Final Test

I was happy to see that a new idea on testing is about to be tested. Gone will be the days when students study intensely for one aspect of their year's courses before final exams only to find that a different question is on the test. The new idea, as I read it, is to interview the student in some manner, not written, to see what their knowledge and understanding of the subject is. Of course it will take up the instructor time but both student and teacher will come out of it with an insight on both the learning, retention and creative thought regarding the subject. To me, that is true depth in the education process.  Also, this should be done with written exams in which essays are witnessed in the process and assessed by discussion in the same way. Teachers will scream " I don't have the time". Yes, you do and you should take the time because you will learn how well you have taught. You will learn how you have relayed the subject to this particular student and how well your student has grasped it. It's called being an educator, not a marker who  assigns a percent or letter grade in a solitary venue that disallows questioning the student's motives and creativite ability in the  answering.  Personal interviewing also helps  nervous young persons who fail, not due to knowledge but of the fear of the traditional kinds of tests. This fear is  a very real stumbling block in some students to true assessment of their understanding.  This style of grading will also prevent cheating with the use of AI or other means. It makes perfect human sense rather than slapping on a couple of digits to a student's twelve years of being "educated" which is basically a test of memory not critical understanding. I call the new testing idea, a vertical rather than horizontal reading of what a person knows.