On Asking the Right Questions/ Take an Inventory of Your Tests

Most teachers agree that higher order thinking skills are more important than just recall and comprehension. Do you agree that historical thinking is more important than remembering facts? Do you think mathmatical thinking is more important than simply memorizing formulae? If so, I encourage you to take an inventory of the tests you give your students. What are your questions? If your questions are of the  "What did, when did, who did" variety, then you are targeting recall. Wiggins tells us what we assess is what we value. If we primarily assess for recall, then that is what we value. The questions on the posters below made by the Historical Thinking Project are getting at a different kind of knowing.

Many teachers have test banks of assessments given over the years. Go through those questions. It might be a sobering but very useful process.