This paper examines recent reforms in English-language testing in Japan using a policy distraction framework. We identify the term 'washback (effect)' and other related discourses as major distractors and investigate how 'washback' discourses have functioned as political slogans or catchphrases in policy deliberation processes and how they have…

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)

This book is a collection of nine commissioned papers that consider the educational reform represented by performance assessments, their advantages and disadvantages, and the challenges of successful implementation. Both theoretical and practical issues are addressed. (SLD)

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…

Presents examples of test bias and test misuse. Discusses FairTest (National Center for Fair and Open Testing) program areas and initiatives at the elementary, secondary, and higher education levels. Discusses keeping the community informed. (RS)

Discusses how the cult of examinations continues to affect both teachers and students in China, and concludes that any serious reform of Chinese education depends on thoroughly rethinking the role of examinations in learning. (SR)

Alternative assessments have sometimes been used for such purposes as external control of schools. Equitable use of alternatives such as performance-based assessment depends on top-down support for bottom-up reform, careful design, and how well assessment is interwoven with the goals of authentic school reform and effective teaching. (SK)

When used appropriately, standardized assessments can assist education reform by tracking individual or group progress and achievement levels and indicating college readiness. Credibility and validity can be improved by preventing student exclusions, using multiple indicators, stressing year-to-year performance, monitoring consequences, and…

This essay shows that the adoption of intelligence tests by the schools was a complex development. Tests were adopted during the 1920s as part of the reform program fashioned by the network of applied psychologists and school people. While the network itself often viewed testing as a means to improve the schools and society, immigrants and blacks…

Drawing from the latest research, this book explains how little standardized test results really say and how harmful a test-driven curriculum can be. The central message is that the use of standardized tests can be reversed, and that teachers, parents, and students can reverse the trend toward testing to create classrooms that focus on student…

"Measuring Up" describes the current standards-based educational reform movement for a general audience and professionals who have not been involved in reform. The simplified perspective does not do justice to the complexity of reform issues in some contexts, but the case studies illustrating reform efforts are particularly useful. (SLD)

Advocates for change in educational assessment recommend that assessments of achievement should be designed to reflect real-life performance more precisely than traditional standardized tests can. This paper raises questions about the claims that are frequently made by advocates of assessment reform. It is agreed that assessment practices are in…

This issue presents examinations of educational testing, large-scale alternative assessment, small-scale alternative assessment, and educational measurement. These discussions go beyond technical issues to provide a conceptual perspective and a view of underlying histories, theories, applications, and the uncertainties associated with these…

The history of the concept of intelligence is reviewed, and the construction and uses of psychological tests are explored. Skills consist of a large number of abilities. It is argued that the psychological entity, intelligence, is determined by particular contexts, contexts often induced by social demands. (SLD)

This document consists of 14 articles which appeared in the electronic news bulletin, "EducationNews.org," and which were part of a series on "Test Bashing," a discussion of the use of standardized tests that focuses on controversies surrounding the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills and test score improvements in Texas. The…