Every American educator should own a copy of this book. Not only does it serve as a thoughtful critique of current test mania, but it functions as a much-needed historical reference as well.

Sacks discusses the origins of IQ and other standardized exams, and he traces early threads of recent national policy trends in education. Most significantly, he examines underlying theories for popular assumptions which suggest that teaching and learning can best be measured from a scantron distance.

Sacks cites copious evidence—from studies, interviews, and current events—which questions or flat-out contradicts the notion that multiple-choice tests consistently predict future achievements or accurately reflect learner abilities. One of the most dramatic studies he describes, for example, shows that the often lamented "skill gap" between females and their male classmates in math and science actually reverses in favor of girls when timed or "speeded" elements of testing are removed.

Sacks includes thorough details about the mammoth business of test corporations—often the same companies which manufacture our expensive textbooks. He also includes his own suggestions for more valid ways to assess and reward "real learning."

Teachers will find this text a helpful resource to share with test-exhausted parents and students—not to mention colleagues.

Reviewed by Jo Scott Coe
©2004 Jo Scott Coe