Richard Phelps – författare

Understand basketball basics and get up to speed on leagues around the world Basketball For Dummies is a fully updated fan's guide to this exciting sport. This fun reference is great for anyone interested in following or playing basketball at any level. You'll learn the history of the game, the basic rules, and techniques for shooting, playing offense, playing defense, and rebounding. Get the inside scoop on high school, college, professional, and international leagues—including the wildly popular and exciting women's game—so you can follow the intricacies of play as you support your favorite team. This edition covers the latest changes to the sport, keeping coaches, fans, and players up to date with essential basketball knowledge. Find all the information you need to understand basketball basics like shooting, passing, dribbling, rebounding, and different player positionsLearn how the pro game has evolved, including changes to the rulesGet caught up on Women's NCAA Basketball, the WNBA, and women's leagues around the worldImprove your NCAA tournament picks with expert tips on key factors to considerBasketball For Dummies is perfect for anyone who wants to know more about playing or following the game.

The education reform movement of the past two decades has focused on raising academic standards. Some standards advocates attach a testing mechanism to gauge the extent to which high standards are actually accomplished, whereas some critics accuse the push for standards and testing of impeding reform and perpetuating inequality. At the same time, the testing profession has produced advances in the format, accuracy, dependability, and utility of tests. Never before has obtaining such an abundance of accurate and useful information about student learning been possible. Meanwhile, the American public remains steadfast in support of testing to measure student performance and monitor the performance of educational systems.Many educational testing experts who acknowledge the benefits of testing also believe that those benefits have been insufficiently articulated. Although much has been written on standardized testing policy, most of the material has been written by opponents. The contributing authors of this volume are both accomplished researchers and practitioners who are respected and admired worldwide. They bring to the project an abundance of experience working with standardized tests.The goal of Defending Standardized Testing is to:*describe current standardized testing policies and strategies;*explain many of the common criticisms of standardized testing;*document the public support for, and the realized benefits of, standardized testing;*acknowledge the limitations of, and suggest improvements to, testing practices;*provide guidance for structuring and administering large-scale testing programs in light of public preferences and the "No Child Left Behind Act" requirements; and*present a defense of standardized testing and a vision for its future.Defending Standardized Testing minimizes the use of technical jargon so as to appeal to all who have a stake in American educational reform.

The education reform movement of the past two decades has focused on raising academic standards. Some standards advocates attach a testing mechanism to gauge the extent to which high standards are actually accomplished, whereas some critics accuse the push for standards and testing of impeding reform and perpetuating inequality. At the same time, the testing profession has produced advances in the format, accuracy, dependability, and utility of tests. Never before has obtaining such an abundance of accurate and useful information about student learning been possible. Meanwhile, the American public remains steadfast in support of testing to measure student performance and monitor the performance of educational systems.Many educational testing experts who acknowledge the benefits of testing also believe that those benefits have been insufficiently articulated. Although much has been written on standardized testing policy, most of the material has been written by opponents. The contributing authors of this volume are both accomplished researchers and practitioners who are respected and admired worldwide. They bring to the project an abundance of experience working with standardized tests.The goal of Defending Standardized Testing is to:*describe current standardized testing policies and strategies;*explain many of the common criticisms of standardized testing;*document the public support for, and the realized benefits of, standardized testing;*acknowledge the limitations of, and suggest improvements to, testing practices;*provide guidance for structuring and administering large-scale testing programs in light of public preferences and the "No Child Left Behind Act" requirements; and*present a defense of standardized testing and a vision for its future.Defending Standardized Testing minimizes the use of technical jargon so as to appeal to all who have a stake in American educational reform.

The easy way to get the ins, outs, and intrigue on this beloved sport The National Basketball Association (NBA), with 30 teams and an average attendance of more than 17,000 spectators per game, is the richest and most popular basketball league — and arguably the most viewed American sport — in the world. This new edition of Basketball For Dummies not only covers the rules and regulations of the NBA, but offers coverage on the WNBA, NCAA, and international basketball leagues.Basketball For Dummies is a valuable resource to the many fans of this beloved sport, covering everything from players and personalities in the game to rules, regulations, and equipment. Completely updated with information and intrigue that's occurred in the sport since publication of the previous edition, Basketball For Dummies gets you up to speed on everything from NCAA Tournament brackets to college players en route to the NBA. Coverage of the rules and regulations of the NBAInteresting topics like LeBron the Phenom, ESPN'S influence on the NBA, and the UCONN women's basketball dynastyDigger's take on John WoodenWhether you're a basketball player or a courtside spectator, Basketball For Dummies is a slam-dunk of information and intrigue for anyone who loves the sport.

In response to public demand, federal legislation now requires testing of most students in the United States in reading and mathematics in grades three through eight. Many educators, parents, and policymakers who have paid little attention to testing policy issues in the past need to have better information on the topic than has generally been available. Kill the Messenger, now in paperback, fills this gap.This is perhaps the most thorough and authoritative work in defense of educational testing ever written. Phelps points out that much research conducted by education insiders on the topic is based on ideological preference or profound self-interest. It is not surprising that they arrive at emphatically anti-testing conclusions. Much, if not most, of this hostile research is passed on to the public by journalists as if it were neutral, objective, and independent. Kill the Messenger explains and refutes many of the common criticisms of testing; describes testing opponents' strategies, through case studies of Texas and the SAT; illustrates the profound media bias against testing; acknowledges testing's limitations, and suggests how it can be improved; and finally, outlines the consequences of losing the "war on standardized testing."