An example of an assessment that points the way forward and reminds us that we must not go back is the College Bowl. The College Bowl is a trivia game that I invented to test my students on the vast information I had taught them about Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Every day, I would teach my students different cultural facts about HBCUs and their ecosystems via media, guest speakers, and my own knowledge. I would then gather the students in our program room and pull out a large bag of candy. The students always knew this meant it was College Bowl time.

They would become really excited and would aim to sit close to the front of the room so they could be the first to answer the trivia questions. The student who answered the questions first would win a piece of candy. Some students would walk away with hands full of candy, and other students would walk away with a little candy. After all, the College Bowl was a competition and the game revealed who had been paying attention during the daily lectures and who had not.

Rarely did a student walk away emptyhanded and the students really looked forward to playing the game. I also noticed that when we actually toured the campuses in person, the students felt comfortable on the campuses and engaged in intelligent and informed dialogue with the tour guides and administrators often referencing the information they had learned. They also took ownership of the schools during discussions and many of the students went on to attend and then graduate from the institutions on which they were tested.

I recommend the College Bowl game to high school counselors and other practitioners that work with college-bound students. The game can be applied to HBCUs or any other institution type(s).