Thanks for the comments. After years of teaching college undergraduate I totally agree with you on the "a lot of feedback is good" approach. We also agree that

Thanks for the comments. After years of teaching college undergraduate I totally agree with you on the "a lot of feedback is good" approach. We also agree that we cannot do away with the tests altogether. My point was that although lots of tests->feedback->better performance is a valid and strong argument, in practice it degenerates into what I describe, at least from what I've seen. If the barrage of tests are well balanced with interactive activities that build on creativity and teamwork, that'll be a perfect combination. Hard to achieve, though, I think.