Colloquium: Where Does Standardized Testing Fit in Our Department…If Anywhere?

Where Does Standardized Testing Fit in Our Department…If Anywhere?

Our department trains undergraduate students to be critical readers, clear writers, introspective thinkers, and pluralistic perspective takers. Their English degrees have value. But does this training also prepare students for standardized tests like the MTEL or the GRE?  Should it? In this colloquium, we will consider the MTEL, the exam taken by Massachusetts’s future high school English teachers, whose 100 questions test students on their skills in critical reading, clear writing, and pluralistic perspective taking. Many of our recent graduates take this test.  What might we learn if we look at their performance on it?

Moderated by Jenny Adams, David Fleming, and Rebecca Lorimer Leonard.