How can We tell if students are really learning!?

"After all these years of common schooling, we still have no real way of knowing if students are learning." This quote has me thinking that how do we know this? Do essays, multiple choice questions prove that students have learned? There are two arguments to this question. One, there are tests such as math and history that can definitely determine a right or wrong answer. On the other hand, there are tests that are specifically made for critical thinking.

Teachers are pressured to have their students to pass these "state tests." In the event that these students are unsuccessful in such tests, teachers are scrutinized to a level in which they are questioned of their pedagogy. Teachers have to remove themselves from such "banking" classroom methods and become much more involved with the students learning process. Although the banking method may provide order within the classroom and achieve the process of exchanging "important academic information" it does not satisfy the involvement of the learning process between students and teachers. I remember how dreadful school was when I was younger. My teachers sat in front of the class and just wanted us to read out loud and take notes. It was the same process every single year. I remember one teacher in high school who completely did his own thing and we still learned. I took a philosophy course in high school. The teacher based my grades on our participation in the classroom. I thought this was an excellent way of determining our grade because it made sure we were reading and understanding what we were reading by our responds in the classroom. He barely gave tests and essays, but when he did, they were effective in our preparation of the English regents.

Standardized tests need to be innovated. As time progresses, we need to understand that so are the students. The future lies within our young population. Although they need to understand about the basics within the classrooms, we need to prepare these students for the future. Determining a students' grasp of knowledge can no longer come from a letter grade or percentage. We need to develop innovative methods to determine if students are really learning and not just craming for the next exam!