An argument is presented on whether helping students intelligently critique standardized tests is a necessary form of test preparation. The detailed analysis of typical questions reveals what students are truly asked to do on the tests.

The benefits of standardized testing for a teacher are mentioned for which the teacher has to prepare for the students only for the test and not worry for preparing the students for college, work and life. Standardized testing takes away individualized instruction, does not allow creativity, does not measure true progress or advance critical…

Cites eight documents in the ERIC system regarding problems in standardized testing and possible solutions. (DD)

In this article, the author expresses his doubts about rubrics. He contends that rubrics have several drawbacks and these are the following: (1) Rubrics prevent teachers from improving their practices and rethinking their premises; (2) Students tend to think less deeply, avoid taking risks, and lose interest in the learning itself; and (3) Good…

Suggests four questions teachers can ask to determine whether a standardized test has provided accurate information about a particular student. (DD)

Examines the amount of grammar terminology used or required for eleven leading standardized tests. (DD)

Standardized tests, with their preoccupation with correctness, encourage barren formulaic writing by students. (DD)

Considers how with no training in how to teach vocabulary skills, many teachers transfer to their classroom the same techniques that they see test makers using. Offers a chart to encourage thinking about the ways that standardized testing techniques differ from good teaching and learning practices. Argues that educators should provide students…

Presents responses of eight teachers concerning the effects of mandated testing. Describes how the teachers cope with the problems raised by mandated tests. (RS)

Presents three fictional scenarios each based on very different kinds of facts: the very clear data of test scores, the ambiguous data of behaviors, and the concrete but infinitely interpretable data of portfolios. Notes that the data represented by the portfolio is much more appropriate to assessing language competencies than is data represented…

Asks some local experts (Massachusetts English teachers) to talk about the impact of the new Massachusetts high-stakes test, the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS), and about how they are dealing with this in their classrooms and schools. Concludes that English educators must work to understand and address the issues these tests…

Describes the weakness of norm-referenced standardized tests and encourages teachers to use criterion-referenced tests in their place. (DD)

Offers opposing views of the merit of EQuality project, a high school reform movement designed to improve students' performance through curriculum changes. (JL)

Considers three possible responses to standardized testing: Ignoring the test, embedding the test, and embracing the test. Concludes that the problem lies not in the tests themselves, but rather in how educators approach them and, more inherently, in what educators believe about them. (SG)