I just came across this review of Todd Farley’s Making the Grades: My Misadventures in the Standardized Testing Industry. It’s by a retired middle school teacher in Oakland and was posted on The Education Report, Katy Murphy’s blog on Oakland schools.

Of course I was gratified that the reviewer, Steven Weinberg, enjoyed the book and endorsed Todd’s message. Even better that Todd’s humor had him and his wife in stitches. (Me, too.) But Weinberg took it a step further, adding his own experiences with the testing industry in California. Those experiences point to a disturbing lack of accountability and deepen the critique of the current testing regime.

When we acquired this book, we had teachers like Steven Weinberg in mind. Also concerned parents. Here’s the upshot of the review: “Making the Grades reveals some shocking truths about how we are judging schools and students; Farley’s book deserves a wide readership.” Amen!