Community colleges have been seen as a gateway into higher education and social mobility. Matriculation of students into higher education has been critical to guiding and directing the rest of their experience as a student. Not many scholars have examined the experiences of students with assessment and placement during matriculation at community…

Standardized testing is an applauded system of testing due to the uniformity that it offers. The idea is that in standardized testing, because every student is being asked exactly the same question and each question has only one specific answer, standardized examinations are neutral, value free, and exonerated from the subjectivity that an…

All educational testing is intended to have consequences, which are assumed to be beneficial, but tests may also have unintended, negative consequences (Messick, 1989). The issue is particularly important in the case of large-scale standardized tests, such as Australia's "National Assessment Program--Literacy and Numeracy" (NAPLAN), the…

The term "standardized" tests is often heard along with "high-stakes." Standardized tests are administered, scored, and interpreted in a consistent way, so that the performances of large groups of students can be compared. They are not in themselves high-stakes, but they are often used for high-stakes purposes such as…

This author explains why he believes that teacher education is under attack. The same forces that are seeking to dismantle teachers' unions and de-professionalize teaching have their sights set on university-based teacher education programs. After all, logic decrees that if teachers are to blame for educational inequality--as corporate education…

Student assessment in the Czech Republic is still rather traditional, with classroom practice continuing to focus on summative assessment. The country has regularly participated in international surveys, but the findings from these only started to influence educational policy during the past decade, when Czech students' performance fell markedly…

Laboratory courses serve as important gateways to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education. One of the challenges in assessing laboratory learning is to conduct meaningful and standardized practical exams, especially for large multisection laboratory courses. Laboratory practical exams in life sciences courses are frequently…

In this keynote address, the author shares his reflections on politics, economics, and testing. He focuses on assessment and accountability and begins with some data from large scale written educational testing, "circa 1840". The author argues that people's penchant for accountability and their appetite for standardized testing are, in…

State test scores administered for accountability purposes are regularly used to adjust instruction in nuanced ways. This is no accident--No Child Left Behind demanded that students' scores be returned quickly to teachers in order that this might be the case, and the idea of data-driven decision making continues as one way the promise of education…

Discusses steps that teachers and concerned parents can take to ensure that their students and children are not overburdened by standardized tests. Examines the significance of standardized tests and considers some alternatives to standardized tests, such as more effective parent-teacher conferences. (MDM)

Opposing views are expressed on the value of standardized testing (ST) in public schools. The pro-ST view argues that these tests provide comparative data needed to plan and evaluate schools and individuals. The opposing view focuses on problems of reliability, validity, and bias; and on the damage done to children. (IAH)

Designed to monitor school accountability, KIRIS (Kentucky Instructional Results Information System) offers a powerful lesson about how high-stakes accountability systems can distort and undermine original visions for effective curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices. Changes have been influenced by several interconnected elements:…

The uses of a well-made standardized test are identified: as an assessment tool to help students identify their strengths, to improve learning programs, to help colleges select students, to gauge the learning of academic skills, and as an early warning system. (MLW)

This book explores the serious destructive consequences of today's testing programs using actual test items to show what tests really measure and why they should not be used to evaluate school quality or teacher ability. The book also proposes more meaningful ways to assess students and to meet the call for accountability in education. The…

Richard Rothstein's booklet "What Do We Know About Declining (Or Rising) Student Achievement?" claims that anecdotes about past educational practices are unreliable and difficult to relate to today's schools. Curricula and tests change; so do student populations. There are no solid historical measures, including three well-known…