The Myth of Achievement Tests

The Myth of Achievement Tests PDF Author: James J. Heckman
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022610012X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 469

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Book Description
Achievement tests play an important role in modern societies. They are used to evaluate schools, to assign students to tracks within schools, and to identify weaknesses in student knowledge. The GED is an achievement test used to grant the status of high school graduate to anyone who passes it. GED recipients currently account for 12 percent of all high school credentials issued each year in the United States. But do achievement tests predict success in life? The Myth of Achievement Tests shows that achievement tests like the GED fail to measure important life skills. James J. Heckman, John Eric Humphries, Tim Kautz, and a group of scholars offer an in-depth exploration of how the GED came to be used throughout the United States and why our reliance on it is dangerous. Drawing on decades of research, the authors show that, while GED recipients score as well on achievement tests as high school graduates who do not enroll in college, high school graduates vastly outperform GED recipients in terms of their earnings, employment opportunities, educational attainment, and health. The authors show that the differences in success between GED recipients and high school graduates are driven by character skills. Achievement tests like the GED do not adequately capture character skills like conscientiousness, perseverance, sociability, and curiosity. These skills are important in predicting a variety of life outcomes. They can be measured, and they can be taught. Using the GED as a case study, the authors explore what achievement tests miss and show the dangers of an educational system based on them. They call for a return to an emphasis on character in our schools, our systems of accountability, and our national dialogue. Contributors Eric Grodsky, University of Wisconsin–Madison Andrew Halpern-Manners, Indiana University Bloomington Paul A. LaFontaine, Federal Communications Commission Janice H. Laurence, Temple University Lois M. Quinn, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Pedro L. Rodríguez, Institute of Advanced Studies in Administration John Robert Warren, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

The Myth of Achievement Tests

The Myth of Achievement Tests PDF Author: James J. Heckman
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022610012X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 469

Get Book Here

Book Description
Achievement tests play an important role in modern societies. They are used to evaluate schools, to assign students to tracks within schools, and to identify weaknesses in student knowledge. The GED is an achievement test used to grant the status of high school graduate to anyone who passes it. GED recipients currently account for 12 percent of all high school credentials issued each year in the United States. But do achievement tests predict success in life? The Myth of Achievement Tests shows that achievement tests like the GED fail to measure important life skills. James J. Heckman, John Eric Humphries, Tim Kautz, and a group of scholars offer an in-depth exploration of how the GED came to be used throughout the United States and why our reliance on it is dangerous. Drawing on decades of research, the authors show that, while GED recipients score as well on achievement tests as high school graduates who do not enroll in college, high school graduates vastly outperform GED recipients in terms of their earnings, employment opportunities, educational attainment, and health. The authors show that the differences in success between GED recipients and high school graduates are driven by character skills. Achievement tests like the GED do not adequately capture character skills like conscientiousness, perseverance, sociability, and curiosity. These skills are important in predicting a variety of life outcomes. They can be measured, and they can be taught. Using the GED as a case study, the authors explore what achievement tests miss and show the dangers of an educational system based on them. They call for a return to an emphasis on character in our schools, our systems of accountability, and our national dialogue. Contributors Eric Grodsky, University of Wisconsin–Madison Andrew Halpern-Manners, Indiana University Bloomington Paul A. LaFontaine, Federal Communications Commission Janice H. Laurence, Temple University Lois M. Quinn, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Pedro L. Rodríguez, Institute of Advanced Studies in Administration John Robert Warren, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

Annual Report of the Bureau of Industrial and Labor Statistics for the State of Maine

Annual Report of the Bureau of Industrial and Labor Statistics for the State of Maine PDF Author: Maine. Bureau of Industrial and Labor Statistics
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Factory inspection
Languages : en
Pages : 252

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Book Description


A Study of the Relationship Between School Culture and Standardized Test Scores

A Study of the Relationship Between School Culture and Standardized Test Scores PDF Author: Andrew Lee Smith
Publisher: Universal-Publishers
ISBN: 1599426730
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 155

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Book Description
The purpose of this quantitative study was to discover the perceptions of school culture and correlate those perceptions with standardized test scores in elementary and secondary schools in southwestern Arizona. The intention of this study was to contribute to the field of education leadership related to student achievement and factors contributing to student achievement including organizational culture. A survey of teachers and administrators in participating schools in southwestern Arizona was completed and correlated with existing student achievement data for those participating schools. The School Culture Survey by Leithwood, Aitken, and Jantzi (2001) was used for the survey instrument, and the Stanford Achievement Test, Ninth Edition, was used to measure student achievement. The survey results and student achievement data were correlated and revealed that a relationship does exist between perceptions of school culture and student achievement.

