{"product_id":"the-myths-of-standardized-tests-9780810896147","title":"The Myths of Standardized Tests","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis book proposes better ways to judge the success of our schools and offering readers suggestions for ways they can help reduce the burden of tests on their children.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJust imagine if half the politicians, administrators, and journalists in this country, so many of whom confuse higher test scores with better schooling, were to read this book. In friendly, accessible prose, Harris, Smith, and Harris examine—and explode—each of the assumptions that underlies standardized testing. The more you learn about the tests themselves, as well as how the results are interpreted and used, the more skeptical you become.  And The Myths of Standardized Tests is an excellent way to learn, regardless of whether you’re an educator who’s already knowledgeable . . . or a test-score-citing official who clearly needs to start from scratch. -- Alfie Kohn, author of The Schools Our Children Deserve and Feel-Bad Education\u003cbr\u003eReader-friendly, this book explains what parents and teachers and concerned citizens need to know to work for the survival of public education for democracy. -- Susan Ohanian, educator, activist, and author of \"What Happened to Recess and Why Are Our Children Struggling in Kindergarten?\"\u003cbr\u003eThis book is true like a plumb line. With clarity and insight, it drops us right into the heart of the most central emergency we have in public education today—the unrelenting obsession with standardized testing. The authors are extremely well-informed, easy to read, and not afraid to take a stand. What a breath of fresh air! -- Ken Jones, University of Southern Maine\u003cbr\u003eThis book takes this thorny topic of standardized testing and covers everything in a sophisticated, nuanced, and lively way. The best on the subject I've yet to come across. -- Deborah Meier, NYU Steinhardt\u003cbr\u003eIn the era of No Child Left Behind, the number of books decrying the reliance on standardized testing has ballooned....Here, Harris (executive director, Assn. for Educational Communications \u0026amp; Technology), Bruce Smith (former editor in chief, Phi DeltaKappan), and award-winning elementary school teacher Joan Harris intersperse their own personal experiences with testing among the book's chapters, which detail their evidence on the failures of standardized tests. The final two chapters contain recommended alternative accountability schemes for evaluating the success of students and schools. The book also includes a glossary of terms and a resource guide that lists research centers and organizations that focus on the topic of improving schools and education policy.  Thought-provoking reading for educators and parents. * Library Journal *\u003cbr\u003eQuestion: How can a book about educational testing be a “page-turner?” Answer: When it’s written by a trio of smart, test-savvy authors who make a reader want to learn everything treated in this engaging expose of standardized testing’s foibles. Ultra-timely, this book should be mandatory reading for all educators—and everyone else! -- W James Popham, professor emeritus, University of California, Los Angeles\u003cbr\u003eIn the era of No Child Left Behind, the number of books decrying the reliance on standardized testing has ballooned....Here, Harris (executive director, Assn. for Educational Communications \u0026amp; Technology), Bruce Smith (former editor in chief, Phi Delta Kappan), and award-winning elementary school teacher Joan Harris intersperse their own personal experiences with testing among the book's chapters, which detail their evidence on the failures of standardized tests. The final two chapters contain recommended alternative accountability schemes for evaluating the success of students and schools. The book also includes a glossary of terms and a resource guide that lists research centers and organizations that focus on the topic of improving schools and education policy.  Thought-provoking reading for educators and parents. * Library Journal *\u003cbr\u003eThe book explains, using a load of research, why high-stakes standardized tests are less objective than many people believe, why they don’t adequately measure student achievement, how the results distort the validity of the assessment system, how these tests “inadvertently” lead young people to become “superficial thinkers,” and much more. The easy-to-read book does not only look at what’s wrong with tests but also discusses what “genuine accountability” looks like. * The Washington Post *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePart 1 Introduction: This Is Not a Test Part 2 Chapter 1. Misunderstanding Accountability: The Big Picture Part 3 Chapter 2. The Tests Are Too Narrow Part 4 Chapter 3. The Tests Don't Measure Achievement Adequately Chapter 5 Testing Autobiography: Phil's Story Part 6 Chapter 4. The Tests Are Less Than Objective Chapter 7 Testing Autobiography: Bruce's Story Part 8 Chapter 5. Rewards and Punishments Don't Motivate Chapter 9 Testing Autobiography: Joan's Story Part 10 Chapter 6. The Distortions of High Stakes Part 11 Chapter 7. What's Left Out? Part 12 Chapter 8. Why Not More Direct Measurement? Part 13 Chapter 9. The Tests Don't Predict Well Part 14 Chapter 10. New Ideas for Genuine Accountability Part 15 Chapter 11. What's It All About? Part 16 Resource Guide Part 17 A Medley of Views Chapter 18 'Reading' the Reading Tests Chapter 19 Misunderstood Measurement Mallets Chapter 20 A Use of Tests I Could Support Chapter 21 Within Limits, Tests Can Be Useful Chapter 22 Kids or Cows? Chapter 23 The Tests We Need Today Chapter 24 A Smokescreen Chapter 25 The Game of School Part 26 Say What?: An Abbreviated Glossary","brand":"Rowman \u0026 Littlefield Publishers","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51038391501143,"sku":"9780810896147","price":30.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780810896147.jpg?v=1750940173","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-myths-of-standardized-tests-9780810896147","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}