Standardized tests: their use & misuse

Series or Serial: BCEL newsletter for the business community; no. 22, Jan 1990

Publisher: Business Council for Effective Literacy

Published At: New York, NY

Date Published: 1990

Material Type: Information Analysis

Intended Audience: Mentor/Teacher/Trainer

Physical Media: Print

Subjects: Educational Assessment; Adult Literacy; Standardized Tests

Abstract:
This article addresses the use and misuse of standardized tests in adult education and literacy. When federal requirements for standardized tests in adult education and literacy. When federal requirements for standardized testing in ABE and ESL were issued in August 1989, there were objections to them and challenges to their validity expressed by the field. There is much debate in the field on what standardized tests actually test and whether they tell us anything of real value. The article summarizes the objections which fall into the broad categories of intrinsic defects and misuse. Two standardized testing systems which represent a strong forward movement, the Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment System (CASAS) and the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) are described. Alternative assessment approaches are detailed. Promising assessment projects summarized include the Adult Literacy Evaluation Project, the Adult Educators Development Project, the California Adult Learner Progress Evaluation Process, and the Massachusetts Workplace Education Initiative.