"I gotcha!" Assessments. What's the point?

As educators, we all try to work a twist or two into our assessments.  We cover material in class.  We formatively assess that material and give feedback on the progress made toward understanding those learning targets being assessed.  Then we summatively assess these targets.  I understand we cannot simply change a word here or there, or change the numbers, or ask the same questions to write another essay about for these summatives.  This is where the twists come into play.  I get it.  I really do.  In my math classes, I may change the given or sought after information or ask them to work the process backward.  Maybe in literature, the assessment item refers to one of the secondary characters and not the main character or main plot.  Or instead of writing about the book they finished reading, ask them to write their own ending.  These are twists.  They are not "I gotcha!" moments.

These subtle adjustments are not meant to stump the students.  They are not about things they have not been exposed to yet.  They are not trick questions.  They are intended to extend the students' learning and understanding of a topic/concept.  In many cases, they are a vital part of the assessment.  They allow the teacher to determine which students can just regurgitate information and which students truly understand what they were taught.  They also are a time for the teacher to reflect on their teaching to see if they are making clear to their students all of the connections they are intending them to make leading up to said assessment.

So, what is the difference between a twist and an "I gotcha!" assessment item?  The difference is drastic.  First, no student should ever go into an assessment not knowing what they are going to be assessed on within the assessment.  That is just plain wrong.  However, many of my friends and colleagues argue with me that they cannot tell their students what is going to be on the assessment because then it will not be a...this is their words, not mine...a "surprise."  WHAT THE WHAT??!!!  Why are we trying to surprise students?  I thought the entire purpose of an assessment was to gauge what has been learned and what is still in progress.  Where do surprises fit into that line of thinking?  Nowhere that I can find.  Second, why do some teachers feel they need to put items on an assessment that they have not taught their students?  How is that even fair?  Maybe at our next faculty meeting, when contracts are coming up, we should tell everyone that they will be assessed on their teaching pedagogy but then give them a Calculus assessment instead.  How many teachers would be completely outraged that their contract was being measured by something for which they were not prepared?  I would wager more than half.  This is exactly what we are doing by assessing students, and reporting out as part of their grade, on information that they have not been exposed to at the time of the assessment.  Third, and maybe the biggest diffference of all, is that the only ones excited about the "I gotcha!" assessment items are the teachers that are trying to trick their students.  I honestly have heard teachers get excited about none of their students being able to do their "I gotcha!" problem/question/task on their assessment.  If you know, or even have a hunch, that none of your students are going to be able to reach the level of proficiency you are looking for in an assessment item, why put it on the assessment unless you are ultimately trying to trick your students?  Again, unfair in every way.

Another "I gotcha!" moment that I don't understand is multiple assessments for classes that meet on opposite days.  On this one, I sort of get the rationale.  Sometimes.  What I don't get is the rationale that Student A is going to tell Student B what was on the assessment.  My retort to this is that if Student A can memorize your entire assessment, tell this verbatim to Student B, Student B is able to memorize what Student A has said and then produce it again verbatim for your assessment on the next day...isn't that learning?  Either learning is going on there or your assessment is not a very quality assessment.

In closing, my thoughts are simple.  Why are we trying to catch students and show them how much they don't know when we are trying to assess what they do know?  Stop trying to back students into an "I gotcha!" moment.  Focus on learning and making good humans even better.  Period.