If curiosity anchors learning, assessment must capture more than recall. Performance tasks, portfolios, and public exhibitions reveal how students frame questions, gather evidence, and revise claims. The International Baccalaureate’s Extended Essay, for example, validates student-driven inquiry by requiring a sustained research investigation. Similarly, the Next Generation Science Standards emphasize practices—asking questions, planning investigations—over isolated facts. When schools ask students to defend their thinking in capstones or portfolio defenses, they reward the intellectual courage Freire champions: disciplined curiosity in the service of freedom. [...]
