Stop High-Stakes Testing: An Appeal to America's Conscience

Stop High-Stakes Testing: An Appeal to America's Conscience is a compelling indictment of the use of high-stakes assessments with punitive consequences in our public schools. The authors trace the history of the policy and document the inequities for children of poverty that undergird high-stakes testing practices. Lack of dental and medical care, environmental violence, insufficient school funding, racism, and classism_all factors that contribute to this dire situation_are discussed in depth. The authors make a convincing case for discontinuing the unjust testing that has been forced on our nation's public school children.

About the Author :
Dale D. Johnson is professor of literacy education at Dowling College. He was a professor at the University of Wisconsin for 20 years, served as the Dean of the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, spent several years as an elementary and middle school teacher, and is a past president of the International Reading Association. He is the author of 15 books, including High Stakes: Children, Testing, and Failure in American Schools, 2nd Edition (Rowman & Littlefield, 2006) and Trivializing Teacher Education (Rowman & Littlefield, 2005). Bonnie Johnson is professor of human development and learning at Dowling College. She has taught at all levels from preschool through graduate school. Dr. Johnson has been awarded the Distinguished Teacher of Teachers Award by the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her most recent books are High Stakes: Children, Testing, and Failure in American Schools, 2nd Edition (Rowman & Littlefield, 2006), and Trivializing Teacher Education (Rowman & Littlefield, 2005). Stephen J. Farenga is professor and former chairperson of the Department of Human Development and Learning at Dowling College. He has taught science for 15 years at the elementary and secondary levels, served on the Commissioner's Advisory Council on the Arts in Education in New York State, and established an acclaimed educational research clinic. He is a contributing co-editor of 'After the Bell' in Science Scope and is a general editor of the Encyclopedia on Education and Human Development published by M.E. Sharpe. His most recent books include Trivializing Teacher Education (Rowman & Littlefield, 2005) and Knowledge Under Construction (Rowman & Littlefield, 2007). Daniel Ness is associate professor in the Department of Human Development and Learning at Dowling College where he teaches courses in mathematics curriculum and instruction and cognitive development. He has taught mathematics at all levels, and is a contributing co-editor of 'After the Bell' in Science Scope and a general editor of the Encyclopedia on Education and Human Development published by M.E. Sharpe. His most recent books include Trivializing Teacher Education (Rowman & Littlefield, 2005) and Knowledge Under Construction (Rowman & Littlefield, 2007).

Review :
Highly recommended.--M. J. Garrison "Choice Reviews" This is an unforgettable and inspiring book that expands the reader's awareness and understanding of many of the issues and controversies surrounding high-stakes testing in such powerful, alarming and enlightening ways. It is a touching, yet startling, look into the lives of the 'excluded children'.--Kathleen Schlichting, University of North Carolina, Wilmington This volume should bring high-stakes testing to the forefront of political discussion. The authors present a convincing case that documents the inequalities in educational communities that serve the included and excluded classes. The closing pages delineate what we all know should, can, and must be done to rid our schools of a stacked deck against children of poverty.--Delores B. Malcolm, Former Director of Teaching and Learning Support, St. Louis Public Schools Overall, the book is well-written, conscientious, sound and responsible.-- "Teachers College Record" The authors call for corrective justice--a sustained national commitment to eliminating the class differences that have stacked the deck against America's poor and minorities.-- "American School Board Journal"