authenticity where it portrays real-life situations [3]. This refers to the extent of the correspondence of the qualities of a test. Administering authentic PBA shows an acquisition of productive skills. Among educators, this approach provides a chance to identify specific strengths and weaknesses in their teaching methodology [1]. Thanks to this information, they can develop their strategies and make necessary adjustments. In addition, it enhances autonomy, as learners get the chance of performing real-world tasks as part of the PBA [3]. Similarly, the validity of an assessment stems from its ability to evaluate what the instructor intends to evaluate. In essence, teachers can use valid tests for communicative purposes. For instance, the most effective strategy for measuring learner performance is to design appropriate activities based on the learning area while the assessment is ongoing.

Accountability and assessment standards have traditionally been quantified through the administration of standardized tests. The limitations and flaws of this approach are evident [3]. Usually, test contents emerge from a series of compromises among in a curriculum development groups. Test publishers have the responsibility to ensure that selected test objectives match the wide variety of textbooks in use. According to Lund and Kirk [1], this implies the need to narrow the contents covered during the learning process. Designing tests to emphasize basic skills limits and constrains the overall complexity of learning contents. The integration of practical considerations further limits this content by incorporating the use of a multiple-choice format, which is easier to administer and cheaper than open-ended and student-generated responses. Despite these drawbacks, standardized test scores continue to play a central role in assessment.

In the twentieth century, standardized tests were commonly used as indicators of students' learning. Taking into account current knowledge on how new knowledge is acquired and processed, the evident should prompt policymakers, parents, and educators to acknowledge the possibility that such test formats are misleading and inaccurate measures of students' learning [3]. Even though they have been proven to be inaccurate or invalid, standardized tests are an effective indicator of test-taking and fact-memorizing skills. However, the memorization of pieces and bits of knowledge cannot prepare learners sufficiently for the real-life challenges. Valid tests should demand complex mental processes from individual learners [2]. This should incorporate the recognition of more than one correct approach.

### **3. Online assessment**

#### **3.1 Online summative assessment tasks**

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the need to limit human interaction, and the associated travel restrictions have influenced the assessment of educational content. Online assessment approaches have come to the forefront as educators seek to reach learners in various locations [5]. The influence of the pandemic in combination with technological advancement has prompted the educational establishment to shift to predominantly using online teaching methods. For this reason, summative assessments have shown a significant increase, which has proven to be a successful way of evaluating learners using online instruction. According to Rahim [6], educational policymakers and teachers are responsible for making strategic decisions in the development of assessment. As part of this process, they must determine what

students need to learn, and they should ensure that they can produce evaluate essential knowledge as part of remote and in-person learning.

Larry Ainsworth's REAL criteria are used for administering online learning. The acronym stands for readiness, endurance, assessed, and leverage. Here, readiness is focused on evaluating whether learners have gained the necessary knowledge for the learning field [5]. Broadly, this entails the use of the examination to determine whether students are ready to be presented with new information. Endurance refers to the idea that learners should demonstrate knowledge that they will retain after the examination. Assessed describes the need to conform to the standards for learning set by the educational authorities. Finally, leverage describes the need to ensure that the knowledge that is tested is applicable across a wide range of disciplines [5]. When engaging students in online learning, it should be kept in mind that they be consistently assessed to determine their adaptation and knowledge acquisition.

Among the most important ways that students can increase their level of content understanding is engagement in performance tasks. These tasks involve open-ended questions, use real-life situations, and rest on a fundamental similarity between the performance of the task and the performance items [7]. The emergence of the pandemic has led to uncertainty in this area that may lead to a feeling of being overwhelmed among students. Teachers must consider students' lives as they live outside the school by ensuring that assessment tasks are divided into manageable portions. By this means, these tasks can be handled with greater ease and the need to cram content is evaded. In this process, teachers should embrace verbal communication and conversation with students to determine whether they have internalized and understood learning content [6]. Teachers should play a fundamental role in ensuring that they introduce the human element during online learning. Logically, they can achieve this by maintaining the same standards as those in face-to-face learning.

