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We’re joined by special guest designer Evan Rowland, co-founder of Make Big Things, to discuss the complex and controversial history of standardized testing in the United States.
Intro Segment (5 mins, 55 seconds)
- Evan Rowland intro – find Evan here at Make Big Things, and at Small Fly Games
- Alanna read White Noise by Don DeLillo
- Evan is playing Broken Age
- Hannah is reading Pastoralia by George Saunders
Main Topic & Sources (5 mins, 55 seconds to end)
- Evan – Evolution of standardized intelligence testing, beginning in 1905
- Evan – Standardized testing in times of war
- Alanna – 1970s longitudinal study, high SAT scores in math lead to academic and professional success (this study began with a talent search specifically for gifted adolescents, so probably shouldn’t be used as a comparison study given the sample group)
- Alanna – the TOEFL English-language exam
- Hannah – standardized testing companies and social media spying
- Hannah – thousands of SATs scored incorrectly due to…moisture
- Hannah – virtually no difference in graduation rates between students who submit SAT scores and those who don’t
- Evan – standardized testing and consequential validity (p 391-392):
A test score that accurately measures what it seeks to measure and yet is used to deny students opportunities from which they would benefit may lack consequential validity.
Additional Sources:
- Washing Post: Big education firms spend millions lobbying for pro-testing policies
- The Atlantic: No Child Left Behind’s One Big Achievement?