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Pundits, politicians, and business leaders continually make claims for what standardized tests can do, and those claims go largely unchallenged because they are in line with popular assumptions about what these tests can do, what the scores mean, and the psychology of human motivation. But what most of what these opinion leaders say-and the public believes-about standardized testing just isn't so. However, few members of the general public, not even concerned parents, have the time or the background to keep up with the latest findings of testing experts, psychometricians, and researchers. That's where The Myths of Standardized Tests comes in. In simple, accessible language, Harris, Smith, and Harris spell out the assumptions underlying standardized tests and point out what's true about them and what's just plain mythical. But they not only debunk common assumptions; they propose better ways to judge the success of our schools. They also offer readers suggestions for ways they can help reduce the burden of tests on their children. Appendixes offer readers contact information and suggestions for actions they can take to become part of the solution to the problem of overusing and misusing standardized tests.

On the fourth of October 1957 millions of disbelieving Americans listened to their radio sets for a soft and innocuous beep. It was the signal of Sputnik, letting the world know that the Soviet Union had entered the Space Age, and challenging the United States to follow its lead. Sputnik opened an age of uncertainty for the United States that continues to this day. After centuries of security on its own continent, the United States could now face nuclear annihilation by missiles from space. It was therefore up to the United States Air Force to find a way to protect America from this new threat. But how do you even fight in space? And how do you create a strategy for a battlespace that no human had ever visited?