Similar to most other instructional content, online assessment has become a useful component of learners' language skills development. Language proficiency is a key aspect in learning and teaching that teachers must promote [8]. The criticality of language skills for real-life situations, such as in job applications, should cause teachers to test students on language competence and knowledge. Indeed, language proficiency assessment can lead to succinct and clear statements of individual learner competency in language, and it is more personal [8]. In other words, when using this type of assessment, teachers must ensure that they are considering individual differences among students in the assessment design. This will enable the application of such knowledge in a real-life situation to be adequately represented.

#### **3.2 Online performance assessment**

Modern online learning environments create a new opportunity for educators to combine elements of distance and the possibility of dynamic learning. Gamage et al. [9] argue that with this new approach, the objective is to embrace collaboration and extensive communication. The use of instructional tools that promote engagement, such as email, threaded discussions, and electronic bulletin boards, is critical for the functioning of online platforms. Online learning tools can also help provide access to a wide range of learning resources. Accessing information through online resources such as the World Wide Web can enable learning institutions to provide their students with instant access to many libraries assessment resources [9]. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the institutions and the individual teachers to identify and provide their students with the necessary online assessment resources. For example, AlShamsi

#### *Perspective Chapter: Performance-Based Assessment through Inquiry-Based Learning DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109217*

[10] explored the influence of using an online learning community in instruction with female college students. An instructor worked with female college students to create online learning communities through IBL. The instructor ensures that the learning requirements meet institutional expectations with an IBL approach that promotes the social and cognitive presence of the students.

Many strategies can be used by teachers to support online learning assessment. As Gamage et al. [9] indicate, teachers may first need to ensure the authenticity of the assessment process by making critical decisions with respect to how assessments can be structured. Second, teachers should be sure to provide learners with the information and learning tools that they need to thrive. Tools such as the WIDS Performance Assessment Task Library, online delivery courses, and scoring guides can be useful for this process. Another strategy to consider is the establishment of an online environment that promotes authentic assessment. Much of this requires using existing online communication tools to facilitate performance assessment. Finally, teachers should ensure that their students are provided with the opportunity to practice and given necessary feedback [9]. Designing main tasks and sub-tasks with clear stages of intervention ensures that provided feedback on performance is integral to learners' success [11].

Online inquiry assessment is the subject of multidisciplinary research that justifies why addressing PBA requires an interdisciplinary approach. Inquiry tasks create the need to bridge task-based interactions in comprehension and online research [12]. These tasks, are foundational for providing a strong theoretical perspective in developing test assignments. In the recent past, scholars have been contributing to the development of performance assessments. These efforts have greatly supported online inquiry competencies. Within the context of an interdisciplinary approach that forms the basis for the development of PBAs, it is possible to design effective competencies for online inquiry [12]. Educational research focused on attaining these objectives is opening avenues for the development of performance tests that can effectively evaluate performance in online inquiry tasks. AlShamsi [11] investigated the use of WebQuest, an online learning platform that promotes performance assessment through IBL. She found that WebQuest was a collaborative tool that enabled a community of inquiry to be built, wherein the required competencies and skills were achieved through frequent feedback sessions. In that study, the instructor was able to implement sub-tasks to ensure fair opportunities and higher levels of engagement among the students.

There are several tools available for the online assessment of language skills. For instance, the test of English as a foreign language (TOEFL) is a useful tool for testing English language competencies, including speaking, listening, and writing skills. Teachers seeking to test their students' level of English competency can use the online version of TOEFL for their students to complete within the necessary 4.5-hour period [6]. Another useful online tool for language assessment is the International English Language Testing System. Academic use of this tool provides passages and questions that can help test students' ability to thrive within an academic environment.

