Book Cover -- Half-Title -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Dedication -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- PART I The No Child Left Behind Act -- 1 A Major Education Law's Testing Requirements -- THE LAW -- Accountability/Assessment Provisions -- Newly Required Tests -- One Size Must Fit All-Usually -- The 2005-6 School Year as the Target -- AN OPPORTUNITY-TO WIN OR TO LOSE -- 2 Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) Little Letters, Big Impact -- AN OLD REQUIREMENT, NOW TIGHTENED -- One Hundred Percent Proficiency -- Proficiency-A Closer Look -- SNARING THE SLIPPERY -- How AYP Timelines Will Work -- Bending the AYP Timeline -- IT GETS EVEN STICKIER -- A Laudable Motive-But with Some Lingering Difficulties -- ANOTHER FAILURE-AVOIDANCE TACTIC -- EXPECTATIONS, ESCAPE, AND UNDERSTANDING -- 3 Report Cards And Sanctions -- SCHOOL-FOCUSED REPORT CARDS -- State-Level Reporting -- District-Level Reporting -- TESTING AT LEAST 95 PERCENT OF ENROLLED STUDENTS -- AND NOW COME SANCTIONS -- School Labels and Sanctions -- District Labels and Sanctions -- FEDERAL INTENT -- PART II Educational Tests: The Heart of the Matter -- 4 Some Nuts and Bolts of Educational Testing -- THE PURPOSE OF EDUCATIONAL TESTING: INFERENCE MAKING -- Test-Based Inferences -- Test-Based Inferences and Classroom Instruction -- Two Types of Test-Based Inferences -- Relative Score Reports -- Absolute Score Reports -- The Imprecision of Educational Testing -- Varieties of Educational Tests -- Three Types of Items -- APTITUDE VERSUS ACHIEVEMENT TESTS -- 5 Measuring Temperature with a Tablespoon -- TEST SCORES TRUMP -- HIGH-STAKES TESTS -- THE HARMFUL CONSEQUENCES OF EDUCATIONAL MISMEASUREMENT -- Curricular Reductionism -- Excessive Test Preparation -- Unethical Test Preparation Practices -- UNSUITABLE TESTS FOR EVALUATING SCHOOLS -- Three Strikes and You're Out!.

Unrecognized Teaching-Testing Mismatches -- A Tendency to Eliminate Items Measuring Important Content -- Confused Causality -- 6 Today's Standards-Based Tests -- A NEW DESCRIPTOR FOR WHAT STUDENTS SHOULD LEARN -- FAR TOO MANY CONTENT STANDARDS -- PARTISAN CONTENT SPECIALISTS -- SAMPLING UP A STORM -- WRETCHED REPORTING PROCEDURES -- STANDARDS-BASED TESTS AND NCLB -- 7 Instructionally Supportive Accountability Tests -- AN INDEPENDENT COMMISSION'S DELIBERATIONS -- Looking at the Options -- The Commission's Solution -- Requirement 1: Prioritized Curricular Aims -- Requirement 2: Clearly Described Content Standards -- Requirement 3: Per-Standard Reporting -- Requirement 4: Optional Classroom Assessments -- Requirement 5: Monitoring Curricular Breadth -- Other Requirements -- WELL-SUITED FOR NCLB -- PART III Evaluating Schools -- 8 The Evidence Needed to Evaluate Schools -- FOUR KINDS OF EVIDENCE -- INSTRUCTIONALLY SUPPORTIVE ACCOUNTABILITY TESTS -- STUDENTS' WORK SAMPLES -- AFFECTIVE DATA -- NONTEST ACADEMIC INDICATORS -- EVALUATIVE EVIDENCE IN FOUR FLAVORS -- 9 Student Affect -- THE NATURE OF AFFECT -- SCHOOL-RELATED ATTITUDES -- SCHOOL-RELATED INTERESTS -- SCHOOL-RELATED VALUES -- SELECTION OF AFFECTIVE TARGETS -- AFFECTIVELY ORIENTED INSTRUCTION -- ASSESSING AFFECT -- Group-Focused Inferences -- Self-Report, Anonymous Affective Inventories -- THE ROLE OF AFFECTIVE DATA IN SCHOOL EVALUATION -- 10 Determining a Particular School's Quality -- STUDENTS' WORK SAMPLES -- NONTEST INDICATORS -- EVIDENCE SOURCES WORKING IN CONCERT-SOMETIMES DISHARMONIOUSLY -- THE SELF-TEST EXERCISE -- Practice Exercise No. 1: Rhoda Street Elementary School -- Practice Exercise No. 2: Jefferson Elementary School -- Practice Exercise No. 3: Lincoln High School -- LOOKING BACK -- Conclusion -- FOR EDUCATORS, PARENTS, AND CONCERNED CITIZENS.

Understanding Your State's NCLB Accountability System -- State Tests -- Adequate Yearly Progress -- Academic Achievement Standards -- Other Academic Indicators -- A Defensible State Implementation -- An Indefensible State Implementation -- FOR PARENTS OF SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN -- Understanding How Your Child's School Was Evaluated -- NCLB-Required Tests -- Adequate Yearly Progress -- Academic Achievement Standards -- Other Academic Indicators -- Overall -- A Positive Evaluation of the School -- A Negative Evaluation of the School -- The School Transfer Decision -- THE PAST AND FUTURE OF NCLB -- Additional Reading -- PUBLICATIONS -- WEBSITE -- Notes.

In America's "Failing" Schools, W. James Popham provides parents and teachers explanations of No Child Left Behind as a whole, walking them through the implications for standardized testing in particular, in language that is uncomplicated and straightforward. Popham offers definitions of the law and its key terms, explanations of what it really means when a school is labeled "failing," and concrete suggestions for what can be done in response.

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Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2018. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.