The Case Against Standardized Testing

The Case Against Standardized Testing

Author: Alfie Kohn

Publisher: Heinemann Educational Books

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 112

ISBN-13:

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Kohn's central message is that standardized tests are "not a force of nature but a force of politics--and political decisions can be questioned, challenged, and ultimately reversed."


Driven by Data

Driven by Data

Author: Paul Bambrick-Santoyo

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2010-04-12

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 0470548746

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Offers a practical guide for improving schools dramatically that will enable all students from all backgrounds to achieve at high levels. Includes assessment forms, an index, and a DVD.


More Than a Score

More Than a Score

Author: Jesse Hagopian

Publisher: Haymarket Books

Published: 2014-11-10

Total Pages: 338

ISBN-13: 1608464369

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"Jesse Hagopian brought a rare moment of truth to the corporate-dominated Education Nation show when he spoke on behalf of his colleagues at Garfield High in Seattle. He instantly became the voice and face of the movement to stop pointless and punitive high-stakes testing."—Diane Ravitch, author of Reign of Terror In cities across the country, students are walking out, parents are opting their children out, and teachers are rallying against the abuses of high-stakes standardized testing. These are the stories—in their own words—of some of those who are defying the corporate education reformers and fueling a national movement to reclaim public education. Alongside the voices of students, parents, teachers, and grassroots education activists, the book features renowned education researchers and advocates, including Nancy Carrlson-Paige, Karen Lewis, and Monty Neill. Jesse Hagopian teaches history and is the Black Student Union adviser at Garfield High School, the site of the historic boycott of the MAP test in 2013. He is an associate editor of Rethinking Schools, and winner of the 2013 "Secondary School Teacher of Year" award from the Academy of Education Arts and Sciences. He is a contributing author to Education and Capitalism: Struggles for Learning and Liberation and 101 Changemakers: Rebels and Radicals Who Changed US History, and writes regularly for Truthout, Black Agenda Report, and the Seattle Times Op-Ed page.


The Knowledge Gap

The Knowledge Gap

Author: Natalie Wexler

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2020-08-04

Total Pages: 354

ISBN-13: 0735213569

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The untold story of the root cause of America's education crisis--and the seemingly endless cycle of multigenerational poverty. It was only after years within the education reform movement that Natalie Wexler stumbled across a hidden explanation for our country's frustrating lack of progress when it comes to providing every child with a quality education. The problem wasn't one of the usual scapegoats: lazy teachers, shoddy facilities, lack of accountability. It was something no one was talking about: the elementary school curriculum's intense focus on decontextualized reading comprehension "skills" at the expense of actual knowledge. In the tradition of Dale Russakoff's The Prize and Dana Goldstein's The Teacher Wars, Wexler brings together history, research, and compelling characters to pull back the curtain on this fundamental flaw in our education system--one that fellow reformers, journalists, and policymakers have long overlooked, and of which the general public, including many parents, remains unaware. But The Knowledge Gap isn't just a story of what schools have gotten so wrong--it also follows innovative educators who are in the process of shedding their deeply ingrained habits, and describes the rewards that have come along: students who are not only excited to learn but are also acquiring the knowledge and vocabulary that will enable them to succeed. If we truly want to fix our education system and unlock the potential of our neediest children, we have no choice but to pay attention.


The Testing Charade

The Testing Charade

Author: Daniel Koretz

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2017-08-31

Total Pages: 284

ISBN-13: 022640871X

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America's leading expert in educational testing and measurement openly names the failures caused by today's testing policies and provides a blueprint for doing better. 6 x 9.


Wonder

Wonder

Author: R. J. Palacio

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Published: 2012-02-14

Total Pages: 322

ISBN-13: 037589988X

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#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Millions of people have fallen in love with Auggie Pullman, an ordinary boy with an extraordinary face—who shows us that kindness brings us together no matter how far apart we are. Read the book that inspired the Choose Kind movement, a major motion picture, and the critically acclaimed graphic novel White Bird. And don't miss R.J. Palacio's highly anticipated new novel, Pony, available now! I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse. August Pullman was born with a facial difference that, up until now, has prevented him from going to a mainstream school. Starting 5th grade at Beecher Prep, he wants nothing more than to be treated as an ordinary kid—but his new classmates can’t get past Auggie’s extraordinary face. Beginning from Auggie’s point of view and expanding to include his classmates, his sister, her boyfriend, and others, the perspectives converge to form a portrait of one community’s struggle with empathy, compassion, and acceptance. In a world where bullying among young people is an epidemic, this is a refreshing new narrative full of heart and hope. R.J. Palacio has called her debut novel “a meditation on kindness” —indeed, every reader will come away with a greater appreciation for the simple courage of friendship. Auggie is a hero to root for, a diamond in the rough who proves that you can’t blend in when you were born to stand out.


Understanding Achievement Tests

Understanding Achievement Tests

Author: Lawrence M. Rudner

Publisher:

Published: 1989

Total Pages: 188

ISBN-13:

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Current information about tests and testing procedures is provided for school district staff, particularly in districts without specially trained testing directors. Practical information is given about selecting and administering tests and about reporting results effectively. This guide opens with a discussion of the basic principles of testing. The various types of district-level tests are described, and different types of test scores are presented. The advantages and limitations of certain types of tests and scores are reviewed. The viewpoints of measurement experts on important issues in testing are expressed in the following chapters: (1) "Common Misuses of Standardized Tests" (Eric Gardner); (2) "Preparing Students To Take Standardized Achievement Tests" (William A. Mehrens); (3) "Matching Your Curriculum and Standardized Tests" (Jane C. Conoley); (4) "Using Customized Standardized Tests" (Paul L. Williams); (5) "Interpreting Test Scores for Compensatory Education Students" (Gary Echternacht); and (6) "Working with the Press" (Allan Hartman). Four additional discussions are appended: "Finding Information about Standardized Tests' (Lawrence M. Rudner and Kathryn Dorko); Organizations That Provide Test Information" (Ronald T. C. Boyd); "Putting Test Scores in Perspective: Communicating a Complete Report Card for Your Schools" (M. Kevin Matter); and "Major Achievement Tests and Their Characteristics" (Northwest Regional Education Laboratory). Names and addresses of major test publishers, and a glossary of testing terms are also included. (SLD)


The Test

The Test

Author: Anya Kamenetz

Publisher: PublicAffairs

Published: 2015-01-06

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 1610394429

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"[The anti-testing] movement now has a guidebook. . . . Kamenetz shows how fundamentally American it would be to move toward a more holistic system." -- New York Times Book Review The Test is an essential and critically acclaimed book for any parent confounded by our national obsession with standardized testing. It recounts the shocking history and tempestuous politics of testing and borrows strategies from fields as diverse as games, neuroscience, and ancient philosophy to help children cope. It presents the stories of families, teachers, and schools maneuvering within and beyond the existing educational system, playing and winning the testing game. And it points the way toward a hopeful future of better tests and happier kids.