Unequal By Design: High-Stakes Testing and the Standardization of Inequality (Critical Social Thought)

Unequal By Design critically examines high-stakes standardized testing in order to illuminate what is really at stake for students, teachers, and communities negatively affected by such testing. This thoughtful analysis traces standardized testing’s origins in the Eugenics and Social Efficiency movements of the late 19^th and early 20^th century through its current use as the central tool for national educational reform via No Child Left Behind. By exploring historical, social, economic, and educational aspects of testing, author Wayne Au demonstrates that these tests are not only premised on the creation of inequality, but that their structures are inextricably intertwined with social inequalities that exist outside of schools.

Wayne Au is Assistant Professor in the Department of Secondary Education, California State University-Fullerton and he is an editor for the progressive education journal, Rethinking Schools.