Assessment in Higher Education: Politics, Pedagogy, and Portfolios [Hardcover]

As part of the American school reform movement, administrators are searching for ways of measuring students' skills and progress within the system. Courts and McInerney focus on the qualitative assessment possible through the use of student portfolios, particularly at the college level. The authors are concerned that the teaching and learning process will be subsumed by assessment and will become even more test-driven than it now is. A critical look at multiple-choice, standardized examinations shows how unmindful our educational testing is of psychosocial diversity. The authors warn that in upgrading American education nationwide, more effective and self-confirming measures should be faculty developed and locally controlled. The authors propose a new compact among teachers and students as they take mutual responsibility for the learning process and changing curriculum.

PATRICK L. COURTS is Professor of English at the State University of New York at Fredonia, New York. He has written several books includingLiteracy and Empowerment: The Meaning Makers(Bergin & Garvey, 1991).

KATHLEEN H. MCINERNEY is a doctoral candidate in English Education at the University of Iowa and Instructor of English and Education at Augustana College in Illinois. She has an MA in English from SUNY, Fredonia.

Introduction
Testing, Anyone? Rhetoric and Realities
Dehumanizing Norms
Qualitative Program Assessment: From Tests to Portfolios
Portfolios and the Individual Student: Assessing for Learning
Making Sense: Teaching and Classroom Assessment
Final Words: Look Out Below
Appendix A: Grid for Reading
Appendix B: GCP Assessment Project Outcomes and Findings
Appendix C: Information Sheet for Students
Appendix D: Information Sheet for Advisors
Bibliography
Index