Children at the Center : A Workshop Approach to Standardized Test Preparation, K-8

Do tests really matter? Whether they accurately reflect how much children have learned is a question many teachers would answer with an emphatic "No!" But as the movement for standardized testing sweeps the nation, it is clear that tests do matter: When children don't do well on them, they suffer.

Children at the Center provides solutions for resolving the ethical and practical dilemmas posed by this trend. It was written by teachers who have seen otherwise well-respected schools damaged by poor test scores . . . who have personally struggled with assessment that doesn't align well with curriculums . . . who have discovered that most teachers are ill-equipped to confidently interpret norm-referenced test scores, and therefore be effective advocates for students. Mostly, it is written from a pragmatic perspective geared toward the needs of children. To that end, readers will find:

• an innovative, ethical, inquiry-, and workshop-based approach to test preparation
• practical, teacher-ready workshops and student materials that have been field tested in several states; and refined based on classroom teacher feedback
• models of responses to real-life questions parents typically ask about testing
• a teacher-friendly review of norm-referenced test construction and interpretation.

As standardized tests continue to shape curriculums, and teachers are held more and more accountable for student performance, Children at the Center will prove essential in helping us pass the real test: preparing children for the future.

KATHE TAYLOR is Associate Director of Fiscal and Policy Analysis at the Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board.SHERRY WALTON is a faculty member of the Master in Teaching program at The Evergreen State College.