Are Tests the Only Way to Assess Student Learning?

Education is all about learning. Teaching people how to read, spell, write and compute mathematic equations is what the system is all about.  Once those skills and knowledge are taught and then learned by students, an assessment is given to determine what the student has retained.

When I talk about assessment, I know of the kind where the teacher gives a weekly test and/or pop quiz to know if the students have learned the required information.  These types of assessments have allowed the teacher to guage their level and method of instruction as well as give the student feedback as to whether they know the material.  Then there is the end of unit test; this a cumulative assessment where the teacher evaluates how the student has progressed since the beginning of the unit.  Then we have the standardized test; the test which measures how the student has progressed from the beginning of the school year until mid-year or even end of year. (contingent on time administered)

For a long time and even still today, many educators and education administrators believe that these various tests are ideal and adequate methods to measure gain of knowledge and skills in students.  However, as the times are changing and research talks about the type of learner a child is, tests should not be only tool used to assess learning.

Teachers assign projects and with those projects comes a level of work that should be closely looked at when grading.  Teachers can take projects created by students using PowerPoint, Prezi, Excel, iMovie, and other technology and assess the student's level of learning.  Since students put a lot of time, effort, and enrgy into creating these projects, there is representation of the student learning the knowledge and skills that are required.  Another assessment tool that is great are oral presentations.  The student must be able to stand in front of their peers and fluently present information on a topic that has been studied.  The teacher can assess the student for accuracy of information, fluency, and planning by using an outline.

With all the different ways to assess students, it is time to think about the type of learner that is  in the classroom and what assessment works best for the information that is being taught to the student.