Popham videos

[George Sheridan <learn@JPS.NET>]

Giving free rein to satire, Jim Popham showed NEA leaders a video entitled,
"How to raise test scores creatively." Posing as an infomercial for
Test-Boosters, whose slogan is "Test Scores--Up Yours!" he declared that
there is far too much authentic assessment going on. Test Boosters will
help teachers and administrators raise scores with creative techniques
including:
   * Catch them in the cradle!
   * Rent-a-ringer
   * Pseudo-security strategies
   * Truly "focused" curriculum improvement by taking pictures of test pages
   * But remember: "The real key to higher scores is a test answer key."
A second video on "The legal perils of tawdry testing" should scare the
pants off every member of your school board. This time playing the role of
spokesman for a law firm seeking clients to sue school districts, Popham
explains the many ways a district could be held liable for assessment
malpractice. We're not just talking about SAT-9!

He didn't advertise his materials, but he has staff development materials
including 19 videotapes (mostly serious) and three books related to
assessment literacy available separately or as a package. They cover
assessment fundamentals, accountability, classroom assessment, assessment
innovations, and introducing parents to assessment. For more information,
email iox@loop.com or phone (310) 822-3275.

George Sheridan

You can count the number of seeds in an apple, but you can't count the
number of apples in a seed.