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I'm really intrigued by the concept of a 'safe place' and where assessments fall in.  In inquiry, as we've discussed, assessments seem to discourage the concept of asking questions.  Assessments, as Kathy mentioned, often gear the student toward answering 'how they believe the teacher wishes them to.'  I have felt this and, of course, done this in life.  However, I've been doing some research, trying to combat the authentic assessment curriculum and perhaps allow a bit of inquiry.

On the Illinois inquiry area, there were several suggestions that I think could generate some good discussion [http://inquiry.illinois.edu/php/assessment2.php]:

• Portfolios: a collection of information by and about a student to provide a broad perspective of the student's achievement. A portfolio contains samples of student work in one or more areas. It may also contain narrative descriptions, grades or other evaluations by teachers and others, official records, student reflection or self-evaluation, responses from parents, suggestions for future work, and audio or photographic records.
• Profile: a collection of ratings, descriptions, and summary judgments by teachers and sometimes by the student and others to provide a broad perspective of the student's achievement. A profile typically includes a variety of contents, which may vary from checklists to certificates to narrative descriptions of what a student knows and can do. It may document academic achievement, nonacademic achievement, or both. A profile differs from a portfolio in not including samples of student work.
• Performance Task: a task, a problem, or question that requires students to construct (rather than select) responses and may also require them to devise and revise strategies, organize data, identify patterns, formulate models and generalizations, evaluate partial and tentative solutions, and justify their answers. 
• Project: a specialized, often interdisciplinary inquiry devised and undertaken by a student or group of students. Project work results in personalized (and perhaps new) knowledge, subtle skills, and professional-like motivation and habits.
• Demonstration (or Exhibition) of Mastery: often a formal, more or less, public performance of student competence and skill that provides an opportunity for a summative assessment. Demonstrations may also be formative, ongoing, informal, and embedded in curricula and everyday practice.
• Discourse Assessment: evaluation of what a student tells about what he/she knows. Typically with talking with an assessor, the student illustrates what he/she has learned, offering evidence of critical thinking or problem-solving by producing narratives, arguments, explanations, interpretations, or analyses. The assessor listens and probes for evidence of achievement, such as responses that synthesize relevant information and apply it to a new situation. This is similar to Think Aloud Protocols & Interviews (Informal & Formal/Structured) where a student performs a problem or activity and answer questions about it.
• Holistic rubrics: The holistic rubric provides global descriptions of different levels of performance. A holistic rubric emphasizes less the specific criteria for achievement, and emphasizes more the overall quality or performance.
• Student-Kept Records are when the student records feelings and interests in a notebook that is eventually shared with the teacher.  This helps foster self-assessment and can be used in this way, such as How did you do? How would you describe your learning? What would you have done differently? Student-Kept Records involve reflection and promote meta-cognition because they reflect formatively and summatively.  Peer-Appraisal can be a part of this method, if the appraisal provides an opportunity for descriptive assessment.

Just Science Now ideas

Idea for Inquiry Assessment Rubric

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On a general side note, I think we all need to remember to enter into discussions with an open mind.  "I can't" doesn't lead to inquiring more or developing new ideas; it is like a hindrance to both our own learning and the learning of others.  I, too, understand how difficult it is to fathom some of these ideas (especially due to the larger number of students in classrooms) but keeping an open mind may be the most  beneficial approach.