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

A Study of the Achievement Test

A Study of the Achievement Test PDF Author: National Center for Health Statistics (U.S.)
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Ability
Languages : en
Pages : 80

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Book Description


A Study of the Achievement Test

A Study of the Achievement Test PDF Author: United States. Department of Health, Education and Welfare
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 60

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A Study of the Achievement Test Used in the Health Examination Surveys of Persons Aged 6-17 Years - a Methodology Cal Study of the Wide Range Achievement Test, One of the Measures Used in the Health Examination Survey of Children (cycle 2) and TRUNCATED.

A Study of the Achievement Test Used in the Health Examination Surveys of Persons Aged 6-17 Years - a Methodology Cal Study of the Wide Range Achievement Test, One of the Measures Used in the Health Examination Survey of Children (cycle 2) and TRUNCATED. PDF Author: National Center for Health Statistics (U.S.)
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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A Study of Some of the Available Achievement Tests in Reading, Arithmetic and English

A Study of Some of the Available Achievement Tests in Reading, Arithmetic and English PDF Author: Irene Elizabeth Connoran
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 150

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Handbook of Accessible Achievement Tests for All Students

Handbook of Accessible Achievement Tests for All Students PDF Author: Stephen N. Elliott
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1441993568
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 342

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Book Description
The Handbook of Accessible Achievement Tests for All Students: Bridging the Gaps Between Research, Practice, and Policy presents a wealth of evidence-based solutions designed to move the assessment field beyond “universal” standards and policies toward practices that enhance learning and testing outcomes. Drawing on an extensive research and theoretical base as well as emerging areas of interest, the volume focuses on major policy concerns, instructional considerations, and test design issues, including: The IEP team’s role in sound assessment. The relationships among opportunity to learn, assessment, and learning outcomes. Innovations in computerized testing and the “6D” framework for standard setting. Legal issues in the assessment of special populations. Guidelines for linguistically accessible assessments. Evidence-based methods for making item modifications that increase the validity of inferences from test scores. Strategies for writing clearer test items. Methods for including student input in assessment design. Suggestions for better measurement and tests that are more inclusive. This Handbook is an essential reference for researchers, practitioners, and graduate students in education and allied disciplines, including child and school psychology, social work, special education, learning and measurement, and education policy.

Understanding Achievement Tests

Understanding Achievement Tests PDF Author: Lawrence M. Rudner
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Achievement tests
Languages : en
Pages : 188

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Book Description
Current information about tests and testing procedures is provided for school district staff, particularly in districts without specially trained testing directors. Practical information is given about selecting and administering tests and about reporting results effectively. This guide opens with a discussion of the basic principles of testing. The various types of district-level tests are described, and different types of test scores are presented. The advantages and limitations of certain types of tests and scores are reviewed. The viewpoints of measurement experts on important issues in testing are expressed in the following chapters: (1) "Common Misuses of Standardized Tests" (Eric Gardner); (2) "Preparing Students To Take Standardized Achievement Tests" (William A. Mehrens); (3) "Matching Your Curriculum and Standardized Tests" (Jane C. Conoley); (4) "Using Customized Standardized Tests" (Paul L. Williams); (5) "Interpreting Test Scores for Compensatory Education Students" (Gary Echternacht); and (6) "Working with the Press" (Allan Hartman). Four additional discussions are appended: "Finding Information about Standardized Tests' (Lawrence M. Rudner and Kathryn Dorko); Organizations That Provide Test Information" (Ronald T. C. Boyd); "Putting Test Scores in Perspective: Communicating a Complete Report Card for Your Schools" (M. Kevin Matter); and "Major Achievement Tests and Their Characteristics" (Northwest Regional Education Laboratory). Names and addresses of major test publishers, and a glossary of testing terms are also included. (SLD)

Technical Recommendations for Achievements Tests

Technical Recommendations for Achievements Tests PDF Author: American Educational Research Association. Committee on Test Standards
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Educational tests and measurements
Languages : en
Pages : 40

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Book Description


Rationale and Use of Content-relevant Achievement Tests for the Evaluation of Instructional Programs

Rationale and Use of Content-relevant Achievement Tests for the Evaluation of Instructional Programs PDF Author: Marianne Patalino
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Achievement tests
Languages : en
Pages : 106

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Methodological Advances in Cross-National Surveys of Educational Achievement

Methodological Advances in Cross-National Surveys of Educational Achievement PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 030916981X
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 384

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Book Description
In November 2000, the Board on International Comparative Studies in Education (BICSE) held a symposium to draw on the wealth of experience gathered over a four-decade period, to evaluate improvement in the quality of the methodologies used in international studies, and to identify the most pressing methodological issues that remain to be solved. Since 1960, the United States has participated in 15 large-scale cross-national education surveys. The most assessed subjects have been science and mathematics through reading comprehension, geography, nonverbal reasoning, literature, French, English as a foreign language, civic education, history, computers in education, primary education, and second-language acquisition. The papers prepared for this symposium and discussions of those papers make up the volume, representing the most up-to-date and comprehensive assessment of methodological strengths and weaknesses of international comparative studies of student achievement. These papers answer the following questions: (1) What is the methodological quality of the most recent international surveys of student achievement? How authoritative are the results? (2) Has the methodological quality of international achievement studies improved over the past 40 years? and (3) What are promising opportunities for future improvement?