The use of an online IBL tool that involves group projects has been beneficial for HE practices. In a study conducted in the Emirati context, AlShamsi [11] suggests that assessing group efforts that implement tasks and sub-tasks should grade the stages toward completing the final task while making use of frequent feedback. AlShamsi indicates that this is crucial for assessing the final product of the group and the degree of each participant's contribution toward the final product, in addition to the quality of their responses to the feedback provided. The quality of assessment should be a major concern in online assessment practices [13]. To mitigate this concern, researchers have suggested the use of collaborative tools in teaching and assessment practices while

considering institutional and program quality assurance measures. Within a teacher education course, for example, AlShamsi [11] planned final assignments using a project plan that was collaboratively designed with students. Here, the students were divided into groups, and primary assessment tasks were created that could be divided into subtasks based on the educational levels and needs of the students or groups. The intervention plan or the project plan included one-on-one meetings and interviews via Zoom as needed by the group to measure their progress in each task. AlShamsi [11] reported that students were able to experience deep learning, perform challenging tasks, and develop a deep understanding of the course material, which ensured knowledge retention and the achievement of the learning objectives. Generally, this project plan ensured equity among female college students with varied education levels and needs.

### **4. Approaching summative assessment through performance assessment**

Summative assessment theory forms critical part of teaching and learning. This approach is based on the evaluation of students' level of academic attainment at the end of the semester, term, or year [14]. In this assessment, the emphasis is on comparing achievement to school benchmarks and universal standards. Often, summative assessments are given to a high point value, and occur within controlled conditions, providing a high level of visibility. Educators can use performance assessment as a summative tool. For instance, teachers can judge students' performance based on a given score or rubric [14]. According to Dixson and Worrell [15], the use of a rubric enables teachers to set specific standards for class performance on assignments and tests. Teachers can approach summative assessment through performance assessment by designing effective and clear questions, tasks and sub-tasks, evaluation criteria, and clear instructions. In doing this, it is necessary to ensure that examples, language, and phrases are used that reflect the ones that played a part in class lessons [11].

#### **4.1 Competency-based learning and assessment**

Generally, competency-based assessment is an ongoing, rigorous process that focuses on building and testing students' abilities. This learning approach is targeted to prompt the students to gain the skills to navigate the contemporary world [16]. It is the responsibility of educators to ensure that their learners develop and sharpen their capabilities to reflect modern societal needs. Competency-based evaluations in an educational context are not only focused on the acquisition of new skills but also emphasize the need to define competency levels at various learning stages [16]. These approaches allow teachers to help students gradually progress in their content mastery and apply it in real work situations.

Teachers must consider various steps to successfully implement competency-based learning and assessment. First, they must conduct diagnostic activities for their students to identify their existing knowledge [17]. Usually, this is based around the competencies of the learner and helps the personalization of the teaching approach. Second, the teacher must develop an instructional design based on the identification of specific learning outcomes for a given course even before the commencement of the learning process. The next step is for teachers to identify the assessment activities. Automated grading is effective here, especially in low-level cognitive domains [17]. However, while investigating higher level cognitive skills, educators may have to consider direct assessments, such as observational grading, written essays, and case study analyses.

#### *Perspective Chapter: Performance-Based Assessment through Inquiry-Based Learning DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109217*

The next step is for teachers is to define the outcomes of the learning cycle measurably and clearly. Following this, they must identify the required competency-based assessment tools to enable them to manage performance development [17]. Such tools may include case studies, interviews, test questionnaires, and assessment centers. All of these steps should help properly place feedback within the assessment process [12]. Feedback is an integral part of competency-based learning, as it helps the teacher guide students along the right learning path. The next step is to measure the level of student success following the completion of competency-based learning. Finally, it is necessary to conduct further analysis of the results using learning analytics [18]. Because the competency-based approach helps in conducting both qualitative and quantitative assessments, the results should indicate areas that need encouragement and improvement through effective feedback and clear implementation stages [11].

