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THE BATTALION
THURSDAY, JANUARY 17, 1980
Page 5
ATTENTION
ids may get help on tests from union
lar
UR
United Press International
This is the year kids taking
Itaiularclized tests by-guess or by-
losh get sympathy in a big way —
Jncl maybe some help.
For starters, the 1.8 million
Member teachers’ union, the Na-
lionaj Education Association, will
viug the bat in a year-long cam-
haiga against what it considers
Ibuses of standardized tests.
The batting order also includes
Ither education and consumer
Iroups urging Congress to pass a
|ruth-in-testing law aimed at curli
ng abuses and giving consumers
nore information about the tests be-
bre they take them — and after.
Ralph Nader, who has been on
Biis issue for years now, is still cry-
|ng alarm. He said at a recent con-
erence the College Board’s own re-
«arch indicates a direct relationship
etween standardized test scores
kncl family income. That is, the
|iigher your parents income, the
ligher your score.
Nader referred to research which
Indicates private coaching improves
ores on the Scholastic Aptitude
[Test (SAT), used as a door-opener to
olleges and scholarships.
Consumer advocates and
|educators claim this gives students
vhocan pay for cram courses an ad
vantage over those who cannot. This
sdvantage is used by many prepar-
ng for tests for admission to law,
business and medical schools, too.
Attacks on what they consider
ner-reliance on standardized tests
ire under way by teachers and civil
lights groups from Maine to
California. At the same time, how
ever, more tests seem set for
launch. Nearly 40 states have man
ned minimum competency testing
programs for promotion and gradua-
m.
The rub: how can competence lie
Ineasured — without standardized
;ests?
Standardized tests most ofteii are
multi pie-choice types. The system,
or some students, is by-guess or
y-gosh. Scoring usually is by a
machine that “reads’ underlining,
Trcles, or X marks on an answer
iheet.
Nader said teachers are upset at
the downgrading of writing in soci
al and by reliance on multiple-
:hoice tests.
The standardized tests decide
»ho is placed in classes for the men
tally retarded, who gets into col
lege, who can become a teacher or a
lawyer and who gets the schol
arship.
The testing industry, feeling the
heat, isn’t happy alxiut losing out to
consumer groups after it already
battled truth-in-testing legislative
proposals in New York and Califor-
a.
The multi-million dollar industry,
led by giant Education Testing serv
ice (ETS) in Princeton, N.J., prom-
earlier to give more test-takers
backgrounding before they sit for
tests.
Also voted by the testing industry
was a way to file for further informa
tion after a test is taken, a consumer
right mandated by law in California
and New York — and bound to be
included in any federal truth-in
testing law.
Every six years since 1947, the
ETS’ income has doubled. At latest
count, the non-profit unit took in
$94 million a year, mostly fees from
test takers.
The “NEA Reporter,’ updating
school teacher members on the
status of the controversy and its bat
tle plans, states teachers want more
accountability from the testing in
dustry, and less secrecy.
By the end of this month, says the
“NEA Reporter,” every NEA local
association president will receive an
information kit promoting truth-in
testing legislation and community
awareness of standardized test
abuses.
“NEA strongly supports testing
and rigorous assessment of student
performance, ’ the NEA Reporter
said.
“However, NEA rejects tests that
emphasize competition against a
norm rather than educational
goals."
MSC
Town Hall
Option
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Special Group of
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Letter Jacket Style
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