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July 3, 2013 Contact: Katya HutnikFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 607-342-1145
Hidden Consequences of TestsProfessor speaks out on aptitude and integrity testing
Think back to high school and remember the months of practice questions, prep
classes and continuous studying you did for the SAT or ACT. Now imagine that you
never had to take the SAT or ACT.
An anthropology professor at the University of Maryland, Allan F. Hanson, is a
strong believer that aptitude and most integrity testing should become a thing of the past.
In his book, Testing Testing: Social Consequences of the Examined Life, Hanson
explores the hidden consequences of American societys addiction to tests.
The American preoccupation with testing has resulted in panoply of techniques
dedicated to scanning, probing, weighing, pursuing and recording every last detail of our
personal traits and life experiences, Hanson says.
As a solution Hanson recommends eliminating most drug tests, intelligence and
aptitude tests, and lie detector or integrity tests. Some college admissions offices no
longer require scores from aptitude test such as, the ACT, the SAT or the GMAT as an
application requirement because it limits the application pool and provides an unfair
advantage to those who cannot afford test preparatory classes.
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Hanson believes this is proof that it should be possible to eliminate these tests all
together.
Of all the forms of testing Hanson describes lie detector testing as a pornographic
look into a persons private thoughts. He says, The test taker is powerless to conceal or
control anything, and the results are often unreliable. Yet people whose character may be
under public scrutiny submit to and even request polygraph tests to establish credibility.
Hanson does however approve of tests that measure performance, such as what a
student has learned in class or skill mastered for a job. He claims those tests are useful
unlike tests that predict behavior or aptitude.
Hanson uses IQ testing as an example to provide reasoning behind his stance. He
argues that scores from IQ testing can cause permanent consequences for children. These
scores are used to assign people to various intelligence categories: genius, slow learner,
security risk and in time affect how people are treated and think of themselves long-term.
People are examined and evaluated less for qualifications or knowledge they
already possess than for what the test results can predict about future actions or potential
behavior. Hanson said. If Hanson has it his way future students can say goodbye to
taking tests like the ACT and SAT and the months of preparation questions, tests and
classes.
The book is available for purchase at local bookstores, or by contacting Cicourel
at UC Press, 2120 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, CA. 94720.
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