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sde's review against another edition
3.0
This book was an excellent outline for a layperson on how tests are made and what they can and cannot tell you. The authors explain a lot about how to interpret the statistics of testing without using a lot of technical language. Especially interesting to me was the discussion of Campbell's Law, which basically says that if you rely too much on one factor to evaluate something, that factor no longer is a valid indicator because people are consciously focusing on it.
I felt the second part of the book was not as strong as the first part. There wasn't as much discussion as I thought there would be, based on the dust jacket, about how to deal with the fact that policy-makers relying too heavily on tests to make decisions. I also would have liked more discussion on how to evaluate teachers if you don't use tests. Yes, teachers are in the best position to evaluate their students' work, but some are much better at this than others.
All in all, though, worth reading.
I felt the second part of the book was not as strong as the first part. There wasn't as much discussion as I thought there would be, based on the dust jacket, about how to deal with the fact that policy-makers relying too heavily on tests to make decisions. I also would have liked more discussion on how to evaluate teachers if you don't use tests. Yes, teachers are in the best position to evaluate their students' work, but some are much better at this than others.
All in all, though, worth reading.
claudiaswisher's review against another edition
5.0
This book left me wanting to stand up and cheer. The authors (from Indiana University, but I swear that's not why I loved it!!) systematically explain what standardized tests can do (predict performance on other tests) and what they cannot do (show achievement, label students' learning, be used to retain students or punish teachers or schools). I have six pages of quotes from the book that I will be using in my work about testing abuses.
They talk about accountability, narrowed curriculum, grading schools and teachers. They discuss the high-stakes efforts that are sweeping the nation as policy makers think they're doing the right thing.
They discuss the cheating that goes on when tests become high stakes, identifying any test prep as a form of cheating, since these tests are normed on students who were NOT prepped for the tests. They talk about how reliance on standardized testing is dumbing down curricula, narrowing it, and taking learning opportunities away from students...they even talked about one elementary school that completely did away with recess.
Their discussion of the SAT and GRE were telling. SAT as a measure doesn't predict grades for the first year of college any better than high school grades...and that's all the SAT is designed to do. Many colleges have stopped requiring it for that reason. In fact, a better indicator of success after high school is involvement in outside leadership opportunities...but no one can make money on that like Pearson and other testing companies can.
One of the authors had the same experience with the GRE that I did. GRE claims to predict success with graduate work. We both had masters' degrees, a strong indication that we would be successful in graduate work, but we both were required to take the GRE anyway...nothing more than another box to check off.
Ultimately, the authors show how we should NEVER put our faith in tests; instead we should put our faith in teaching and authentic learning, and leadership, and service.
I'll be sharing this with everyone I know!
They talk about accountability, narrowed curriculum, grading schools and teachers. They discuss the high-stakes efforts that are sweeping the nation as policy makers think they're doing the right thing.
They discuss the cheating that goes on when tests become high stakes, identifying any test prep as a form of cheating, since these tests are normed on students who were NOT prepped for the tests. They talk about how reliance on standardized testing is dumbing down curricula, narrowing it, and taking learning opportunities away from students...they even talked about one elementary school that completely did away with recess.
Their discussion of the SAT and GRE were telling. SAT as a measure doesn't predict grades for the first year of college any better than high school grades...and that's all the SAT is designed to do. Many colleges have stopped requiring it for that reason. In fact, a better indicator of success after high school is involvement in outside leadership opportunities...but no one can make money on that like Pearson and other testing companies can.
One of the authors had the same experience with the GRE that I did. GRE claims to predict success with graduate work. We both had masters' degrees, a strong indication that we would be successful in graduate work, but we both were required to take the GRE anyway...nothing more than another box to check off.
Ultimately, the authors show how we should NEVER put our faith in tests; instead we should put our faith in teaching and authentic learning, and leadership, and service.
I'll be sharing this with everyone I know!
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