America’s “Failing” Schools by W. James Popham
Book Review

With America’s “Failing” Schools: How Parents and Teachers Can Cope with No Child Left Behind, W. James Popham has released an informative, clear, and thorough guide to understanding the tests that lie at the heart of the “No Child Left Behind” Act (NCLB). Popham addresses the reader directly throughout his remarkably concise book as he transforms the opaque provisions of NCLB and the complex world of educational testing into understandable language and convinces the reader that individuals have the agency to alter them for the better.

The book’s self-described goals are to “(1) alert you to key issues associated with the evaluation of school quality; (2) describe key elements of NCLB so that you understand why, if badly implemented, the law can reduce educational quality; (3) help you understand what sorts of achievement tests should or shouldn’t be used to satisfy the law; and (4) show you how a particular school ought to be evaluated.” [8] Popham begins by describing the requirements of NCLB, focusing on the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) provisions. Popham has a long history in education, and he narrates this issue like an educator, explaining the realities behind phrases such as “100% proficiency,” which tend to impress or please the general public.

Debunking the Tests
Popham goes on to discuss educational testing more generally. Popham emphasizes the idea that scores on standardized tests reflect “inferences,” and that no standardized test is a foolproof indicator of a student’s knowledge or abilities. Popham also explains the stark differences between aptitude and achievement tests, and the troubling failure of many state tests to accurately measure knowledge and achievement rather than innate ability. This is a consistent problem with educational tests, but Popham reveals some of the problems that have arisen specifically with the passage of NCLB, explaining “Given today’s test construction demands on measurement companies’ finite capacities, officials from some test development firms candidly confess that a number of their newly developed tests are not as good as they really should be.” [59]

Popham also calls into question the utility of individual student tests as the primary indicator of school quality. Tests are designed to obtain a range of scores, which means that the tests will very frequently avoid the very material that teachers consider most important, as teachers will spend more time on that material and, consequently, a higher proportion of students will receive high scores when tested on it. These tests are also very unlikely to be specifically tailored to the curricular goals of a particular state, and thus usually unable to distinguish the work of a superior teacher from that of a poor teacher. Even when carefully matched to state curriculum standards, those standards reflect the decisions of specialists who expect students to place disproportionate emphasis on material from their fields. Popham’s explanations masterfully debunk the tests and scores that lie behind NCLB school designations, which carry immense weight with the public in spite of their manifold weaknesses.

Reforming NCLB
Finally, Popham turns to the positive, outlining the three primary reforms that might help to make NCLB “instructionally supportive.” These three reforms are “the use of standards-based tests that (1) measure students’ mastery of a much smaller number of extraordinary significant content standards; (2) provide sufficiently clear descriptions regarding what was being assessed so that teachers, students, and their parents would understand what was to be tested; and (3) report test results so that an individual student’s per-standard status could be determined.” [86] Popham is certainly not dismissive of test-based accountability; rather, he outlines actual, if costly, ways the system might be made to work. Having set forth these potential improvements, Popham goes on to test his readers on their ability to look beyond test scores to decide the true success or failure of a school. Readers are invested with the knowledge necessary to accurately assess schools, and to push for reforms that might move those schools closer to a positive system of accountability.

Cracking the Code
The true excellence of Popham’s book lies in his ability to easily explain some of the more complex issues in educational testing. Popham uses straightforward language and illustrative examples, but presents his readers with sophisticated and clearly experience-based reasons why facets of our current system do not meet the needs of students, parents, or teachers. Popham also writes from a unique perspective; firmly ensconced within the education community, Popham is able to represent the interests of those for whom bureaucratic language and plentiful requirements make NCLB a difficult code to crack. Popham shows why it is important that individuals confront these requirements head on and take responsibility for the state of local schools while investing parents and educators with the tools to do so successfully.

Prepared by Nelly Ward, October 29, 2004