Customer Reviews

None of the Above, Revised: The Truth Behind the SATs (Culture and Education Series)

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I read this book when I was in 8th grade, before taking the PSAT or SAT or any achievement tests -- it helped me so much, because it gave me a framework to understand what the tests are actually designed to measure (*not* scholastic aptitude as such)... when it came time to take the tests, I already knew that I was being tested on my ability to read the testwriters' minds and figure out how they were trying to trick us! Knowing that saved a lot of heartache, and also made it easier to answer the test questions and improved my scores.

This book blows the cover of respectability and objectivity that has benefited ETS for decades. It exposes the company for what it is: a deceptive, revenue-hungry, socially-irresponsible organization. ETS calls itself a "non-profit institution" but this is shown to be a smokescreen. It is non-profit in the purely accounting sense in that it has no shareholders (it was founded by a grant by the Carnegie Foundation), but the company does everything it can to maximize revenue after costs. The employees pay themselves exorbiant salaries, and the campus includes tennis courts, riding paths, a golf course and a hotel! Also, the company does not even have an honest mailing address: all it has in Princeton is a mailbox! There is no relationship at all between ETS and Princeton University.

David Owen's book actually goes much further, and explains how the tests themselves are deeply flawed. They are not measures of aptitude, but are in fact highly coachable (a fact ETS has tried to hide for years). This book is a must read for anyone interested in the truth behind ETS and standardized tests.

This is a 1999 revised edition of David Owen's classic 1985 expose of the SAT and other Educational Testing Services tests. The first edition was in turn based on a series of earlier magazine articles, dating back to the early 80s. The revisions are fairly minimal: the vast majority of the material is well over 20 years old (and even the revisions date back almost a decade.)

There have been some changes in the SAT since 1999. The biggest is that the Educational Testing Service lost the SAT contract (something which Owen & Doerr said was virtually impossible, because of the symbiotic relationship between the two organizations.) The SAT is now administered by Pearson NCS. (ETS still adminsters many other standardized tests, however.) Another big change is that the analogies questioned have been eliminated.

The change which got so much publicity in 2005--- i.e., the addition of a third section with composition questions and an open-ended essay question--- was actually a relatively small one. The multiple choice portion of the composition test was merely an expanded version of the composition sections on the old Verbal test. Moreover, open-ended essay questions are nothing new: Owen even talks about how such questions are scored. (Basically, they are scored very quickly and superficially.)

Even though the book is out of date in some ways, in others it is more timely than ever. Especially since the passing of the
"No Child Left Behind" act, the standardized testing industry is more powerful than ever. (And it hasn't become much more competent--- or much less arrogant-- since Owen wrote his articles almost a quarter century ago.) In the 20th century, high-stakes testing was rare below the high school level. Students typically didn't encounter such tests until they took the PSAT and SAT in their junior year of high school. Now, however, standardized tests have been the central focus of the school year even for grade school students.

This is an engagingly written work which explains some potentially arcane material in very clear terms. And the issues raised are still valid!

And don't take a standardized test until you do, or if you know someone who suffers from test-anxiety over the SATs -- and virtually every high-school student in the U.S. who hopes to go to college probably does -- it's the best gift you can give. Just don't make it a graduation present: a student needs to have read it by the end of the sophomore year.

I'm betting Owen's book will improve the student's score and greatly reduce nervousness by showing how such standardized tests work (or more correctly, don't work.) Also, I think, Owen will help the student see that the score, high or low, doesn't really measure anything but skill at taking the SATs themselves.

I've recommended this book to dozens of students and parents and have never had anyone tell me I steered them wrong. Go ahead and read books about preparing for the SATs and maybe even take classes on improving your score, but read this book first.

This book is an expose of the Educational Testing Service (ETS) and the Scholastic Achievement Tests (SATs). The book states that the SATs measure only how well one does on the SAT and has no correlation to how well one will perform in school or out in the real world. The only correlation with high test scores is socioeconomic. Higher income families score higher on the SAT.

The book makes the ETS compound sound like the CIA. It is a non-profit company whose structure and compound set examples for corporate America.

While we like to think of the SAT as inherent to the American educational system, once you read this book you will have second thoughts. This book is definitely worth reading.

If you are looking for a book to help you understand academic testing and its negative impact on our culture, this is it.

David Owen is unique in that he both understands the advanced statistics behind these tests and has a real "voice" in telling his story. This book reads like a pleasant dinner conversation and is full of information that will keep you coming back for more.

This is the end all be all of SAT books.

This book was on my summer reading list. I read the first few chapters and have concluded that all this book does it Critisize the ETS and the SATs. We all know everyone hates the SATS and they are not fair but why do i need to hear two more people (the authors) whine and moan about something no one can help. I could really care less about some of the issues discussed in the first few chapters such as where the money the ETS makes goes. Again, i really dont need to read other peoples opinions about the SATs. I thought this book would be factual rather then critical.