Lessons from the Reading Wars
Why the real issues that surround reading are ignored or trivialized in politics and academia.
Test Restricted Content
Eyewitness Accounts
A much different view of government schools — from some of the Native Americans forced to attend them.
Why Assess Teachers?
Those who assess teachers must look at issues of social justice, both inside and outside the classroom. But the current push for teacher assessment has little to do with such concerns.
Why the Testing Craze Won’t Fix Our Schools
Editorial More and more schools are relying on standardized testing and “high-stakes” tests. But these tests are poor tools for achieving the high standards that testing advocates claim as their goal. A look at why testing alone isn’t enough to improve education.
Alternatives to Standardized Tests
Why it’s wrong to reduce assessment and accountability to a student’s performance on a single test, and what schools can and should do instead.
Testing Against Democracy
How Bill Bigelow’s article “Tests from Hell” touched off criticism and threats from Oregon education officials, and a wave of grassroots support.
Appropriate Use of Tests
Basic principles of good testing, according to the National Research Council.
Hallmarks of Good Assessment
Guiding ideas behind sound alternatives to high-stakes, standardized tests.
Standards and the Control of Knowledge
How state-mandated education standards affect efforts to develop multicultural curriculum, and how parents and educators can make sense of the increasing reliance on standards.
The Forgotten History of Eugenics
High-stakes testing has its roots in this dark chapter of our history, and the racist assumptions at its core.
Chicago Teacher Paper Under Fire
The newspaper “Substance” faces a $1 million lawsuit for publishing test materials.
Limitations of the ITBS
Some of the commonly cited flaws with two popular student assessments, the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills and the Tests of Achievement and Proficiency
Welcome to Measurement Inc.
You thought teachers were evaluating student writing? Think again. A visit to the renovated North Carolina factory where part-time workers grade student essays shipped in from more than two dozen states.
Reclaiming Assessment
Instead of shipping off essays to be graded elsewhere, teachers in Portland are scoring student work, and using the task as a basis for discussions about good writing and good teaching.
Dancin’ Circles
Take heart: Even the most rigid state testing plans can never hope to control what every child does, or thinks, or writes.
The Straitjacket of Standardized Tests
A teacher wonders: Where is the standardized test that measures passion for learning, respect for others, and human empathy?
Monkeys, Pouches, and Reading
What happens to children, and how teaching is distorted, when reading success is determined on the basis of a single test.
“High-Stakes” Harm”
How can teachers be critical of “high stakes” tests, yet prepare their students to take them?
How Many Must Die?
Since U.S. Sanctions against Iraq began, a million people — three quarters of them under 6 years old — have died for want of food and medicine. A look at one of the most underreported stories of our time.
Prominent Voices on Iraq
How some noteworthy observers feel about US policy toward Iraq.
U.S. Sanctions on Iraq
Where to turn for more information on Iraq. Includes several excellent Web sites.
MPS Suspensions Skyrocket
A look at suspensions in Milwaukee schools, which have gone up 30% in just a few years.
A Mother Speaks Out
Tragedy strikes when schools fail to crack down on harassment of gay and lesbian kids.
Tinsel Town Teachers
Why can’t Hollywood get teachers right? A look at common stereotypes about teachers on the silver screen.
What Now for Bilingual Education?
Six months after California’s Proposition 227 was passed we see disrupted schools, confused teachers, and kids dumped out of good programs for crash courses in English. But some bilingual education survives, thanks to parent and teacher support.