Is it A, B, C or D? This is the question you have been asking yourself since elementary school.

They are only four letters, so why is making the choice so intimidating?

Because everything depends on which letter you choose. Your grades, your GPA, your job and your degree all boil down to choosing A, B, C or D.

You know what I am talking about especially during midterms week. You might even be going to one today: a test, exam or midterm whatever you want to call it. This is what college and all schooling comes down to these days: tests.

Why, though? Are they really the most effective tool we have to measure success? Are they really that accurate? Are they really fair?

According to an article from Chris Hedges, Why the United States Is Destroying Its Education System, multiple choice tests are guided toward one type of thinker: one that obeys. Leaders or those who choose not to conform are weeded out. These tests offer require no problem solving or higher order thinking, but just spit back information from a class lecture.

Isn’t it ironic that a country that prides itself on being the leader in every aspect discourages critical thinking and encourages conformity? More importantly, though, multiple choice tests may not be the best solution for measuring learning or evaluating teachers.

Tom Joseph, instructor in the College of Education, said, “It (multiple choice tests) is to look at teaching and learning through a very narrow, simplistic and…counter-intuitive lens. Cognitive development is closely tied to various other developmental aspects of human growth.”

Physical, social and emotional development all impact learning and each person goes through the stages at his or her own pace. Therefore, standardized tests, which gage learning at one place and one time, cannot really measure every student’s success.

It’s crazy that we start this kind of testing as early as elementary school. First grade teachers are already starting to give multiple choice tests and preparing their students for what awaits them.

“It is hard to evaluate a person and a multiple pronged approach must be used. Paper and pencil tests can be a component of that,” said Gaylen Kapperman, professor and coordinator of the Vision Impairments Program in the Special Education Department.

But is it really enough to measure the learning of a 7-year-old? Nevertheless, we continue to use these tests in elementary schools, training students to excel at this kind of test taking. But if it doesn’t work, why do we continue to do it?

“The American public is not wiling to put in the money to fund other, more expensive practices,” Kapperman said.

So should we just keep training our students to be one track thinkers?

No, it’s simply not the answer. Then what is the answer?

Well, all I know is that it is more complicated than A, B, C or D.