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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Nov. 12, 2012 ABIGAIL JAFFE - PUBLIC RELATIONS COORDINATOR Phone: (240) 723-2094 Email: abigailjaffe@gmail.com

Most testing should be eliminated, university professor says Most tests are missing the boat, according to professors book
COLLEGE PARK, Md. American society is addicted to tests, and most of them should be eliminated, University of Maryland anthropology professor F. Allan Hanson wrote in his new book. The book, Testing Testing: Social Consequences of the Examined Life, discusses the consequences of drug tests, intelligence and aptitude tests, and lie detector or integrity tests. The American preoccupation with testing has resulted in a panoply of techniques dedicated to scanning, probing, weighing, perusing and recording every last detail of our personal traits and life experiences, Hanson said. He recommends eliminating much of the testing used to predict behavior and aptitudes. He also said IQ tests can have undesirable consequences, and may become life sentences for children with very high or low scores. Hanson explained that tests assign people to various categories, and people act based on the expectations for those categories. (more)

Decisions are made about people not on the basis of what they have done, or even what they certainly will do, but in terms of what they might do, Hanson said. Some college admissions offices no longer require scores from traditional aptitude tests such as the ACT, SAT or the GMAT as application requirements.

Testing for success Hanson said tests that measure performance are useful, but he recommends eliminating integrity testing, and only testing for drugs when abuse is suspected or when testing for anabolic steroids in athletic competition. Hanson finds lie detectors the lowest form of testing, and compares them to a pornographic gaze into a persons private thoughts. He said the test-taker cant conceal or control anything, and the results are often unreliable. The future will likely produce even more detailed knowledge of each individual as new genetic tests and DNA fingerprinting are developed, Hanson said. The book is available at local bookstores or can be obtained by contacting Denise Cicourel at: UC Press, 2120 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, CA 94720 or at www.amazon.com. For more information, media representatives should contact University Relations at (301) 405-1000. To learn more, visit Marylands anthropology department at www.anth.umd.edu.

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