The Nature and Limits of Standards-Based Reform and Assessment

by Mathison, Sandra; Ross, E. Wayne

• ISBN13: 9780807749012
• ISBN10: 080774901X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-07-01
• Publisher: Teachers College Pr
• More Book Details
• Purchase Benefits

Summary

This highly acclaimed volume in the Defending Public Schools series is now available in paperback from Teachers College Press. It is a practical, necessary addition to the work of administrators, teachers, policymakers, and parents as they negotiate the difficult path of how to best teach and educate today's children and youth. Educational standards and assessment practices are the engine driving the historic changes public schools are experiencing today. This book provides readers with the foundation for a more holistic understanding of the nature and limits of standards-based educational reforms and, in particular, the ways in which current assessment practices influence the experiences of students, teachers, administrators, and parents. This dynamic collection of essays presents an overview of the origins and development of standards-based educational reform and assessment, a description of the standards-based educational reform (SBER) movement's essential elements, and a critical analysis of the means and ends of what is perhaps the most important reform effort U.S. schools have ever experienced.

Table of Contents

General Editor's Introduction: Defending Public Schools, Defending Democracy	p. ix
Introduction: The Nature and Limits of Standards-Based Reform and Assessment	p. xvii
History, Context, and the Future of Educational Standards and Assessment	p. 1
A Short History of Educational Assessment and Standards-Based Educational Reform	p. 3
Standards-Based Education: Two Wrongs Don't Make a Right	p. 15
The Costs of Overemphasizing Achievement	p. 27
International Comparisons: Worth the Cost?	p. 35
Assessment, Accountability, and the Impossible Dream	p. 49
Authentic Accountability: An Alternative to High-Stakes Testing	p. 57
Evaluation of Schools and Education: Bad Practice, Limited Knowledge	p. 71
Perspectives on Standards and Assessment
Teachers Working with Standards and State Testing	p. 81
"Parental Involvement": In Defense of What Kind of Vision for "Public" School?	p. 93
Leaving No Child Left Behind: Accountability Reform and Students with Disabilities	p. 107
The Accumulation of Disadvantage: The Consequences of Testing for Poor and Minority Children	p. 121
Educational Leaders and Assessment-Based Reform	p. 137
The Mismeasure and Abuse of Our Children: Why School Officials Must Resist State and National Standardized Testing Reforms	p. 149
Notes	p. 167
Index	p. 183
About the Editors	p. 189
About the Contributors	p. 191
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.