None of the Above: Behind the Myth of Scholastic Aptitude

If you are looking for a book to help you understand academic testing and its negative impact on our culture, this is it. David Owen is unique in that he both understands the advanced statistics behind these tests and has a real "voice" in telling his story. This book reads like a pleasant dinner conversation and is full of information that will keep you coming back for more. This is the end all be all of SAT books.

And don't take a standardized test until you do, or if you know someone who suffers from test-anxiety over the SATs -- and virtually every high-school student in the U.S. who hopes to go to college probably does -- it's the best gift you can give. Just don't make it a graduation present: a student needs to have read it by the end of the sophomore year. I'm betting Owen's book will improve the student's score and greatly reduce nervousness by showing how such standardized tests work (or more correctly, don't work.) Also, I think, Owen will help the student see that the score, high or low, doesn't really measure anything but skill at taking the SATs themselves. I've recommended this book to dozens of students and parents and have never had anyone tell me I steered them wrong. Go ahead and read books about preparing for the SATs and maybe even take classes on improving your score, but read this book first.

This book blows the cover of respectability and objectivity that has benefited ETS for decades. It exposes the company for what it is: a deceptive, revenue-hungry, socially-irresponsible organization. ETS calls itself a "non-profit institution" but this is shown to be a smokescreen. It is non-profit in the purely accounting sense in that it has no shareholders (it was founded by a grant by the Carnegie Foundation), but the company does everything it can to maximize revenue after costs. The employees pay themselves exorbiant salaries, and the campus includes tennis courts, riding paths, a golf course and a hotel! Also, the company does not even have an honest mailing address: all it has in Princeton is a mailbox! There is no relationship at all between ETS and Princeton University.David Owen's book actually goes much further, and explains how the tests themselves are deeply flawed. They are not measures of aptitude, but are in fact highly coachable (a fact ETS has tried to hide for years). This book is a must read for anyone interested in the truth behind ETS and standardized tests.

I read this book when I was in 8th grade, before taking the PSAT or SAT or any achievement tests -- it helped me so much, because it gave me a framework to understand what the tests are actually designed to measure (*not* scholastic aptitude as such)... when it came time to take the tests, I already knew that I was being tested on my ability to read the testwriters' minds and figure out how they were trying to trick us! Knowing that saved a lot of heartache, and also made it easier to answer the test questions and improved my scores.

Mr. Owen operates on the Educational Testing Service--and its lackeys, the College Board--like a surgeon with a mission. That mission is the truth: ETS is a wolf in sheep's clothing. The SAT--and aptitude testing in general--is a farce. This is an object lesson that holds true to this day. A must read for anyone considering taking the SAT. (Or anyone PAYING for someone else to take it. Heads up, parents.)