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In recent years, concern over high school graduates who could not balance checkbooks or read directions has led many states to require students to pass minimum competency tests before receiving their diplomas. This, legislators believe, will again make diplomas meaningful, as well as promote better education. Dr. Lazarus points out that any testing scheme creates inequities and that these tests are of special concern due to the emphasis society places on high school graduation; a just society cannot accept their potential to mark a student for life. The problem, he believes, is that society cannot agree on the goals of education, making relevant testing difficult. He also questions whether such testing will produce better curricula and notes that, while more emphasis on the basics may be needed, undue stress on them may weaken other parts of the curricula. He concludes that the goals of minimum competency testing are laudable, but that implementation may do long-term damage to education.
More and more states require students to pass large-scale tests as a condition of promotion or graduation. What forces have pushed high-stakes testing to the forefront of educational policy? Are such tests the best way to gauge educational attainment? This book examines the economic and educational assumptions underlying the call for high-stakes tests.
The role played by testing in the nation's public school system has been increasing steadily-and growing more complicated-for more than 20 years. The Committee on Educational Excellence and Testing Equity (CEETE) was formed to monitor the effects of education reform, particularly testing, on students at risk for academic failure because of poverty, lack of proficiency in English, disability, or membership in population subgroups that have been educationally disadvantaged. The committee recognizes the important potential benefits of standards-based reforms and of test results in revealing the impact of reform efforts on these students. The committee also recognizes the valuable role graduation tests can potentially play in making requirements concrete, in increasing the value of a diploma, and in motivating students and educators alike to work to higher standards. At the same time, educational testing is a complicated endeavor, that reality can fall far short of the model, and that testing cannot by itself provide the desired benefits. If testing is improperly used, it can have negative effects, such as encouraging school leaving, that can hit disadvantaged students hardest. The committee was concerned that the recent proliferation of high school exit examinations could have the unintended effect of increasing dropout rates among students whose rates are already far higher than the average, and has taken a close look at what is known about influences on dropout behavior and at the available data on dropouts and school completion.
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.
Scholars from history, economics, political science, and psychology describe the present state of school accountability, how it evolved, how it succeeded and failed, and how it can be improved. They review the history behind the ongoing conflict between educators and policymakers over accountability and testing, describe various accountability schemes, and analyze the costs of accountability. Case studies of three states with strong school systems compare how accountability works in practice. Evers is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution. Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).