Seductive Allure Of Data Summary

We all know how assessment data can be useful for teachers to improve and validate instruction. For James Popham, not all assessment data can be used this way. In his article “The Seductive Allure of Data,” he warns that there are wrong kinds of data to be using and gives examples of what instructionally useful tests and data are. He also gives and defines five attributes that he says make a test instructionally useful. The given attributes were significance, teachability, describability, reportability, and nonintrusiveness. The article did not include any hard evidence as to how these useful tests would help or have helped teachers improve instruction. However, I do not see where any evidence would be necessary. It seems obvious that tests

The first attribute is significance. In other words, this type of test must assess important skills or information. “It makes no sense to assess students’ mastery of such trifling knowledge as esoteric terms or dates associated with obscure historical events” (Popham, 2013). The second attribute he describes is teachability. To me, teachability links heavily to significance since insignificant information is often not teachable. Students cannot fully master information that is meaningless to them or that cannot be taught effectively by the teacher. Teachers also cannot give instruction on the innate knowledge that students get from the world outside of school. Next on the list is describability. In other words, an instructionally useful test clearly list or describe what it measures. These lists cannot be vague or have multiple meanings. Reportablity or a test that yields specific results on the effectiveness of a teacher’s instruction is the next attribute he describes. Without knowing what parts of instruction were effective or unsuccessful, a teacher cannot make corrections to instruction and improve understanding. Lastly, he describes that a test must have nonintrusiveness. Testing time should not take more than one or two class periods or it will take away from instructional time. When instructional time is taken the student not only does not learn from the test but also does not get the opportunity to learn in instructional class