Arie L. Nettles - Böcker

This text revisits vital issues of equity and assessment through the research efforts and insights of many of America's most prominent educators and assessment experts. As its most urgent purpose, the publication aims to sensitize readers to the unfairness and inappropriate uses of testing instruments which under optimal circumstances have the potential to benefit all students. With America fervently espousing both national and state testing, the differential performance by race and social class raises the spectre of tests as barriers to life milestones such as promotion, graduation, and college admissions. In response to such punitive testing, the papers included here explore a host of models and practices that are being piloted both in America and other countries as educators grapple with the effects the assessment is having on minority and disadvantaged students and school systems. In the process, outcomes of innovative portfolio and authentic assessments are weighed against important standards and principles of validity and consequences.As the various authors probe the gap between African-American and white test scores, they raise important questions of resources, family background and educational opportunity. Beyond the value of their recommendations to educators, their papers help to identify causes of pupil deficiencies in ways that can be addressed by policymakers. To reinforce the emphasis on equity, several authors present a definitive defense of affirmative action as a critical counter-measure to the lack of fairness in school quality, family and social supports, and educational resources.

This text focuses on the following four issues: the growing prominence that educational testing and assessment are playing in American education; the effect that current testing and assessment policies and practices are having upon minority and disadvantaged students and school systems; the new and innovative approaches to testing and assessment and their prospects for promoting educational equity, educational reform and accountability; and the actions that need to be taken in order to achieve equity in testing and assessment in the nation's schools. The goal is to identify and begin addressing some of the disadvantages faced by many Americans in their pursuit of high-quality education and training. It explores some of the factors that contribute to the gaps in student achievement along racial and social class lines, and offers ideas for improving the measurement of America's diverse population of students. Some of the chapters focus on how the field of educational testing is changing to include new types of assessment practices and policies, and new types of testing and assessment instruments.Innovations in educational testing and assessment include student exhibitions, portfolios, performance tasks, and essay writing, all of which are being advanced both for in-classroom and in-school use as well as for purposes of public accountability. Some of the public policy innovations include the following: awarding federal funding and recognition based upon student performance on tests and assessments; national government approval of the assessments that states, school districts, and schools use; and national approval and sanctioning of the standards that will be measured by educational tests and assessments.

5 TABLE I Average Reading Proficiency and Achievement Levels by RacelEthnicity Grades 4 8 and 12 1992 Reading Assessment Percentage of Student At or Above Percentage of Average Proficient Basic Below Basic Advanced I Students Proficiency I Grade 4 White 71 226 6 31 68 J2 69 16 193 0 Black 7 31 Hispanic 9 202 2 13 41 59 Asian/Pacific Islander 2 216 2 21 55 45 American Indian 2 208 2 15 50 50 Grade 8 70 White 268 3 34 77 23 Black 16 238 0 8 44 56 Hispanic 10 242 I 13 49 51 AsianlPacific Islander 3 270 6 38 77 23 American Indian 1 251 I 18 60 40 Grade 12 White 72 297 4 43 82 18 Black 15 272 0 16 54 46 9 277 Hispanic 1 21 61 39 Asian/Pacific Islander 4 291 4 39 74 26 American Indian 0 272 I 24 S2 48 Source: National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 1992 Reading Assessment. Reprinted from "NAEP 1992 Reading Report Card for the Nation and the States. " l be reading at the advanced level . A much higher percent of White Americans are performing at the proficient and advanced levels.