Should examinations be replaced with other forms of assessment?

Question

Should examinations be replaced with other forms of assessment?

Answer 1

Why..the tests have already been dumbed down to a point that even a wrong answer is correct.

Answer 2

what forms would you suggest?

Answer 3

No. How else are you going to show someone what you know and what u don't know?. Would you want a Dr. operating on you without having had an examination as to what he knows  (or doesn't) Like where is your appendix, spleen, tonsils.

Answer 4

I've always liked portfolio assessment.  I once had a teacher who divided up the knowledge we needed to know in to categories, and gave us a choice to complete a certain number of assignments from each category.  The assignments were things like research papers, audiovisual projects, presentations, field experiences, and even the occasional exam.  We could pick any one of them, but each was designed to give us a way to prove that we had gained the necessary knowledge. She then evaluated our entire portfolio at the end of the class to make sure that we completed the right amount of learning activities in the right categories.

I also like supervised internships, where a leader in your chosen profession will teach you how to function via hands-on experiences and will evaluate how you perform in the field.

Still, there are certain situations where an exam is helpful, such as when you absolutely need to know the specific answer to a specific question.  However, in general, I believe that most people cram for exams and forget half the answers shortly thereafter.  I don't believe that doctor proves most of her knowledge on the written exam portion of her boards.  I believe she proves her knowledge during her supervised internship and the case evaluation portion of her boards.