Making a Grade : : Victorian Examinations and the Rise of Standardized Testing / / James Elwick.

• VerfasserIn: Elwick, James,
• Place / Publishing House: Toronto : : University of Toronto Press, , [2021]; ©2021
• Year of Publication: 2021
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (304 p.) :; 6 b&w illustrations
• Other title: Frontmatter --; Contents --; Figures --; Preface and Acknowledgments --; Introduction --; Part One: Examinations --; 1 “The Age of Examinations”: A Historical Sketch --; 2 Monetizing Marks: The Political Economy of Examinations --; 3 An Epistemology of the Mundane: Dissecting One Examination --; Part Two: Examiners --; 4 Daguerreotypes of the Mind: Paper, Partition, and Specialization --; 5 Machining Minds: Commensuration, Tabulation, and Standardization --; 6 Thin Descriptions: Credentials and Other Signals --; Part Three: Examinees --; 7 Learning and Earning: Coaching, Cramming, and Arms Races --; 8 Immoral Economies: How to Cheat on a Victorian Exam --; 9 Economies, Remoralized: Examinations as Technologies of Inclusion --; Conclusion --; Appendix A: Important Dates --; Appendix B: Biographical List --; Notes --; Bibliography --; Index
• Format: Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.
• ISBN: 9781487539344
• DOI: 10.3138/9781487539344
• Access: restricted access
• Hierarchical level: Monograph
• Statement of Responsibility: James Elwick.

Starting in the 1850s achievement tests became standardized in the British Isles, and were administered on an industrial scale. By the end of the century more than two million people had written mass exams, particularly in science, technology, and mathematics. Some candidates responded to this standardization by cramming or cheating; others embraced the hope that such tests rewarded not only knowledge but also merit. Written with humour, Making a Grade looks at how standardized testing practices quietly appeared, and then spread worldwide. This book situates mass exams, marks, and credentials in an emerging paper-based meritocracy, arguing that such exams often first appeared as "cameras" to neutrally record achievement, and then became "engines" to change education as people tailored their behaviour to fit these tests. Taking the perspectives of both examiners and examinees, Making a Grade claims that our own culture’s desire for accountability through objective testing has a long history.