Unraveling the Assessment Industrial Complex: Understanding how Testing Perpetuates Inequity and Injustice in America: By Michelle Tenam-Zemach, Daniel R. Conn, and Paul T. Parkison

BOOK REVIEW

When the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was enacted in 2002, public schools faced the challenge of introducing new standards and goals and the associated mandate of administering “approved” standardized tests to measure these standards and goals. While NCLB was not entirely new, it was a significant update of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and included substantial corrective measures for schools in which students could not demonstrate mastery of these new standards. Tenam-Zemach et al. (2021) assert that this new accountability platform enabled what they call, the Assessment Industrial Complex (AIC), to take hold. Their book attempts to provide historical context and outline the problematic impact these tests have had on stakeholders.