The Testing Charade: Pretending To Make Schools Better

For decades, the focus of the American education system has been on high-stakes tests with policies attached that have forced schools to take drastic measures to keep scores up. Koretz (Henry Lee Shattuck Professor of Education, Harvard Graduate Sch. of Education; Measuring Up) breaks down the simplistic thinking of testing culture to shed light on the ways in which educational reform has gone horribly wrong. Illustrating how exams create an atmosphere ripe for cheating, how the concentration on test prep has supplanted a focus on real learning, and how teachers are unfairly judged by test results, Koretz uses real-world examples as well as analogies from other industries to convey his arguments. This zeroing in on the grand failures of the testing culture highlights the most egregious abuses yet skims over some of the complexities of the issues. However, his points are sound, and his arguments convincingly presented. The two final chapters present solid principles for change that are then translated into actions for a new testing paradigm.