Testing Wars in the Public Schools

“William Reese takes the reader back to the first standardized test in public school in the city of Boston in 1845… This book is a major addition to the role of schools in American society. People familiar with the arguments for and against testing will find similar arguments being talked about in 1845.”—Kevin Winter, San Francisco Book Review

“With Testing Wars in the Public Schools, Reese crafts a masterful examination of the roots of the testing culture in American education and the ramifications for administrators, teachers, and students.”—S. T. Schroth, Choice

“As Testing Wars in the Public Schools shows, written student examinations have always been entwined with public schools in the United States, and have been required, praised, and resented for generations. In this lively book, William Reese reveals the debates over rote memorization, threats to health, and even the use and misuse of statistics that were common in the 19th century as well as in the 21st. This highly original and thoughtful book is well worth reading.”—Maris Vinovskis, University of Michigan

“Written tests are the bête-noire of contemporary educational critics, who claim that the tests encourage a sterile and rote pedagogy. But in William Reese’s tale, they were originally part of reformers’ efforts to, yes, reform sterile and rote pedagogy! These stories—and a treasure-trove of other ones—come to life in this new look at the early years of American public schools.”—Jonathan Zimmerman, New York University