Formation of agricultural education in high schools was a milestone in the early 20th-century history of Zionist education, and in the Jewish society in Mandatory Palestine in general. Agricultural education was a means of changing the character of the Jewish people by imparting agricultural knowledge and training. Candidates came from agricultural settlements, but mainly – and this was its uniqueness – they also came from the towns. In addition, agricultural education provided a framework for absorbing immigrant youth. This educational framework was, among other things, ideological because those who joined it were usually motivated by a desire to change the character of the Jewish society, return to the land and work it. The cost of funding agricultural schools was high for the local Jewish community, and therefore these schools remained dependent on private initiative and philanthropy. In spite of the widespread ideological support, not many students actually took part in agricultural education due to the high cost of tuition on the one hand, and the need to help support their own families on the other. It can also be said that during this period, parents who had the means to provide their children with higher education, favoured the “Gymnasium” high school model, which could lead to them engaging in other professions.

This study seeks to: 1) to generate a product of a living values-based authentic assessment model in civic learning in high school; 2) to test the effectiveness of the model on the character development of students. Research and Development design was employed. Data were collected through questionnaires, attitude scales, interviews, and focus group discussions. An interactive analysis model, quantitative descriptive, and the two-difference test mean were utilised to analyse the data. Participants in the study were Students and Civics Education teachers in ten high schools in Bandung, Indonesia. Results reveal: 1) the model product comprised attitude assessment, self-assessment, and peer assessment which integrates the values of life into the assessment aspects of learning material according to the curriculum; 2) The results of model trials indicate that significant differences arise in the character development of students before and after the application of the model.