Redesigning Testing: Operationalizing the New Science of Learning - New Science of Learning - page 200

Chapter 10
Redesigning Testing: Operationalizing the New
Science of Learning

Zachary Stein 1, 2 , Theo Dawson 1 , and Kurt W. Fischer 2

1 Developmental Testing Service, LCC, Northampton, MA, USA; Harvard University Graduate
School of Education, Cambridge, MA, USA, e-mail: [e-mail]
2 Harvard University Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, MA, USA

Introduction: Testing

Every year, across the globe, tens of millions of children, adolescents, and adults
from all walks of life take tests. In the USA, students may take anywhere from six
to twenty standardized tests on their way from kindergarten to college, not counting
the numerous summative and formative assessments employed by teachers. Imagine
a high school student in Massachusetts who sits down to take a standardized test
that will ultimately determine both her chances of graduation and the standing of
her school. She participates in a large, complex, and polycentric educational testing
infrastructure that transcends local, state, national, and international borders. At all
points there are overlapping networks of connections with industry, government, and
research. This international testing infrastructure is an unprecedented state of affairs,
representing both a vast and incomparable example of “applied psychology” and a
crucial force shaping educational systems. The goal of this chapter is to begin to
reflect on this state of affairs, bring key issues to light, and report on specific avenues
of research and design for building a new type of educational testing infrastructure
that will bring greater benefit to greater numbers by serving more diverse purposes
and populations.
The current state of educational testing is the outcome of a complex history
of educational research, practice, and policy. In the first section we draw out key
themes from this history, framing the discussions to follow. Tests and assessments
have always been a necessary aspect of most educational situations—being part
of the conversation between teacher, student, and curriculum. As broad social and
cultural trends toward mass schooling emerged, educational practice began to assim-
ilate the outputs of a newly professionalized psychology, fostering the development