I know that Multiple Choice Tests are sometimes necessary, but I think that assessments need to go above and beyond that in order to be high-quality. Students need to be able to process the information and use it independently – not just memorize facts. And lets face it, when students are just memorizing facts they tend to forget them as soon as the test is over. For example, I spent 3 years in high school memorizing words in Spanish class and I do not remember anything from it now…

Quality Assessments get students thinking. They need to use the information they have learned along with their own skills and experiences to process that information into higher thinking answers. I am going to discuss the quality assessments that can be seen in my Art Appreciation class.

Essay Questions: From the very first test, students are asked to use the information they have learned to analyze a work of art. Meaning that they are not just listing off information they have learned from the class but they are using the strategies taught and applying them to the analysis of an actual work of art.

Hands On Activities: Throughout the class, students are asked to create art work based off of the lessons they have learned. One example of that is in the architecture unit. Students learn how architects design houses and other buildings, the symbols they use, the process they go through, and the technology they use to create digital renderings. Students use the information they have learned to draw the layout of their dream home as well as a rendering of what the front of the house would look like. Students are taking the information that they learned about the design and planning of buildings and applying it to a real project. And students really enjoy these hands on activities!

Overall, students learn more from quality assessments and teachers can more accurately see what students know and what they still need help with. Quality assessments often require higher level thinking rather than memorization, which is exactly what students need!