This book examines the unhealthy and enduring obsession with standardized testing in the United States and how this tool of the meritocracy affects all U.S. residents, from kindergarten to job seeking. Why standardized testing continues to dominate the educational system is explored, as is why standardized testing is such a pervasive influence in…

The implications for educational and employment testing of recent measurement, social, and policy issues are compared and contrasted. Changes are proposed relative to technical conceptualization of assessment, an increased focus on performance-based evaluation, and expanded expectations and uses of assessment. (SLD)

This document describes the theory and practice of testing; illuminates competing interests in a balanced fashion; and helps those who make decisions with tests or about testing to reach better-informed judgments. Part 1, the report of the Committee, presents a wide-ranging discussion of testing issues. The text has been kept largely free of the…

Of those who wrote the 11 signed papers in this report, the variety of their learning and experiences brings an interplay of different points of view on the topic of ability testing. This document describes the theory and practice of testing; illuminates competing interests in a balanced fashion; and helps those who make decisions with tests or…

This analysis of testing as a social institution covers contemporary testing, from tests of integrity, truthfulness, and drug tests (authenticity tests) through tests of achievement, intelligence, and vocational interest (qualifying tests). It is argued that tests both construct social persons and control and dominate them. (SLD)

A survey of testing practices at two-year colleges was conducted by the American College Testing Program (ACT) and the American Association of Community and Junior Colleges (AACJC) to gather information about the use of tests in admissions, placement, and program completion. A questionnaire was distributed to 1,303 two-year institutions,…

Because of concerns about the validity of tests used in education and employment, a consultation on June 16, 1989, focused on tests of ability, achievement, and other skills. Invited experts were asked to address a set of issues common to both education and employment testing, primarily related to test construction procedures and how to establish…