…to characterize [The Test ] as simply a polemic would be to overlook the sophistication of Kamenetz's thinking. She provides a short yet incisive history of testing…probes psychometry, or the science of testing…[and] shows why today's achievement tests, designed to evaluate ability on a specific day, typically at the end of the school year, are poor tools for helping either teachers or students improve their practices in real time…But the book's most urgent contribution is its exploration of how we might hold our schools, teachers and students accountable if we were to scrap high-stakes standardized testing entirely.
The New York Times Book Review - Dana Goldstein
10/27/2014
Library Journal, STARRED
"The [anti-testing] movement now has a guidebook…. It's publication could hardly have been better timed…. Although The Test mounts a somewhat familiar case against standardized testing, to characterize it as simply a polemic would be to overlook the sophistication of Kamenetz's thinking…. The book's most urgent contribution is its exploration of how we might hold our schools, teachers and students accountable if we were to scrap high stakes standardized testing entirely. As in her previous book, DIY U, Kamenetz is open to seemingly radical, technology-driven solutions.” —The New York Times Book Review
“Thorough research and illuminating interviews... With abundant data assembled in an accessible format, the book is a must-read for anyone in the educational system or any parent who has a child old enough to enter preschool… An informative and enlightening appraisal of the regimented tests that American schoolchildren of all ages are subjected to taking on a regular basis.”—Kirkus Review
“A readable, comprehensive overview of the historical background of testing, the policy considerations that have increased the occurrence of assessments, and problems this has caused… Acknowledging the need for assessment and accountability while dismantling many of the myths introduced by testing companies, Kamenetz offers powerful arguments against high-stakes standardized testing and provides an impartial critique of the current obsession with testing… A tremendous introduction to the field.”—Choice
“High stakes testing in our public schools puts enormous pressure on everyone in the system. Using real— and often quite moving— stories, Anya Kamenetz shows teachers, parents, administrators, and students how to survive, even thrive, in an education system that many understandably believe needs a course correction.”— Daniel H. Pink, author of Drive and To Sell is Human
“Anya Kamenetz's The Test is a fearless expose of how testing permeates our schools, our homes, even kids' psyches. People will be talking about this important, provocative book for years to come.”— Ashley Merryman, co-author of NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children and Top Dog: The Science of Winning and Losing
★ 12/01/2014
2014-10-20
