Draft Book Review of, ‘Beyond the Big Test: Noncognitive Assessment in Higher Education’, William E. Sedlacek, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 2004, ISBN: 0787960209, 273 Pp.
3 Pages Posted: 17 Oct 2017
Date Written: 2004
Abstract
The book comes with much high praise as the six testimonials included show. For those keen to know about dimensions of size: the book has nine chapters of exposition and argument, 85 pages of appendices, chock full of heuristics you can use immediately to develop and assess programs, faculty, facilities, and candidates for admission. There are also 30 pages of references, list of names and the index. So, basically, a third of the book is a toolkit and extensive reference material rather than description, analysis, evaluation and review. Nevertheless, the two thirds that do cover these areas are more than ample. Sedlacek has been researching, testing and advocating alternatives to the “Big Test” approach for over thirty years now.
Keywords: Non-Cognitive Variables, College Admission Tests, Racism, Widening Access
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