This is a story that needs to be told: the sordid history of standardized testing.Once you know this story, you will never forget it. It will change the way you view the tests forever. I wrote about it in chapter four of my book "Left Back" (2000). Many scholarly dissertations have documented the story. Others have tried to alert the public about the assumptions embedded in the fabric of standardized testing. But the policymakers don’t read or don’t care. The very idea that the essential intelligence and worth of a human being can be scientifically measured by multiple choice questions is fraught with flawed and dangerous assumptions. When we then use those measures to judge the worthiness of teachers and schools, the damage the tests do is multiplied.Steven Singer has done excellent research on the history of standardized testing and summarizes it here.
At dianeravitch.net
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