Topics

AdministrationViolenceSupervisionLeadership

Adult EducationCorp. Training and Continuing Ed.LiteracyTransformative Learning

Assessment & EvaluationProgram EvaluationAlternative AssessmentGradingStandardized Testing

Social ContextHistory of SchoolingPhilosophyUrban EducationEconomics and School-to-workRural EducationSociology of EducationWar and EducationPost-Industrial Education

CounselingSecondary SchoolsCollege Advising

CurriculumControlArtsSocial StudiesHealth and NutritionLanguage ArtsMathematicsPeace StudiesScience

DiversityRace and EthnicityAt-Risk StudentsSpecial NeedsGender and Sexuality

Early Childhood EducationPre-School and Child CareEarly Childhood Development

Higher EducationAdmissions and TuitionFacultyPolicyStudent and Community Life

International EducationComparative EducationEducational Development

LearningCognitionParental InfluenceEducational Psychology

PolicyReformCharters & VouchersHigh-Stakes TestingStandardsAthletes and AcademicsDropoutsIndependent SchoolsPhilanthropyPoliticsReligionTracking

Research MethodsQualitative MethodsSurvey ResearchExperimental ResearchLibrariesWriting for Publication

Teacher EducationProfessional DevelopmentSchools of EducationStudent Teaching

TeachingTeaching ProfessionSupply and DemandWorking Conditions

TechnologyTechnology in the ClassroomDistance LearningTechnology EducationPublishing and CommunicationOnline Publishing

IntersectionsPolicy and Teaching Practice

Discussion
My Experience Technology - Good for Students AND Teachers Fiddling with Indicators while using Toxic Tests Ode to Dewey Clearly Articulated Proposal--Thank You!
more >>

Announcements

Call for Chapters, Rethinking School-University Partnerships

make a post | more >>

Objectifying Measures: The Dominance of High-Stakes Testing and the Politics of Schooling

reviewed by Kara S. Finnigan - November 30, 2009

Title: Objectifying Measures: The Dominance of High-Stakes Testing and the Politics of Schooling
Author(s): Amanda Walker Johnson
Publisher: Temple University Press, Philadelphia
ISBN: 1592139051, Pages: 224, Year: 2009
Search for book at Amazon.com

As the debate about high-stakes accountability policies, including the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), becomes widespread, stopping to consider the statistical discourse that comprise these debates, as well as the underlying politics guiding this discourse is worthwhile. Amanda Walker Johnson attempts to do just that in her recent book, Objectifying Measures: The Dominance of High-Stakes Testing and the Politics of Schooling. Focusing on high-stakes testing policies in Texas, particularly those requiring students to take a standardized test to be promoted or graduate, Johnson argues that the statistical discourse around these tests “objectify” students, reducing them to numbers to manipulate. Johnson’s purpose in writing this ethnographic study is to examine the historical and political context of the testing movement in Texas, as well as consider the forms of knowledge production that serve to reinforce the testing regime. As an anthropologist, Johnson provides a distinct perspective on this topic. She contends... (preview truncated at 150 words.)

To view the full-text for this article you must be signed-in with the appropriate membership. Please review your options below:

Cite This Article as: Teachers College Record, Date Published: November 30, 2009
https://www.tcrecord.org ID Number: 15850, Date Accessed: 7/17/2019 5:34:45 PM

Purchase Reprint Rights for this article or review

Article Tools
Email this article Print this article Post a Comment

Related Discussion

Post a Comment \| Read All

About the Author
Kara Finnigan University of Rochester E-mail Author KARA S. FINNIGAN is an Assistant Professor of Educational Policy at the University of Rochester's Warner School of Education. Her current research focuses on schools and districts under accountability policy sanctions and interdistrict choice.

Member Center
	Welcome! Sign-in Submit My Work TCR @ Your Library Book Reviews @ Your Library

In Print

This Month's Issue
Back Issues: