Making a Grade

Victorian Examinations and the Rise of Standardized Testing

James Elwick (Autor)

Buch | Hardcover

304 Seiten

2021
University of Toronto Press (Verlag)
978-1-4875-0893-7 (ISBN)

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Making a Grade takes historiographic and sociological perspectives developed to understand large-scale scientific and technical systems and uses them to highlight the standardization that went into "standardized testing."

Starting in the 1850s achievement tests became standardized in the British Isles, and were administered on an industrial scale. By the end of the century more than two million people had written mass exams, particularly in science, technology, and mathematics. Some candidates responded to this standardization by cramming or cheating; others embraced the hope that such tests rewarded not only knowledge but also merit.

Written with humour, Making a Grade looks at how standardized testing practices quietly appeared, and then spread worldwide. This book situates mass exams, marks, and credentials in an emerging paper-based meritocracy, arguing that such exams often first appeared as "cameras" to neutrally record achievement, and then became "engines" to change education as people tailored their behaviour to fit these tests. Taking the perspectives of both examiners and examinees, Making a Grade claims that our own culture’s desire for accountability through objective testing has a long history.

James Elwick is an associate professor in the Department of Science and Technology Studies at York University.

List of Figures
Preface and Acknowledgments

Introduction

Part One: Examinations
1 “The Age of Examinations”: A Historical Sketch
2 Monetizing Marks: The Political Economy of Examinations
3 An Epistemology of the Mundane: Dissecting One Examination

Part Two: Examiners
4 Daguerreotypes of the Mind: Paper, Partition, and Specialization
5 Machining Minds: Commensuration, Tabulation, and Standardization
6 Thin Descriptions: Credentials and Other Signals

Part Three: Examinees
7 Learning and Earning: Coaching or Cramming?
8 Immoral Economies: How to Cheat on a Victorian Exam
9 Economies, Remoralized: Examinations as Technologies of Inclusion

Conclusion

Appendix A: Important Dates
Appendix B: Biographical List
Notes
Bibliography
Index

List of Figures
Preface and Acknowledgments

Introduction

Part One: Examinations
1. “The Age of Examinations”: A Historical Sketch
2. Monetizing Marks: The Political Economy of Examinations
3. An Epistemology of the Mundane: Dissecting One Examination

Part Two: Examiners
4. Daguerreotypes of the Mind: Paper, Partition, and Specialization
5. Machining Minds: Commensuration, Tabulation, and Standardization
6. Thin Descriptions: Credentials and Other Signals

Part Three: Examinees
7. Learning and Earning: Coaching or Cramming?
8. Immoral Economies: How to Cheat on a Victorian Exam
9. Economies, Remoralized: Examinations as Technologies of Inclusion

Conclusion

Appendix A: Important Dates
Appendix B: Biographical List
Notes
Bibliography

Erscheinungsdatum	27.05.2021
Zusatzinfo	6 b&w illustrations
Verlagsort	Toronto
Sprache	englisch
Maße	159 x 235 mm
Gewicht	580 g
Themenwelt	Sozialwissenschaften ► Pädagogik ► Allgemeines / Lexika
Themenwelt	Sozialwissenschaften ► Pädagogik ► Erwachsenenbildung
ISBN-10	1-4875-0893-X / 148750893X
ISBN-13	978-1-4875-0893-7 / 9781487508937
Zustand	Neuware