The following are potential ways to improve performance, but undermine the value of the performance data.

1. Practice and rehearse the task in preparation for the student to recall information, not involve complex thinking.
2. Provide too much information during the task to prompt responses, hindering students thinking for themselves.
3. Structure the task with too specific directions and steps to create an intended response. End up creating response that shows teacher thinking, not student.
4. Use poor item formats, or items that target the wrong skills or content. Student doesn’t get the opportunity to apply knowledge and skills in the right context.
5. Students don’t know or understand what is expected of them. Task lacks clear guidelines.
6. Hands-on tasks are too structured. Students demonstrate ability to follow directions, not higher order thinking.
7. Accept only one way to answer and respond to task.
8. Task contains too many drilled responses or item types, not higher order thinking items.
9. Structure of assessment binds answers to one way for response.
10. Task assesses the easiest aspects of student performance instead of making students think through their responses.
    

Reference: Creating Tests Worth Taking. Wiggins, Grant. Educational Leadership, v49 n8 p26-33 May 1992