ABSTRACT
Chapter four of Unequal By Design catalogues the many technical and conceptual problems with high-stakes, standardized testing. The chapter begins with looking at the ways the tests require the abstraction and decontextualization of students and learning, and how this fact contributes to turning people and education into commodities. This chapter then looks at Value Added Models to highlight just how unobjective our high-stakes tests are, and goes onto address other issues related to test score correlations, inconsistencies of grading, and the inherent problem with the “bell curve” presumed within the tests. Finally, this chapter looks at how our tests serve to control teaching and learning and surveil students and teachers.
