The Testing Charade: Pretending to Make Schools Better by Daniel Koretz covers the unintended negative consequences of the test-based school and teacher accountability system forced on schools by federal legislation. In addition to outright cheating, he also points out how test prep leads to bad teaching and how non tested subjects are given short shrift. As policymakers remain in denial about the failure of this system, it is works like this that give us hope.

Counting What Counts: Reframing Education Outcomes by Yong Zhao and friends takes on the current system with its focus on standardized tests and their sole focus on cognitive skills. Chapters are devoted to defining a variety of non-cognitive skills that are connected with success in life and the current status of how to assess them. They make a case for a new paradigm that would move the system towards more personalized learning and assessment with more focus on non-cognitive skills. Be sure to add this fine book to your professional development library.