The Myth of Achievement Tests: The GED and the Role of Character in American Life
- ISBN-10
- 022610012X
- ISBN-13
- 9780226100128
- Category
- Business & Economics
- Pages
- 472
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2014-01-14
- Publisher
- University of Chicago Press
- Authors
- James J. Heckman, John Eric Humphries, Tim Kautz
Description
Achievement tests play an important role in modern societies. They are used to evaluate schools, to assign students to tracks within schools, and to identify weaknesses in student knowledge. The GED is an achievement test used to grant the status of high school graduate to anyone who passes it. GED recipients currently account for 12 percent of all high school credentials issued each year in the United States. But do achievement tests predict success in life? The Myth of Achievement Tests shows that achievement tests like the GED fail to measure important life skills. James J. Heckman, John Eric Humphries, Tim Kautz, and a group of scholars offer an in-depth exploration of how the GED came to be used throughout the United States and why our reliance on it is dangerous. Drawing on decades of research, the authors show that, while GED recipients score as well on achievement tests as high school graduates who do not enroll in college, high school graduates vastly outperform GED recipients in terms of their earnings, employment opportunities, educational attainment, and health. The authors show that the differences in success between GED recipients and high school graduates are driven by character skills. Achievement tests like the GED do not adequately capture character skills like conscientiousness, perseverance, sociability, and curiosity. These skills are important in predicting a variety of life outcomes. They can be measured, and they can be taught. Using the GED as a case study, the authors explore what achievement tests miss and show the dangers of an educational system based on them. They call for a return to an emphasis on character in our schools, our systems of accountability, and our national dialogue. Contributors Eric Grodsky, University of Wisconsin–Madison Andrew Halpern-Manners, Indiana University Bloomington Paul A. LaFontaine, Federal Communications Commission Janice H. Laurence, Temple University Lois M. Quinn, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Pedro L. Rodríguez, Institute of Advanced Studies in Administration John Robert Warren, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Get the book
Similar books
-
The Myths of Standardized Tests: Why They Don't Tell You What You Think They Do
By Bruce M. Smith, Joan Harris, Ed.D.That's what the folks at the Educational Testing Service told us, and who were we to contradict the experts? ETS provided a slim pamphlet on flimsy paper that explained the format of the questions and even offered a couple of examples.
-
The Myth of Measurability
By Paul L. HoutsThe Myth of Measurability
-
Constructing Achievement Tests
By Norman Edward GronlundConstructing Achievement Tests
-
None of the Above: Behind the Myth of Scholastic Aptitude
By David Owen... Jan Drews , Helen Rogan , Mickey Kaus , Robert Asahina , Jefferson Morley , Tamara Glenny , Jeffrey Schaire , Jamie Baylis , James Wolcott , Alice Digilio , Dorothy Wickenden , John Owen , Cornelia Hodgman , Paul Hoffman , Rick Lyon ...
-
The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing
By Alfie KohnIn The Homework Myth, nationally known educator and parenting expert Alfie Kohn systematically examines the usual defenses of homework--that it promotes higher achievement, "reinforces" learning, and teaches study skills and responsibility.
-
The Way We Were
By Sinéad MoriartyBut when Ben takes a step into the unknown, and brings devastation on the family, it forces them to look at everything in a whole new way. Because, as far as they know, this is the end of the line for their family.
-
Achievement Testing in U.S. Elementary and Secondary Schools
By Joan Maureen BakerIn addition , the vocabulary is checked by having the student read word lists and by responding to the ... Goodman ( 1991 ) in The Whole Language Catalogue : Supplement on Authentic Assessment speak of authentic tests or assessments as ...
-
Test Construction; Development and Interpretation of Achievement Tests
By Dorothy Christina AdkinsTest Construction; Development and Interpretation of Achievement Tests
-
The Testing Charade: Pretending to Make Schools Better
By Daniel KoretzAmerica's leading expert in educational testing and measurement openly names the failures caused by today's testing policies and provides a blueprint for doing better. 6 x 9.
-
Measuring Up
By Daniel KoretzMeasuring Up demystifies educational testing - from MCAS to SAT to WAIS.