Teachers’ preparation in implementing authentic assessment for reading skills at grade X senior high school

The 2013 curriculum required authentic assessment in assessing student learning outcomes in any subject, including reading skills as one of the four language skills in achieving English as a foreign language in Indonesia. Teacher preparation in designing authentic assessments will certainly affect the implementation and objectives of authentic assessments themselves. This research aims to describe the preparation and obstacles of teachers in designing authentic assessments for students’ reading skills based on the 2013 Curriculum. This research is descriptive. The data of this research were collected using document analysis and interviews towards ten senior high schools’ English teachers teaching in ten senior high schools in Padang, Padang Panjang, Bukittinggi, and Agam. The findings of this study revealed that the steps of the English teachers in designing authentic assessments were inappropriate with the demands of the 2013 curriculum. The teachers’ obstacle in designing authentic assessments was the limited time in preparing the assessment rubric. It is suggested that teachers can prepare an assessment plan that is appropriate with the steps of the 2013 Curriculum which include preparing the syllabus and lesson plans, determining the form of assessment, and scoring guidelines.