We start with: “What is the purpose of this discipline?” and “What is it important that students know (understanding) and can do (application) as a result of this course?” These are difficult, complex, and evolving questions with implications far beyond the classroom. Moving too quickly here weakens everything else.
Then to: “How can I assess whether or not students are gaining this understanding and acquiring the necessary knowledge and skills in the most authentic manner?”
Then, we should ask the question: “How can I prepare students for that assessment?” In that sense, we are teaching to the test–but a test that has been carefully designed to fit what is being taught. And we certainly are not teaching to the same kind of test for every discipline and every situation.
