Fragile Evidence

A Critique of Reading Assessment

By Sharon Murphy, With Patrick Shannon, Peter Johnston, Jane Hansen

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• ISBN: 978-0-8058-2529-9
• Binding: Hardback (also available in Paperback)
• Published by: Routledge
• Publication Date: 1st March 1998
• Pages: 224

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About the Book

Fragile Evidence--a critique of reading assessment informed by newly emerging conceptualizations of validity and reliability--brings psychometric theory, reading theory, and social critique to bear on reading assessment. Taking its lead from contemporary psychological theory and other fields which ponder the role of evidence and argumentation in making claims about social issues, this text examines the historical and contemporary ways in which such claims have been made for reading assessment. Traditional individualized and standardized tests are critiqued from a variety of perspectives. The assumptions and operational bases of contemporary revisionist assessments (e.g., large-scale performance-based assessments, authentic assessments, etc.) are considered in terms of what they include and what they omit. Collected here in one volume is a systematic analysis of several different reading assessment instruments and conceptualizations of reading assessment, with particular emphasis on the evidence of reading they provide--a type of analysis usually found only in separate articles in journals and edited volumes. This important volume:

* Offers a systematic (rather than generalized) critique of popular standardized norm-referenced group and individualized measures of reading.
*Looks at the consequential validity of standardized tests.
* Includes interviews with stakeholders who consider the question of how to describe reading without making reference to standardized tests.
* Considers how tools such as miscue analysis influence reform.
* Provides a critical analysis of contemporary reform efforts.

Table of Contents

Contents: Preface. Part I: Introduction. What Counts as Evidence of Reading? Evidence, Validity, and Assessment. Part II: The Validity of Standardized Tests From a Traditional Psychometric Perspective. Multiple-Choice Standardized Reading Tests in the Early 1990s. Individualized Assessment. Part III: The Validity of Standardized Tests From the Perspective of Their Use. P. Shannon, A Selective Social History of the Uses of Reading Tests. P. Johnston, The Consequences of the Use of Standardized Tests. Part IV: Moving Toward Alternatives. J. Hansen, Evaluation Is All Day, Noticing What's Happening: Multifaceted Evaluations of Readers. Toward Reform: Lessons From Miscue Analysis. Part V: Reform Initiatives. Reforms in Assessment: Perils and Possibilities. Toward a Revisioning of Reading Assessment: What Matters? Appendix: Attributes of Individualized and Group Tests Analyzed.

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