#### **4.2 Considering the needs of diverse students**

At present, classroom diversity forms an integral part of education, enabling teachers to identify and address the varied learning needs of different students. A diverse classroom includes students who have different socioeconomic classes, ethnicities, backgrounds, personalities, religions, and reading levels [19]. Competency-based teaching and assessment approaches emphasize the need for educators to ensure that they value the specific aspects that determine differences among students to ensure equity in assessment [11]. During learning and assessment, teachers need to focus on helping students embrace their diversity and considering their strengths rather than their weaknesses [16]. This divergent perspective can facilitate the development of positive learning outcomes for the benefit of individual learners within the classroom.

### **5. Inquiry Based Learning process**

#### **5.1 Differentiated activities for IBL**

IBL is a teaching approach that reflects a learning environment in which students play an active role, and the teachers is restricted. A wide range of salient characteristics of IBL justify the relevance of this process in performance assessments [20]. These characteristics include the administration of learner-centered activities, problem-solving, considering the teacher as a facilitator than the only knowledge provider, and developing activities that shape rediscovery. It is critical to understand that these are attributes of PBAs due to their emphasis on the role of the student over that of the teacher [20]. By embracing IBL, teachers can enhance the role that students play in the teaching-learning process for practical purposes.

Overall, there are four levels of IBL: structured inquiry, confirmation inquiry, open inquiry, and guided inquiry. In confirmation inquiry, teachers provide learners with procedures and questions, and the outcomes are known in advance [20]. Broadly, this helps focus on a previously introduced idea. Further, it introduces the learners to the process of conducting an investigation and enables them to practice specific inquiry skills [20]. In structured inquiry, the teacher continues to provide the procedure and questions. However, the students bear the responsibility of developing the results and explaining them through the use of supportive evidence. In a guided inquiry, the educator's responsibility is to provide learners with a guide and research questions [20]. It is only then that students have the duty of designing procedures that enable them to arrive at results with evidential proof.

However, this is not the case for open inquiry, in which the learners have to develop their research own questions. Further, they must create and perform their procedures themselves and communicating the results on their own in a consistent manner. It is important to recognize that all four levels of inquiry are incorporated in PBA, in several ways. For instance, guided inquiry is based on constructivism and embraces the use of teachers' activities for learner-centered learning. According to [11, 18], this method encourages students to interact in various contexts and focuses on learning, not merely on fact memorization. This method has proved as a framework for educational transformation to create a system that mirrors development in the twenty-first century.

#### **5.2 Involvement in a process**

Modern society creates a unique challenge for educators in developing and implementing learning approaches that can help solve existing problems. Developing particular skill sets, such as independent learning, can be useful in impelling learners to demonstrate a resourcefulness that enhances in-depth understanding of some subject matter [21]. The guided inquiry approach is integral for assisting individual students in acquiring modern skills that are relevant in the twenty-first century. The skill sets of as self-direction, collaboration, self-assessment, adaptation, and creativity are important here. There is strong evidence to suggest that the consideration of an IBL approach can help improve the overall learning process among students. Studies that have integrated this approach have found it to be effective in learning and teaching in improving learners' literacy skills in areas such as knowledge, attitude, and competence [21].

Importantly, the findings of such studies are consistent with previous claims advanced by many scholars. Such studies demonstrate that integrating an inquiry learning approach into science and technology instruction can significantly promote the acquisition of critical skills among students [21]. The same pedagogical approach is useful for increasing academic achievement among students in science. According to Khalaf and Mohammed [22], this approach has a positive impact on learner effective and cognitive characteristics, as demonstrated by the improved understanding of scientific concepts alongside inquiry skills within the experimental group. Khalaf and Mohammed [22] argue that IBL can be useful for helping students improve their overall cognitive ability with reference to performance goal dimensions and self-efficacy. It is clearly important for PBA to be based on inquiry to enhance students' outcomes over the long run.
