Testing! Testing!: What Every Parent Should Know About School Tests

by W. James Popham

School tests now influence what teachers teach, how educators are evaluated, and whether children are successful in school. W. James Popham has written the book every parent needs to read. It explains what the tests your kids are taking really mean--and don't mean--about your children and their education. In this easy-to-read-and-understand book, you'll learn the pros and cons of different kinds of tests and other educational assessments. How you can decide when tests are being used effectively and when they're not. How both classroom tests and standardized tests are used and misused in judging your children and their school. More importantly, Dr. Popham teaches you to use this knowledge to communicate effectively with teachers and administrators so you can make a real difference in your child's education. W. James Popham, Ed.D. is one of the country's foremost authorities on educational testing. He was a professor in the UCLA Graduate School of Education for 29 years, teaching prospective teachers about testing and how to use testing as a means toward more effective classroom instruction. He is the author of more than 20 books and 300 articles and papers, primarily on educational testing. In 1968, Dr. Popham established IOX Assessment Associates, a Los Angeles test-development and evaluation agency that has created statewide student achievement tests for a dozen states. In addition, he is a former president of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and the founding editor of its quarterly journal, Educational Evaluation and Policy. Dr. Popham and his wife, Sarah Stanley, now live on the island of Kauai in Hawaii.

289 pages, Paperback

First published September 28, 1999