About Spotlight on High-Stakes Testing

Whatever you think about the emphasis on testing, most educators agree that this approach to school reform is here to stay-at least for the foreseeable future.

This inaugural volume of our Spotlight Series features recent Harvard Education Letter articles on testing and new reports never before published on this important topic.

Contributors address such issues as how educators can manage the "avalanche" of tests; whether the benefits of high-stakes tests justify the risks to students; what "real accountability" means for educators; and how teaching and learning can suffer when schools focus too heavily on test preparation.

Contributors include W. James Popham, Jeff Howard, Michael Sadowski, Marya Levenson, and others.

The Spotlight Series combines classic Harvard Education Letter articles with all-new reports on the latest education research and practice that you won't find anywhere else.

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Table of Contents for Spotlight on High-Stakes Testing

Introduction: When Education Is Put to the Test
Michael Sadowski

HERE TO STAY? MAKING TESTING WORK

Preparing for the Coming Avalanche of Accountability Test
W. James Popham

Are Your State's Tests Instructionally Sensitive?
W. James Popham

Lessons of a "Model" Program
An interview with Matthew Ganda

Turning Accountability into Opportunity
Judith A. Langer

Making the Most of Standarized Test Data
Rebecca Wisniewski

THE LARGER QUESTIONS: WEIGHING THE COSTS AND BENEFITS

Are High-Stakes Tests Worth the Wager?
Michael Sadowski

Why Current Assessments Don't Measure Up
Marya R. Levenson

My Lunch with Jackie
Jeff Howard

THE TESTS AND THE CURRICULUM

Collateral Damage
Lisa Birk

The Arts Step Out from the Wings
Jane Buchbinder

Preserving Kindergarten in a High-Stakes Environment
Karen Kelly

APPENDICES

Key Assessment and Accountability Requirements under the No Child Left Behind Act

Click here for the US Department of Education's (USDoE) website, "No Child Left Behind"
Click here for a pdf version of the US DoE's, "No Child Left Behind: A Desktop Reference"
Click here for the homepage of the USDoE's Office of Elementary and Secondary Education

What the AERA Says about High-Stakes Testing

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Publishing Information

Spotlight on High-Stakes Testing
From the Editors of the Harvard Education Letter
©2003
ISBN 1-891792-14-8
$19.95 paperback, ORDER
112 pages

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