The ABCs of Educational Testing: Demystifying the Tools That Shape Our Schools

by W. James Popham

Amplify your assessment literacy.

Formative, data-driven, high-stakes―we all know the buzzwords surrounding educational testing. But we often shelve our understanding of these because they are overwhelmingly complex. Those who care about our schools and students―teachers, administrators, policymakers, parents, citizens―will discover how and why testing should be taken upon ourselves to advance. Using a nontechnical approach, this book offers fundamental knowledge to free you from testing fogginess―all framed around practical actions you can take to strengthen your assessment literacy. Inappropriate tests are leading to mistaken decisions, and this book provides everything you need to know to change that, including

176 pages, Paperback

Published December 7, 2016

Reviews

[Kathy Dyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love Popham's casual, conversational style with this dense topic. This book includes definitions and explanations of many testing terms, presented in ways that each of the 5 intended audiences can engage with. These audiences include teachers, school/district administrators, policymakers, parents of school-age children and community members. If you've ever wondered about validity and reliability, his explanations are very clear and could lead to challenging conversations in some school settings.

[Stephanie Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, I would have never read this book on my own had it not been selected as a book club pick for work. I say this even though my job is managing one of Indiana’s statewide assessments. That being said, the content was relatively easy to digest, the author touched on the most important components of educational testing, the length of the text was appropriate, and the author’s dry sense of humor came out from time (which was unexpected and delightful). I could see this book used for PD in schools, and it supports the work I do for the Department of Education.