CURMUDGUCATION: Ace That Test? I Think Not.

CURMUDGUCATION: Ace That Test? I Think Not.:

Ace That Test? I Think Not.

The full court press for the Big Standardized Test is on, with all manner of spokespersons and PR initiatives trying to convince Americans to welcome the warm, loving embrace of standardized testing. Last week the Boston Globe brought us Yana Weinstein and Megan Smith, a pair of psychology assistant professors who have co-founded Learning Scientists, which appears to be mostly a blog that they've been running for about a month. And say what you like-- they do not appear to be slickly or heavily funded by the Usual Gang of Reformsters.

Their stated goals include lessening test anxiety and decreasing the negative views of testing.  And the reliably reformy Boston Globe gave them a chance to get their word out. Additionally, the pair blogged about additional material that did not make it through the Globe's edit.




The Testing Effect

Weinstein and Smith are fond of  "the testing effect" a somewhat inexact term used to refer to the notion that recalling information helps people retain it. It always makes me want a name for whatever it is that makes some people believe that the only situation in which information is recalled is a test. Hell, it could be called the teaching effect, since we can get the same thing going by having students teach a concept to the rest of the class. Or the writing effect, or the discussion effect. There are many ways to have students sock information in place by recalling it; testing is CURMUDGUCATION: Ace That Test? I Think Not.: