Transitions in Work and Learning: Implications for Assessment (1997)
Chapter: Front Matter
NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competencies and with regard for appropriate balance.
This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.
This study was supported by Grant No. K43173008060 between the National Academy of Sciences and the National Office of School-to-Work Opportunities, U.S. Department of Education. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Transitions in work and learning: implications for assessment / Alan Lesgold, Michael J. Feuer, and Allison M. Black, editors.
p. cm.
Papers presented at a conference in March 1996.
"Board on Testing and Assessment, Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, National Research Council."
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-309-06365-5 (pbk).
1. Vocational evaluation—United States. 2. School-to-work transition—United States. 3. Vocational education—United States. 4. Occupational training—United States. 5. Labor market—United States. I. Lesgold, Alan M. II. Feuer, Michael J. III. Black, Allison M. IV. National Research Council (U.S.). Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Board on Testing and Assessment.
LC1048.V63.T73 1997
370.11'3'0973—dc21
97-21176
CIP
Additional copies of this report are available from the
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Copyright 1997 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
BOARD ON TESTING AND ASSESSMENT
RICHARD J. SHAVELSON (Chair),
School of Education, Stanford University
LAURIE J. BASSI (Vice-Chair),
American Society for Training and Development, Washington, DC
ROBERT L. LINN (Vice-Chair),
School of Education, University of Colorado
RICHARD C. ATKINSON, President,
University of California
IRALINE G. BARNES,
Potomac Electric Power Co., Washington, DC
DAVID C. BERLINER,
College of Education, Arizona State University
PAUL J. BLACK,
School of Education, King's College, London
RICHARD P. DURÁN,
Graduate School of Education, University of California, Santa Barbara
CHRISTOPHER F. EDLEY, JR.,
Harvard Law School
RICHARD F. ELMORE,
Graduate School of Education, Harvard University
ARTHUR S. GOLDBERGER,
Department of Economics, University of Wisconsin, Madison
PAUL W. HOLLAND,
Graduate School of Education, University of California, Berkeley
CARL F. KAESTLE,
Department of Education, University of Chicago
MICHAEL W. KIRST,
School of Education, Stanford University
ALAN M. LESGOLD,
Learning Research and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh
KENNETH PEARLMAN,
Lucent Technologies, Inc., Warren, NJ
PAUL R. SACKETT,
Industrial Relations Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
ALAN H. SCHOENFELD,
Graduate School of Education, University of California, Berkeley
WILLIAM L. TAYLOR, Attorney,
Washington, DC
EWART A.C. THOMAS,
Department of Psychology, Stanford University
JACK WHALEN,
Institute for Research on Learning, Menlo Park, CA
MICHAEL J. FEUER, Director
ALLISON M. BLACK, Research Associate
KATHLEEN GUIDROZ, Research Associate
ADRIENNE F. CARRINGTON, Administrative Assistant
JANICE LIVERANCE, Administrative Assistant
VOLUME CONTRIBUTORS
LARRY CUBAN,
School of Education, Stanford University
MICHAEL J. FEUER,
Board on Testing and Assessment, National Research Council
HARRY J. HOLZER,
Department of Economics, Michigan State University
GLYNDA HULL,
College Writing Programs, University of California, Berkeley
ALAN LESGOLD,
Learning Research and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh
ROBERT J. MISLEVY,
Educational Testing Service, Princeton, NJ
BONALYN NELSON,
School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell University
DENNIS PARKER, NAACP
Legal Defense and Education Fund, New York, NY
KENNETH PEARLMAN,
Lucent Technologies, Sarasota, FL
LAUREN B. RESNICK,
Learning Research and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh
NEAL SCHMITT,
School of Education, Michigan State University
RICHARD J. SHAVELSON,
School of Education, Stanford University
ROBERT ZEMSKY,
Institute for Research on Higher Education, University of Pennsylvania
Acknowledgments
Many members of the Board on Testing and Assessment helped in the design of the March 1996 conference and in the review of the papers included in this volume. We are especially grateful to Alan Lesgold, who chaired the conference and whose active involvement in all aspects of the board's work has been invaluable. In addition to chairing the conference, Alan contributed his own paper, which provides a particularly enriching blend of ideas about the current and future status of work and testing. Board members Lauri Bassi, Art Goldberger, Bob Linn, Carl Kaestle, Paul Sackett, Bill Taylor, and Jack Whalen played a major role in framing the conference, reading the papers, and offering invaluable commentary. Former board members James Outtz and Brigitte Jordan also provided important guidance and commentary. We are grateful to all these individuals for their tireless efforts on behalf of the board.
The board also asked an outside group of experts to serve on an ad hoc advisory committee. We thank Vicki Vanderveer, David Grissmer, and Anne Borthwick for their time, energy, and excellent contributions.
BOTA staff member Allison Black was primarily responsible for the difficult and complex tasks of managing the editorial and logistical aspects of the book. Karen Mitchell read early drafts and helped in numerous important ways.
Finally, we wish to acknowledge the National Office of School-to-Work Opportunities for its interest in and financial support of this project. In particular, Nevzer Stacey deserves special credit for her unflagging dedication to the principle that good human resources policy deserves (and requires) good science.
Richard J. Shavelson, Chair
Michael J. Feuer, Director
Board on Testing and Assessment
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Contents
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1 Introduction |
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I |
THE KNOWLEDGE GAP: RHETORIC AND EVIDENCE |
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2 Is There a Gap Between Employer Skill Needs and the Skills of the Work Force? |
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3 Skills and the Economy: An Employer Context for Understanding the School-to-Work Transition |
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II |
WHAT IS WORK? RHETORIC AND ETHNOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE |
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4 Should Social Skills Be in the Vocational Curriculum? Evidence from the Automotive Repair Field |
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5 Manufacturing the New Worker: Literate Activities and Working Identities in a High-Performance Versus a Traditionally Organized Workplace |
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III |
ASSESSING ASSESSMENT: WHAT WE KNOW HOW TO MEASURE, WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW |
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6 Twenty-First Century Measures for Twenty-First Century Work |
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7 Postmodern Test Theory |
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IV |
CAUTION FLAGS |
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8 Legal Restrictions on Assessments |
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9 Assessment Without Adverse Impact |
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V |
VISIONS OF THE SCHOOL-TO-WORK TRANSITION |
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10 What Policy Makers and Experts See (and Do Not See) in School-to-Work Transitions |
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11 Getting to Work: Thoughts on the Function and Form of the School-to-Work Transition |
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12 Transitions in Work and Learning |
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Transitions in Work and Learning
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