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Making a Grade : Victorian Examinations and the Rise of Standardized Testing / James Elwick.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: Toronto : University of Toronto Press, [2021]Copyright date: 2021Description: 1 online resource (304 p.) : 6 b&w illustrationsContent type:
Media type:
Carrier type:
ISBN:
  • 9781487508937
  • 9781487539344
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 371.26/2094109034 23
LOC classification:
  • LB3056.G7 E49 2021
Other classification:
  • online - DeGruyter
Online resources:
Contents:
Frontmatter -- Contents -- 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, Cramming, and Arms Races -- 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
Summary: 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.
Holdings
Item type Current library Call number URL Status Notes Barcode
eBook eBook Biblioteca "Angelicum" Pont. Univ. S.Tommaso d'Aquino Nuvola online online - DeGruyter (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Online access Not for loan (Accesso limitato) Accesso per gli utenti autorizzati / Access for authorized users (dgr)9781487539344

Frontmatter -- Contents -- 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, Cramming, and Arms Races -- 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

restricted access online access with authorization star

http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_16ec

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.

Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.

In English.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 19. Oct 2024)