Defending Standardized Testing / Edition 1

by Richard Phelps

Overview

The education reform movement of the past two decades has focused on raising academic standards. Some standards advocates attach a testing mechanism to gauge the extent to which high standards are actually accomplished, whereas some critics accuse the push for standards and testing of impeding reform and perpetuating inequality. At the same time, the testing profession has produced advances in the format, accuracy, dependability, and utility of tests. Never before has obtaining such an abundance of accurate and useful information about student learning been possible. Meanwhile, the American public remains steadfast in support of testing to measure student performance and monitor the performance of educational systems.

Many educational testing experts who acknowledge the benefits of testing also believe that those benefits have been insufficiently articulated. Although much has been written on standardized testing policy, most of the material has been written by opponents. The contributing authors of this volume are both accomplished researchers and practitioners who are respected and admired worldwide. They bring to the project an abundance of experience working with standardized tests.

The goal of Defending Standardized Testing is to:
*describe current standardized testing policies and strategies;
*explain many of the common criticisms of standardized testing;
*document the public support for, and the realized benefits of, standardized testing;
*acknowledge the limitations of, and suggest improvements to, testing practices;
*provide guidance for structuring and administering large-scale testing programs in light of public preferences and the "No Child Left Behind Act" requirements; and
*present a defense of standardized testing and a vision for its future.

Defending Standardized Testing minimizes the use of technical jargon so as to appeal to all who have a stake in American educational reform.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780805849110
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	02/17/2005
Series:	Applied Psychology Series
Pages:	362
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

Contents: Foreword. J.J. Fremer, Introduction and Overview. R.P. Phelps, Persistently Positive: Forty Years of Public Opinion on Standardized Testing. G.J. Cizek, High-Stakes Testing: Contexts, Characteristics, Critiques, and Consequences. R.P. Phelps, The Rich, Robust Research Literature on Testing's Achievement Benefits. D. Goodman, R.K. Hambleton, Some Misconceptions About Large-Scale Educational Assessments. S.G. Sireci, The Most Frequently Unasked Questions About Testing. G.K. Cunningham, Must High Stakes Mean Low Quality? Some Testing Program Implementation Issues. C.W. Buckendahl, R. Hunt, Whose Rules? The Relation Between the "Rules" and "Law" of Testing. L. Crocker, Teaching for the Test: How and Why Test Preparation Is Appropriate. B.S. Plake, Doesn't Everybody Know That 70% Is Passing? K.F. Geisinger, The Testing Industry, Ethnic Minorities and Individuals With Disabilities. D. Rogosa, A School Accountability Case Study: California API Awards and the Orange County Register Margin of Error Folly. M.L. Bourque, Leave No Standardized Test Behind. Appendices.

What People are Saying About This

Howard Wainer

"...very much worth buying and reading. My hope is that this volume is but the first one on the topic..."
—National Board of Medical Examiners, Journal of Educational Measurement

Editorial Reviews

"...an easy to read book...This book provides a balanced approach to understanding the role of testing in general and standardized testing in particular. It will help the reader identify and understand some of the current debates within the community of testing experts."
—PsycCRITIQUES

From the Publisher

"The literature on standardized testing is dominated by criticism that standardization perpetuates inequality and inhibits reform. This collection documents public support for testing to measure student achievement and to gauge education systems. It avers the increased efficiency and utility of standardized instruments and attempts to more clearly articulate their advantages."

Center for Instructional Materials and Computing

"Defending Standardized Testing is an easy to read book, and the topics are even easier to follow. I think this is mainly because of the logical and meaningful way the editor chose to organize the information. This book provides a balanced approach to understanding the role of testing in general and standardized testing in particular. It will help the reader identify and understand some of the current debates within the community of testing experts."

PsycCRITIQUES