Correcting Fallacies about Educational and Psychological Testing

Standardized testing is used for diagnosis, selection, and to measure achievement in many social fields including psychology, education, employment, and professional credentialing. Its benefits are numerous and substantial but are not well articulated nor well publicized. In their technical communications, measurement specialists are mainly positive about the worth of standardized testing. Meanwhile, those sources that engage public debate tend to be less scientifically informed and more negative about the value of testing. Standardized testing bears the twin burden of controversy and complexity and is difficult for many to understand either dispassionately or technically.