Quality over Quantity

Why are there only approximately 2,000 Lamborghinis manufactured per year?  Why are there only approximately 70 Bugattis manufactured per year? The answer is simple.  Quality over quantity. Cars like these are created using top-of-the-line materials and the most pristine technology.  These creators understand that mass producing cars just for the sake of saying they produced something will not yield them the profits nor the clientele they seek.

So, the question becomes why do educators have the mindset that mass producing assignments will yield the results and high rigorous expectations they seek?  So many confuse quality with quantity.  

Here are some suggestions to start getting better quality:

1.  Narrow down the focus
   1. Figure out what exactly you want to have the students demonstrate
2. Have the students truly perform something
   1. Just like with a musical concert, the students must sing an actual song or play a whole song with their instruments.  Students need to do something that is equivalent to an actual performance that applies to real life. 
3. Students are not objects.  Collecting more qualitative data vs quantitative data will yield a clearer picture of what they are truly capable of, deficient in, and how they interact with the learning process as a whole
   1. Qualitative data can always be turned into quantitative data, but it is virtually impossible to do the opposite.  Collecting vast amounts of quantitative data from standardized test scores and non-authentic assignments does not provide anyone with an accurate picture of a student’s learning progress.