Inspections and evaluations

Sometimes "the algorithm" sends me strange suggestions and this* is one of them. However, it resonated with me because I experienced something similar so (a) we can't rely on what we are told we can rely on and (b), as every teacher will tell you, a single evaluation (aka "high stakes testing") does not provide a complete or even an accurate picture.

Many, many years ago I bought a two-year-old Toyota Corolla from a Toyota dealership. It was "certified pre-owned" and boasted a 24-point checklist. Banners and fliers all over the dealership and their advertising, and the sales agreement itself repeatedly assured me I could have confidence in my new (to me) vehicle.

I had all the recommended servicing done at that dealership, and when I moved to a new school in a new city, I had the next rounds of servicing done at another Toyota dealership. After another couple of years, I said something to the service manager about a whistling or windshield noise and he said ... well, that happens when you have been in a crash. something somewhere was a little out of line allowing wind to flow through instead of around.

However, I hadn't been in a crash. If the vehicle had indeed been in a crash, it had been before I had bought it and thus before the 24-point checklist "certified pre-owned" inspection.

A little later, I was hit by some gravel on the freeway and had some windshield cracks so I called a mobile replacement service for a new windshield. In passing, the technician told me that some thing or other was a little out of true and he had used some stuff they had for compensating. How so I asked? Well, he said, my Corolla had been in a minor crash at some time.

Three possibilities come to mind. Firstly, that the dealership had deliberately lied and had fraudulently represented x as being y. Secondly, that the 24-point checklist focused in x and ignored y thus, even if the inspector had seen y, s/he was not required to tell anyone. Thirdly, that the whole 24-point checklist "certified pre-owned" inspection is deliberately presented as doing x, as offering comprehensive peace of mind, and obfuscating the fact that it does not do y and thus piece of mind would be more apt.

And in terms of education, this is the problem with evaluation and in particular, with high-stakes testing. Firstly, only x is measured and of course students are a combination of all the letters of the alphabet. Secondly, and more consequentially, while only x is tested, messaging leads the community to think other things or even everything can be measured within that one evaluation.

A bit of gunk fixed the result of my Corolla's faulty inspection. Gunk will not fix a faulty inspection of our students. 

**Please leave comments and queries below.**

Further Reading

Nissan Frontier Driver Finds Missing Frame Welds on Certified Pre-Owned Truck