Beach, Appleman, Hynds, and Wilhelm’s. . . How do you know what they have learned?”

            This article stated that it is important to “[make] explicit your criteria” [about] ‘what counts’ in your classroom” (p. 225).  That quotation reminds me of something that happened in one of my classes. 

During a lesson on assessment, an education professor asked the class about the importance of specificity of assessment.  During the discussion, we brought up all the typical responses about measuring if students have learned and how well they have learned.  One student, “Norman,” said it is vital for teachers to be as specific as possible with what they expect the students to accomplish.  He gave an example from when he attended another college.  Norman said the professor—“Dr. Y”—was lecturing about assessment.  Dr. Y told the class that she would step out of the room, and in her absence she asked the students to write down 10 words that they thought the professor might say in the first three minutes upon her return.  Dr. Y left the room.  The students predicted words like assessment, test, and objective.  One student noted the words on a paper that he kept at his desk.  The class’s reasoning for the selections was that the discussion was about those words before the professor stepped out, so it was a safe bet that the discussion would continue.  When Dr. Y returned, she began recounting a story about how her grandchild had lost a first tooth.  Soon, the three minutes were up, and none of the predicted words had been said by the professor.  Dr. Y asked the class what they thought was the point of that exercise.  One student said it wasn’t fair because there are too many words out there to predict which ones the teacher would say.  Dr. Y said, “Bingo!  Assessment must be fair.”  I’ve learned that teachers must be crystal clear about what they teach, how they will assess student learning, and how closely the two are linked. 

            It’s true that tests have become “monster[s]” that do not “reward students for creativity” (p. 238).  Everyone knows that students learn the most from completing projects.  However, projects that rely on creativity can be more challenging for teachers to grade.  Perhaps challenging isn’t the correct word… how about time-consuming?  Is that the main reason for the prevalence for fill-in-the-bubble tests?  The ease of it.  Could it simply a matter of time management?