Beyond the Big Test: Noncognitive Assessment in Higher Education - Hardcover

Sedlacek, William E.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0787960209 ISBN 13: 9780787960209

Publisher: Jossey-Bass Inc Pub, 2004

Synopsis

William E. Sedlacek--one of the nation's leading authorities on the topic of noncognitive assessment--challenges the use of the SAT and other standardized tests as the sole assessment tool for college and university admissions. In Beyond the Big Test, Sedlacek presents a noncognitive assessment method that can be used in concert with the standardized tests. This assessment measures what students know by evaluating what they can do and how they deal with a wide range of problems in different contexts. Beyond the Big Test is filled with examples of assessment tools and illustrative case studies that clearly show how educators have used this innovative method to:

• Select a class diverse on dimensions of race, gender, and culture in a practical, legal, and ethical way
• Teach a diverse class employing techniques that reach all students
• Counsel and advise students in ways that consider their culture, race, and gender
• Award financial aid to students with potential who do not necessarily have the highest grades and test scores
• Assess the readiness of an institution to educate and provide services for a diverse student body

About this title

From the Inside Flap

Education professionals have long believed that the SAT (the "Big Test") is a limited measure of a student’s aptitude and should not be relied upon as the only tool to judge an applicant’s ability to perform at the college level.

William E. Sedlacek–one of the nation’s leading authorities on the topic of noncognitive assessment–challenges the use of the SAT and other standardized tests as the sole assessment tools for college and university admissions. In Beyond the Big Test, Sedlacek presents a noncognitive assessment method that can be used in concert with the standardized tests. This assessment measures what students know by evaluating what they can do and how they deal with a wide range of problems in different contexts. Beyond the Big Test is filled with examples of assessment tools and illustrative case studies that clearly show how educators have used this innovative method to

• Select a class diverse on dimensions of race, gender, and culture in a practical, legal, and ethical way
• Teach a diverse class employing techniques that reach all students
• Counsel and advise students in ways that consider their culture, race, and gender
• Award financial aid to students with potential who do not necessarily have the highest grades and test scores
• Assess the readiness of an institution to educate and provide services for a diverse student body

This important noncognitive approach can add new measures that will expand our potential for fairly assessing all students for admission to college.

From the Back Cover

PRAISE FOR BEYOND THE BIG TEST

"The examples provided in the book powerfully illustrate the potential that institutions have to translate concepts into action."
–Larry D. Roper, vice provost for student affairs, Oregon State University

"William Sedlacek shows the weaknesses in traditional SAT-type tests and provides alternative ways of evaluating students for college programs. If historically white colleges are to break with their racist climates and practices, faculty, administrators, and staff must heed Sedlacek’s sage remedies, which are grounded in solid field research."
–Joe Feagin, graduate research professor, Department of Sociology, University of Florida

"William Sedlacek identifies the eight noncognitive variables that extensive research has shown are the missing components of a comprehensive, fair, and impartial measure of a student’s likelihood for success in college. The book shows how these noncognitive measures can be used in selecting a diverse and talented student body and how they can be used in counseling, academic advising, student affairs programs, and research."
–Gregory S. Blimling, vice chancellor for student development and professor of human development and psychological counseling, Appalachian State University, and editor, Journal of College Student Development

Edition details

• Publisher: Jossey-Bass Inc Pub
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0787960209
• ISBN 13: 9780787960209
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 560