PREFACE

This is a book written for parents who want to improve their children's educational experiences. It's a book about school testing. I've tried to keep the book's content as simple as I can, but even I am reluctant to characterize the book as a "fun read." It has neither a plot nor a story line. And the book's main character is you.

Even though the book deals with an important topic, I've tried to maintain a light writing style, tossing in an occasional bit of whimsy to keep you alert. You'll also find a number of test-related cartoons to make the book somewhat more parent-palatable. If you read only the cartoons, however, you may miss much of the book's content.

Let me be clear about one thing. I want parents to read this book. School testing has, in recent decades, become really significant stuff. School testing now influences what teachers teach, how educators are evaluated, and whether children are successful in school. Parents should be playing pivotal roles regarding the use of school tests. But parents can't really participate as they should in dealing with school tests if they are uninformed about school testing.

Informed parents, however, can make an enormous difference in the way that educational tests are used. If you finish this book, you'll be in a position to make a genuine contribution to your own child's education and to the education of your child's classmates.

I've been wanting to write this book for a number of years now. I think both the topic (school testing) and the audience (parents) are as important as they come.

During three decades as a faculty member in the UCLA Graduate School of Education, I've written a good many books. (Professors are supposed to do that.) But I've never tried to write a more potentially useful book than this.

I hope you'll read this book about school tests from cover to cover. If you do, you'll not immediately move to a higher tax bracket, but it will help your child get a better education.

W.J.P.