In The Madness of Multiple-Choice Andrew Pudewa discusses why multiple-choice questions do not encourage reasoning. He states,

There is no room for different answers, unique responses, or independent views. The emphasis is always on what the child does not know, not on helping him clarify and express what he does know.

Do we really want to focus on what our child doesn’t know? It seems to me this just serves to discourage and frustrate. Students are conditioned to pass the test but end up feeling inferior. Then the game of comparing scores continues all the way through college and into the work place.

As home educators we don’t have to prepare for standardized tests. Our emphasis can be on teaching our children to think. If we challenge them to labor over ideas, they will receive the reward of knowing that they understand. They will be much better “fit for usefulness in their future stations” since in life you are rarely given the answers. (from Webster’s 1828 definition of education)