To Test or Not to Test..... Week 8 Reflection

To Test or Not Test...Is that REALLY the question???

I think that it is more accurate to ask, "How to test?" There are many different forms of assessment to evaluate several different forms of knowledge and skills. Can you you did a surgeon a multiple choice test and from its results determine he is a good or terrible surgeon?? No, of course not. But, it might be a piece of the data that helps to formulate his knowledge about the human body. Assessing students' knowledge should be done with many different forms of assessment tools to get the best and most accurate data.
It is no secret that everyone learns differently; consequently, everyone should be "tested" with several different forms of assessment. Not to mention, as illustrated in the example of the surgeon in the first paragraph, understanding what you want as an outcome is important in selecting your assessment tool.
There are many different assessment tools. In my 9th grade English class I use everything from "traditional" tests and quizzes, to journal entries, projects, portfolios, software application, presentations, etc. It is important to understand what your motivation is for the assessment as well as the desired outcome or skill/knowledge. All of these forms can be assessed objectively. Whether the answer is right or wrong or whether it met the requirements on a rubric. Well designed rubrics can be objective yet allow for "above and beyond" mastery to "outside the box thinking". Traditional test and quizzes do not allow for the above and beyond or outside the box thinking. They tend to be more limiting in results. I, personally, love rubrics. They allow me to clearly state the content or skill I want my students to master, yet they leave the mode or method up to the student. I love that! Grading the same thing 146 times gets REALLY boring, but when the final product can be as different from night and day yet still reflect the target content, it makes grading not such a chore. It is also exciting to see student's personalities, interests, and creativity come out in their work. A traditional test doesn't lend itself to that!
In conclusion, objective tests are not the only way to assess students knowledge. It is but only one piece of the big puzzle.