Assessment, Testing, and Instruction: Retrospect and Prospect

In recent years, testing and assessment have been much on the minds of educational policymakers at local, state, and national levels. There has been increasing interest in the results of testing and assessment and increasing concern about the nature and form of student assessment and the uses made of the results (Linn, Baker, & Dunbar, 1991). Interestingly, in the current debates about poor educational outcomes and the need for education reform, assessment and testing have been viewed both as part of the problem and as part of the solution. On one hand, assessment and testing are often portrayed as a major cause of current educational woes, as is illustrated in the following excerpt from the report of the National Commission on Testing and Public Policy (1990): Current testing, predominantly multiple choice in format, is over-relied upon, lacks adequate public accountability, sometimes leads to unfairness in the allocation of opportunities, and too often undermines vital social policies (p. ix). On the other hand, others have argued that assessments linked to high standards for student achievement are valuable in helping establish a more fruitful educational climate and more equitable educational outcomes: Alternative forms of assessment, forms currently within reach, can adequately reflect today's educational goals and, if properly used, serve as positive tools in creating schools truly capable of teaching students to think (L. B. Resnick & Resnick, 1992, p. 38).