Educational Testing Practice and Policy Evolution: 1980s to 2019

Abstract

This article traces the changes that have occurred in educational testing, mainly from the 1980s to 2019. It includes both a description of the changes and the external influences that brought about those changes in educational testing. Much of those influences were due to changes in educational policy and the progress made in the development of computer technology. To give a context for the changes, the development of educational testing from its early inception in the 1840s to the 1980s is briefly summarized. These historic developments came about both from policy changes within educational organizations and interests in the scientific study of individual differences. These major influences merged because of the need to screen inductees into military service during World War I. This built the infrastructure for educational testing that is still evolving today. A major theme is the influence of federal educational policies on state testing programs. Those policies have had a major impact on the form and amount of testing that takes place in schools. A brief summary is given at the end of this article of research and development work in the past few years. This summary is provided with the goal of giving some projections for the possible nature of educational testing in the future.