The Tyranny of Testing

Opponents of the 'No Child Left Behind' act's test-driven obsession with 'school accountability' should avail themselves of this slightly dated classic. Hoffmann dismantles the claims by testing companies that their instruments measure anything more than cultural concordance between testing company and student. He also takes on the notion that test questions are clearly written in the first place, showing many examples to the contrary. He seems more interested in reforming the tests, and does not attack the notion of testing itself other than in passing. This little book should be read alongside Diane Ravitch's "The Language Police" and Gould's "Mismeasure of Man" to complete the picture and bring one's understanding of the problems with testing up-to-date.