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Commentary: What Policymakers Who Mandate Tests Should Know About the New Psychology of Intellectual Ability and Learning

Publisher: Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers

This commentary translates for policymakers the most important findings from the "new psychology" of intelligence and learning, and summarizes the implications of our current knowledge for assessment practices. The commentary is organized into three parts: (1) summaries and critiques of each chapter; (2) consensus views, summarizing across chapters what cognitive science tells us today about the nature of intelligence and the nature of learning and achievement; (3) implications of the new psychology for three assessment applications: classroom assessment, assessment for special placement and tracking, and accountability assessment.