Standardized testing bears the twin burden of controversy and complexity and is difficult for many to understand either dispassionately or technically. In response to this reality, Richard P. Phelps and a team of well-noted measurement specialists describe the current state of public debate about testing across fields, explain and refute the primary criticisms of testing, acknowledge the limitations and undesirable consequences of testing, provide suggestions for improving testing practices, and present a vigorous defense of testing as well as a practical vision for its promise and future.
Those who are charged with translating the science of testing into public information and policy—including administrators, social scientists, test publishers, professors, and journalists who specialize in education and psychology—will find a wealth of valuable information here with which to balance the debate.