Content-type: text/html Downes.ca ~ Stephen's Web ~ Our Relationship With Tests is Unraveling. Why Is Everyone So Conflicted About It?

Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

Covid may have disrupted testing-as-usual, but "more importantly, a spring of protest reminded us to consider college-entrance requirements in their essential context: structural inequality.... If an admissions policy disproportionately harms low-income and underrepresented minority students, is it right, in this broken world, to cling to that policy?" It's a good question and this longish article looks at the question from all sides before concluding "The world isn't about to stop wanting and needing test scores, though. Entire education systems depend on them. The testing industrial complex, though disrupted by the pandemic, isn't going to shut down." Because, I guess, that's the only way of evaluating knowledge people can imagine. Note: the Chronicle has adopted a new paywall system, allowing a certain number of free articles (it doesn't say how many) before throwing up a subscription barrier. So you might see a paywall if you click this. As with other publications that work this way, I will never personally exceed the limit, but I may occassionally throw in a link, like this one.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

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Last Updated: Apr 25, 2024 01:16 a.m.

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