Overtested

This timely book explores what is often overlooked in policy debates about the education of English language learners: how the day-to-day dynamics of the classroom are affected by high-stakes testing and the pressures students and teachers experience and internalize as a result. The author presents and analyzes classroom observations, student work, and test scores, as well as interviews with students and teachers. A disturbing picture of today's overtested public school classroom emerges from the events and practices described in this book. While hard to believe, all the depictions presented took place in a real elementary school classroom and reflect the current culture of extreme accountabililty.