Here is an actual Twitter conversation I had with someone we will call Sally:

Joe: The best teachers need not use testsandgrades to know what their students know. 

Sally: How do I know how well my students understand parts of speech without giving them a test on it? 

Joe: Have them write something meaningful that is in a context and for a purpose. 

Sally: How does that test their knowledge of how a noun differs from a verb? 

Joe: well, why do you want children to learn the difference from a noun and a verb if not to write meaningful stuff? 

Sally: Okay, meaningful stuff. Only meaningful if it can be communicated. Only communicated through understanding of language.

Can you see how when we are frantically focused on the minutia of content delivery that tests and grades can hijack learning and become the raison d'être for school?

Project Based Learning and Portfolio Assessments are authentic alternatives to tests and grades.

When I have these conversations, I like to remember what Grant Wiggins meant when he said:

When practice becomes unmoored from purpose, rigidity sets in.