In this article, we investigate the implementation of task performance tests in an undergraduate
physics laboratory. Two performance tests were carried out over two semesters using the task of
building a DC circuit. The first implementation in Spring 2014 had certain concerns such as the
privacy of students’ testing and their ‘trial and error’ attempts. These concerns were addressed in
Fall 2015 through implementing a second performance test. The second implementation was administered
differently but the content of the two tests was the same. We discuss the validity of both
implementations and present the correlation (or lack of) between the time that students needed to
complete the tests and their grades from a paper-based laboratory assessment method.