Incentives and Test-Based Accountability in Education

Incentives and Test-Based Accountability in Education PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309225078
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 111

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Book Description
In recent years there have been increasing efforts to use accountability systems based on large-scale tests of students as a mechanism for improving student achievement. The federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is a prominent example of such an effort, but it is only the continuation of a steady trend toward greater test-based accountability in education that has been going on for decades. Over time, such accountability systems included ever-stronger incentives to motivate school administrators, teachers, and students to perform better. Incentives and Test-Based Accountability in Education reviews and synthesizes relevant research from economics, psychology, education, and related fields about how incentives work in educational accountability systems. The book helps identify circumstances in which test-based incentives may have a positive or a negative impact on student learning and offers recommendations for how to improve current test-based accountability policies. The most important directions for further research are also highlighted. For the first time, research and theory on incentives from the fields of economics, psychology, and educational measurement have all been pulled together and synthesized. Incentives and Test-Based Accountability in Education will inform people about the motivation of educators and students and inform policy discussions about NCLB and state accountability systems. Education researchers, K-12 school administrators and teachers, as well as graduate students studying education policy and educational measurement will use this book to learn more about the motivation of educators and students. Education policy makers at all levels of government will rely on this book to inform policy discussions about NCLB and state accountability systems.

Spectrum Test Prep, Grade 1

Spectrum Test Prep, Grade 1 PDF Author: Spectrum
Publisher: Carson-Dellosa Publishing
ISBN: 1483818578
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 132

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Book Description
Spectrum Test Prep Grade 1 includes strategy-based activities for language arts and math, test tips to help answer questions, and critical thinking and reasoning. The Spectrum Test Prep series for grades 1 to 8 was developed by experts in education and was created to help students improve and strengthen their test-taking skills. The activities in each book not only feature essential practice in reading, math, and language arts test areas, but also prepare students to take standardized tests. Students learn how to follow directions, understand different test formats, use effective strategies to avoid common mistakes, and budget their time wisely. Step-by-step solutions in the answer key are included. These comprehensive workbooks are an excellent resource for developing skills for assessment success. Spectrum, the best-selling workbook series, is proud to provide quality educational materials that support your students’ learning achievement and success.

Testing in American Schools

Testing in American Schools PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Educational tests and measurements
Languages : en
Pages : 56

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Book Description


Test Prep: Grade 4 (Flash Kids Harcourt Family Learning)

Test Prep: Grade 4 (Flash Kids Harcourt Family Learning) PDF Author: Flash Kids
Publisher: Spark Publishing Group
ISBN: 9781411404007
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 130

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Book Description
Standardized test-taking skills for reading, math and language for grade 4.

The Case Against Standardized Testing

The Case Against Standardized Testing PDF Author: Alfie Kohn
Publisher: Heinemann Educational Books
ISBN:
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 112

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Book Description
Kohn's central message is that standardized tests are "not a force of nature but a force of politics--and political decisions can be questioned, challenged, and ultimately reversed."

Olsat Practice Test (Grade 3 and 4)

Olsat Practice Test (Grade 3 and 4) PDF Author: Bright Minds Publishing
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781492958383
Category : Children
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This books is a great resource for students who are planning to appear for the Olsat test for getting into Grade 3 and 4 (i.e. current 2nd and 3rd grade students). This books has one full length test similar in the type of the problems you will see on the actual test. This test has been authored by experienced professional, verified by educators and administered to students who planned on appearing for the Olsat test. This book has the following type of problems as listed below Antonym Sentence Completion Sentence Arrangement Arithmetic Reasoning Logical Selection Word and Letter Matrices Verbal Analogies Verbal Classification Logical Inferences Figural Analogies Pattern Matrices Figural Series Number Sequences Number Inferences Number Matrices This books is distributed in Black and White print (and not in color).

KBIT-2: Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test

KBIT-2: Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description