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"Washback" refers to the influence of language testing on teaching and learning. This volume, at the important intersection of language testing and teaching practices, presents theoretical, methodological, and practical guidance for current and future washback studies. In the field of language ...

"Washback" refers to the influence of language testing on teaching and learning. This volume, at the important intersection of language testing and teaching practices, presents theoretical, methodological, and practical guidance for current and future washback studies. In the field of language testing, researchers' major interest has traditionally been focused on issues and solving problems inherent in tests in order to increase their reliability and validity. However, the washback effect goes well beyond the test itself to include factors, such as curriculum, teacher and learner behaviors inside and outside the classroom, their perceptions of the test, and how test scores are used. Only recently have researchers started to empirically investigate the phenomenon of washback. This volume of such research serves two essential purposes by: providing an overview of the complexity of washback and the various contextual factors entangled within testing, teaching, and learning; and presenting empirical studies from around the world that offer insights into the effects of washback in specific educational contexts and models of research on which future studies can be based. The extensive use of test scores for various educational and social purposes in society nowadays makes the washback effect a high-interest phenomenon in the day-to-day educational activities of teachers, researchers, program coordinators/directors, policymakers, and others in the field of education. Washback in Language Testing: Research Contexts and Methods is a valuable resource for those who are interested in the application of findings to actual teaching and learning situations or conduct washback research in their own contexts, including educational and psychological testing experts, as well as alternative assessment people in all fields, and for policy- and decision-makers in educational and testing organizations.

The test score gap between blacks and whites--on vocabulary, reading, and math tests, as well as on tests that claim to measure scholastic aptitude and intelligence--is large enough to have far-reaching social and economic consequences. In their introduction to this book, Christopher Jencks and ...

The test score gap between blacks and whites--on vocabulary, reading, and math tests, as well as on tests that claim to measure scholastic aptitude and intelligence--is large enough to have far-reaching social and economic consequences. In their introduction to this book, Christopher Jencks and Meredith Phillips argue that eliminating the disparity would dramatically reduce economic and educational inequality between blacks and whites. Indeed, they think that closing the gap would do more to promote racial equality than any other strategy now under serious discussion. The book offers a comprehensive look at the factors that contribute to the test score gap and discusses options for substantially reducing it. Although significant attempts have been made over the past three decades to shrink the test score gap, including increased funding for predominantly black schools, desegregation of southern schools, and programs to alleviate poverty, the median black American still scores below 75 percent of American whites on most standardized tests. The book brings together recent evidence on some of the most controversial and puzzling aspects of the test score debate, including the role of test bias, heredity, and family background. It also looks at how and why the gap has changed over the past generation, reviews the educational, psychological, and cultural explanations for the gap, and analyzes its educational and economic consequences. The authors demonstrate that traditional explanations account for only a small part of the black-white test score gap. They argue that this is partly because traditional explanations have put too much emphasis on racial disparities in economic resources, both inhomes and in schools, and on demographic factors like family structure. They say that successful theories will put more emphasis on psychological and cultural factors, such as the way black and white parents teach their chi

"In this brilliant, powerful book, four experts on clinical assessment expose the fatal flaws of the famous inkblot test. Casting their penetrating critique in gripping narrative form, Wood, Nezworski, Lilienfeld, and Garb have composed a requiem for the Rorschach that will fascinate anyone ...

"In this brilliant, powerful book, four experts on clinical assessment expose the fatal flaws of the famous inkblot test. Casting their penetrating critique in gripping narrative form, Wood, Nezworski, Lilienfeld, and Garb have composed a requiem for the Rorschach that will fascinate anyone interested in how clinical psychology is now transcending its prescientific past." - Richard J. McNally, Ph.D., professor, Harvard University, and author of Remembering Trauma "By demolishing the misconceptions and exposing the weaknesses of the Rorschach as it is currently used today, the authors have paved the way for this infamous psychological phoenix to rise again from the ashes." - Edwin E. Wagner, Ph.D., psychologist and author, The Hand Test and The Logical Rorschach "A much-needed rigorous analysis of the Rorschach, a must-read for anyone who cares about validity issues in clinical assessment." - Gerald C. Davison, Ph.D., professor and chair, Department of Psychology, University of Southern California "A thorough, scholarly, and devastating critique of the Rorschach inkblot test. Attorneys will no doubt find the book invaluable as an aid to prepare for cross-examination of psychologists who use the Rorschach in their work." - Solomon M. Fulero, Ph.D., J.D., psychologist and attorney, professor of psychology, Sinclair College, Dayton, Ohio "Wood and his coauthors provide such a fascinating history of the immortal Rorschach inkblot test that it's easy at first to miss the troubling implications of the tale. The well-told story is so engaging that one does not have to be a nerd or combatant in the Rorschach wars to read on for fun. The sense of a serious problem magnifies as the tale unfolds, and the reader realizes that important clinical and legal decisions still routinely depend on the results of this unreliable and invalid test." - James C. Coyne, Ph.D., professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania Medical School