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Unhinged: Reading Comprehension Tests as Gatekeepers to Teaching.

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Title: Unhinged: Reading Comprehension Tests as Gatekeepers to Teaching.
Authors: White, John Wesley (AUTHOR), Dinsmore, Daniel L. (AUTHOR)
Source: Reading Psychology. Nov/Dec2024, Vol. 45 Issue 8, p900-919. 20p.
Subjects: Comprehension testing, Teacher education, State departments of education, Prerequisites (Education), Assessment of education, Test-taking skills, Reading comprehension
Abstract: A teacher's ability to read effectively is critical to that individual's ability to teach reading skills. Correspondingly, most state departments of education require that prospective teachers earn a passing score on a standardized reading comprehension test before they can enter university-based teacher education programs or otherwise get a professional teaching license. Having witnessed quality candidates get pushed away from teaching due to poor performance on the our state's reading comprehension measure and given that previous studies have shed doubt on the construct validity of major standardized assessments (e.g., the SAT and ACT), we examined the validity of our state's standardized reading assessment for teachers. Using data generated by 115 college-aged participants in a prerequisite course for our teacher education programs, we found that our state's assessment did little to measure reading comprehension. Instead, it measured students' test-taking skills. This is exceptionally problematic because tests like this one keep significant numbers of qualified and motivated individuals from entering the teaching profession. Worse, due to the oft-researched relationship between test-taking skills to the socioeconomic background of the test-taker, these impacts may be exponentially worse for individuals from minority and lower socioeconomic backgrounds, thereby further reducing their opportunities to teach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Reading Psychology is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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  Data: Unhinged: Reading Comprehension Tests as Gatekeepers to Teaching.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22White%2C+John+Wesley%22">White, John Wesley</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Dinsmore%2C+Daniel+L%2E%22">Dinsmore, Daniel L.</searchLink> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Reading+Psychology%22">Reading Psychology</searchLink>. Nov/Dec2024, Vol. 45 Issue 8, p900-919. 20p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Comprehension+testing%22">Comprehension testing</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teacher+education%22">Teacher education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22State+departments+of+education%22">State departments of education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Prerequisites+%28Education%29%22">Prerequisites (Education)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Assessment+of+education%22">Assessment of education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Test-taking+skills%22">Test-taking skills</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Reading+comprehension%22">Reading comprehension</searchLink>
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  Data: A teacher's ability to read effectively is critical to that individual's ability to teach reading skills. Correspondingly, most state departments of education require that prospective teachers earn a passing score on a standardized reading comprehension test before they can enter university-based teacher education programs or otherwise get a professional teaching license. Having witnessed quality candidates get pushed away from teaching due to poor performance on the our state's reading comprehension measure and given that previous studies have shed doubt on the construct validity of major standardized assessments (e.g., the SAT and ACT), we examined the validity of our state's standardized reading assessment for teachers. Using data generated by 115 college-aged participants in a prerequisite course for our teacher education programs, we found that our state's assessment did little to measure reading comprehension. Instead, it measured students' test-taking skills. This is exceptionally problematic because tests like this one keep significant numbers of qualified and motivated individuals from entering the teaching profession. Worse, due to the oft-researched relationship between test-taking skills to the socioeconomic background of the test-taker, these impacts may be exponentially worse for individuals from minority and lower socioeconomic backgrounds, thereby further reducing their opportunities to teach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Reading Psychology is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1080/02702711.2024.2379262
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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      – SubjectFull: Comprehension testing
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Teacher education
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      – SubjectFull: State departments of education
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      – SubjectFull: Prerequisites (Education)
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      – SubjectFull: Test-taking skills
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      – SubjectFull: Reading comprehension
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              Text: Nov/Dec2024
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