Beyond the Tyranny of Testing

Measurement-based assessment has dominated our educational systems at the expense of the learning and the well-being of students and teachers. In this book, Gergen and Gill propose a radical alternative to this broken system, which is based instead on an inspirational conception of schools as sites of collective meaning-making and a relational orientation to evaluation. The authors acknowledge that it is within the process of relating that the world comes to be meaningful for us, and equally, learning and well-being are embedded in relational process, which testing and grades undermine.
Providing detailed illustrations using cases from pioneering schools around the globe at both the primary and secondary level, this book demonstrates how a relational orientation to evaluation in education can enhance learning processes, foster students' engagement, vitalize relationships, and elevate the evaluation of teaching and the school as a whole. Featuring collaborative learning, dialogic pedagogy, and flexible curricula, relational evaluation truly speaks to the demands of a rapidly changing world.

Kenneth J. Gergen is Senior Research Professor in Psychology at Swarthmore College and the President of the Taos Institute. He is internationally known for his contributions to social constructionist theory, technology and cultural change, the self, and relational practices. His major writings include Realities and Relationships: Soundings in Social Construction, The Saturated Self: Dilemmas of Identity in Contemporary Life, and Relational Being: Beyond Self and Community. Gergen lectures throughout the world and has received numerous awards for his work, including honorary degrees in both the U.S. and Europe. Scherto R. Gill is Senior Fellow at the GHFP Peace Research Institute, Visiting Fellow at the University of Sussex, and Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA). Through research, international project development, and writing, she actively explores ways to foster practices of transformative dialogue, the ethics of caring, whole person development, and global peace. Her most recent books include Ethical Education: Towards an Ecology of Human Development, Human-Centered Education: A Handbook and Practical Guide, and Education as Humanisation.

PrefaceChapter 1 Beyond the Tyranny of TestingChapter 2 Education as Relational ProcessChapter 3 Toward Relation-Centered EvaluationChapter 4 Relational Evaluation in Primary EducationChapter 5 Relational Evaluation in Secondary EducationChapter 6 Relational Approaches to Evaluating TeachingChapter 7 Relational Approaches to School EvaluationChapter 8 Relational Evaluation and Educational TransformationChapter 9 Toward Systemic Transformation in Education