Paradoxes of High-Stakes Testing

Abstract

Over the centuries and across nations, tests have been employed as bureaucratic tools for a variety of purposes. As far back as 200 BC, the Chinese used tests to help eliminate patronage and open access to the civil service. The Dead Sea scrolls describe the use of tests by the Qumran community to determine when a man was ready to become a formal member of the community. England, France, and Italy, among other nations, have used tests to ensure that students acquire certain skills and establish standards of performance. In fifteenthcentury Italy, tests were used to hold teachers accountable for student learning. Since then, policy-makers have used tests to hold students and schools accountable and allocate scarce resources.