Meaningful Assessments

I have a love/hate relationship with multiple choice assessments.
My Love:
1) Easy to create- I often have a test bank of questions that I can refer to quickly so I don't even have to make up the questions
2) Easy to give- Just pass them out (or post online) and go!
3) Soooo easy to grade- a nice answer key is all I need and any one can grade t for me! Or if it is done on line, voila! It is graded automatically.
4) It is completely objective- only one right answer- no room to argue.

My Hate:
1) They are boring.
2) They don't allow for creative thinking or use of ones own words.
3) You can't tell if he really knows the answer or he was just a good guesser.
4) It does not offer the opportunity to expand or apply knowledge.

What I like more:
1) The essay answer: It allows for creative thinking, expansion of the idea and you can really tell if the learner knows the material or is just regurgitating facts. Does any one remember those blue books when taking exams?
2) A project: I love it when I can see how a person interprets the information and presents in a variety of ways. The options are unlimited here. You jut need a good rubric to make sure the learner is touching the key concepts.

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/making-assessments-meaningful-heather-wolpert-gawron