Toward a New Science of Educational Testing and Assessment

Toward a New Science of Educational Testing and Assessment
Author: Harold Berlak
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Total Pages: 248
Release: 1992-02-06
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0791496473

The authors of this book question the assumptions of the psychometric paradigm that underlie virtually all criterion-referenced and standardized tests used in North American schools. They make a compelling case for a new science of educational testing and assessment, one that shifts decision making from central administration to individual schools and communities. Harold Berlak argues that the concept of tests as scientific instruments validated by technical experts is anachronistic and self-contradictory. He makes a case for a contextual paradigm, an approach which assumes that consensus on educational goals and national testing programs is neither possible nor desireable. Assessment practices in a democratic society must acknowledge and affirm differences in values, beliefs, and material interests among individuals and groups over the purposes and practices of schooling.

The ABCs of Educational Testing

The ABCs of Educational Testing
Author: W. James Popham
Publisher: Corwin Press
Total Pages: 177
Release: 2016-11-02
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1506351530

Amplify your assessment literacy. Formative, data-driven, high-stakes—we all know the buzzwords surrounding educational testing. But we often shelve our understanding of these because they are overwhelmingly complex. Those who care about our schools and students—teachers, administrators, policymakers, parents, citizens—will discover how and why testing should be taken upon ourselves to advance. Using a nontechnical approach, this book offers fundamental knowledge to free you from testing fogginess—all framed around practical actions you can take to strengthen your assessment literacy. Inappropriate tests are leading to mistaken decisions, and this book provides everything you need to know to change that, including Reasons for tests Reliability/validity Fairness Test-building

Testing in American Schools

Testing in American Schools
Author: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment
Publisher:
Total Pages: 62
Release: 1992
Genre: Education
ISBN:

And policy options -- Testing in transition -- Educational testing policy: The changing federal role -- Lessons from the past: A history of educational testing in the United States -- How other countries test -- Standardized tests in schools: A primer -- Performance assessment: Methods and characteristics -- Information technologies and testing: Past, present, future -- List of acronyms -- Contractor reports.

The Pedagogy of Standardized Testing

The Pedagogy of Standardized Testing
Author: Arlo Kempf
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 250
Release: 2016-04-29
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1137486651

Based on a large-scale international study of teachers in Los Angeles, Chicago, Ontario, and New York, this book illustrates the ways increased use of high-stakes standardized testing is fundamentally changing education in the US and Canada with a negative overall impact on the way teachers teach and students learn. Standardized testing makes understanding students' strengths and weaknesses more difficult, and class time spent on testing consumes scarce time and attention needed to support the success of all students—further disadvantaging ELLs, students with exceptionalities, low income, and racially minoritized students.

Handbook of Accessible Achievement Tests for All Students

Handbook of Accessible Achievement Tests for All Students
Author: Stephen N. Elliott
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 342
Release: 2011-04-28
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1441993568

The Handbook of Accessible Achievement Tests for All Students: Bridging the Gaps Between Research, Practice, and Policy presents a wealth of evidence-based solutions designed to move the assessment field beyond “universal” standards and policies toward practices that enhance learning and testing outcomes. Drawing on an extensive research and theoretical base as well as emerging areas of interest, the volume focuses on major policy concerns, instructional considerations, and test design issues, including: The IEP team’s role in sound assessment. The relationships among opportunity to learn, assessment, and learning outcomes. Innovations in computerized testing and the “6D” framework for standard setting. Legal issues in the assessment of special populations. Guidelines for linguistically accessible assessments. Evidence-based methods for making item modifications that increase the validity of inferences from test scores. Strategies for writing clearer test items. Methods for including student input in assessment design. Suggestions for better measurement and tests that are more inclusive. This Handbook is an essential reference for researchers, practitioners, and graduate students in education and allied disciplines, including child and school psychology, social work, special education, learning and measurement, and education policy.

How Testing Came to Dominate American Schools

How Testing Came to Dominate American Schools
Author: Gerard Giordano
Publisher: Peter Lang
Total Pages: 314
Release: 2005
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9780820472553

Although originally designed as instruments to gauge students' progress, tests eventually were used to modify curricula, learning materials, pedagogy, and many practical features of schooling. Tests were employed to shape attitudes toward national issues such as employment, immigration, and defense. Worried about the enormous consequences that were at stake, advocates and opponents pitched their cases to educators, parents, journalists, and policymakers and also targeted special audiences. Testing proponents pleaded with military leaders, businesspeople, and scholastic publishers while their adversaries appealed to job seekers, college applicants, racial minorities, and anti-establishmentarians. This book illustrates how all of these parties showed interest; many became passionate; and some decisively influenced the course of American educational testing.