The typical BCA school day is incomplete without frenzied students cramming information into their heads before a test or rapidly adding last-minute details to a project a few minutes before its submission. While tests and projects contribute to academic stress, they are staples in modern education and are unlikely to leave classrooms anytime soon. Due to the plethora of BCA tests and assignments, BCA students have a plethora of preferred means of assessment. 

        Out of 36 surveyed students who were asked if they would rather be evaluated through the completion of a test or a project, 50% reported to prefer projects, while 25% preferred tests and 25% were fine with either.  

        Lily Goldfarb, an AEDT 9th grader, is a test person. She likes the finite nature of tests: they are done after just one class period. “Tests you study for, and then you’re done with it…Projects go on for a long time, and there’s not a lot of benchmarks, so you just go on and on and don’t know what you’re doing.”

        On the other hand, Aleena Kuriakose, an AMST 9th grader, prefers projects. “I get tired of studying a lot, and I like a change, and projects allow you to be more creative and expand your creativity…[In a project] you’re open to whatever you want to do, so you can make it your own. But with tests you’re restricted in just memorizing information.” She enjoys that “[projects are] a summary of all my work instead of just one class period.”

        For many of the polled students, preferences were less linear. The students were asked to consider a situation in which an evaluation counted as 50% of their final first-trimester grade. When the students imagined this scenario occurring in a class they enjoyed, 61.1% reported to rather complete a project, while 19.4% preferred to take a test and 19.4% had no preference. 

        Alternatively, when the students imagine this scenario occurring in a class they did not enjoy 38.9% preferred a test, while 36.1% preferred a project and 29% had no preference. According to the survey, the majority of students wanted to complete a project in a class they enjoyed but opted for a test in a class they did not enjoy. 

        Lily explains: “I would rather take a test [in a class I don’t enjoy]. I don’t want to painfully draw out stuff in a subject I don’t like.” Aleena agrees:  “[For a test in a subject I don’t like] I could just do practice problems and be done.” However, in a subject she thrives in, she would rather spend the extra time needed for a project. 

        According to further polling, the majority of students are in agreement with Aleena; preferring either means depending on the class.

        When asked about tests, 63.9% of the 36 students said that they liked the multiple-choice format of tests best, while 22.2% preferred matching questions, 8.3% preferred essay questions, and the remaining 5.6% were equally divided between fill-in-the-blank and short answer questions. 

     When polled about projects, 58.3% preferred a PowerPoint presentation, while 22.2% preferred a poster presentation, 13.9% preferred to write an essay, and the remaining 5.6% preferred to write a scientific report.

        Lily prefers multiple choice questions. “[They’re] quick and simple, and with multiple choice there’s only four options, so you can just use process of elimination if you’re not sure.” Aleena agrees here. “You’re given choices, you can eliminate the wrong ones, giving you at least a 50% chance of getting something right. And if you don’t know the answer, you can look at the choices and get a general idea.” They continue to agree that they dislike questions that take a long time to answer, such as long, word-heavy essay questions.

       Both students have weaker opinions on their preferred style of testing and conclude that they prefer projects that are straightforward. Aleena prefers PowerPoints  because there are easier to format and present, and dislikes creating posters or visual aids because “[Creating a poster] requires more work…and it is hard to present a poster.”

        Ultimately, both students state that they perform better on the mode of assessment that they enjoy. “I am happy with my test results,” Lily says. “I am usually not satisfied with my grades from projects, because I feel like I put in way too much work and still get points off for stupid things!” She complains that, for projects, “It’s like teachers are against giving A’s now.”

        Aleena, who doesn’t like tests, says that her grades are worse on tests because she puts less effort into studying. “I usually put more effort into projects than tests. So I get better grades on projects.”

        Of course, preferred assessments depend on the learning style of the student. Aleena believes she finds, as a general rule, that students in art academies who prefer artistic pursuits generally prefer projects, while students in STEM academies, who prefer science classes, generally prefer tests.“It’s because projects allow you to be creative, like art, and tests follow a formula, like math.”

       While tests and projects are still up to the discretion of the teacher assigning them, BCA students have no shortage of opinions on their preferred means of evaluation. And even when testing gets stressful, one polled student has excellent wisdom to share: “As long as you understand the concepts and have some common sense, you can do well.”