multiple choice or essay...?

In my experience, multiple choice tests have done what teachers need them to do, in showing that the student has studied/done the reading/understood what is being talked about in class. I really don't think they do as much for the student, though. It's a lot easier to spit back something that has been memorized from a book or a study guide than it is to actually apply and organize the ideas learned in an essay, for example. But...even with an essay, it has to do more with being able to take something from class or the text book and digest it a little bit, and then spit it back to the teacher. I can't say that I've learned a lot from ten or so years of multiple choice and essay tests, except how to prepare for them and show the teacher that I have expended some effort over the subject. I don't remember much from math last year except how Mrs. South would print off the names of the people who got A's and post them on the wall, and how I always wanted to have my name on that list. I remember multiple choice tests in World History, and studying for the AP test, but I can't remember the order of the Chinese dynasties up to 1914 or whenever it was they had that revolution. But by taking tests like that over and over again, I have practiced being able to show the teacher what I know about the subject, and they have an easy way to grade me based on how much work I did. I don't know if that's going to help me that much later in life, but I hope it's more important than knowing some of the seemingly useless information that's been shoved down my throat every day at school since first grade. So I guess that whatever kind of test you're taking is important based on the teacher, because to pass a class you have to be able to show that you can memorize stuff. But in terms of helping me know more about the subject area, no test is great.