LCF Author's Novel Presents Moral Dilemma to Readers

To help people think about how tests are used in education today, novelist Ron Dietel has created a futuristic world where standardized test results determine whether kids go to good schools or bad schools.

The La Cañada resident wanted to find a topic that no one had broached, and with his background in education and the movement toward national tests in math and English Language Arts, Dietel produced The Perfect Test, a book that presents a moral dilemma to the main character and asks readers to think about how tests are really used today. Major portions of the mystery novel are set in La Cañada, Pasadena and Glendale.

“The message I want to get across is that we have to be careful about how tests are used. A test itself is not god or bad but are we using them to help children improve, or to improve the rankings of a school,’’ he said.

Dietel, the communications director for the UCLA Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards and Student Testing, where he has worked for 20 years, holds a PhD in educational evaluation and served on the La Cañada Unified School District governing board from 2001-05. 

The subject matter of his novel is timely right now, he said, because so many people are concerned about the amount of testing that goes on in public education. So far, more than 40 states have agreed to a set of common core academic standards and the federal government has invested $350 million to create tests that measure those standards, Dietel said.

In an email about his novel, Dietel quoted a review by Kathy Hernandez, PTA president of La Cañada High School, in which she called the book “gripping,’’ and added, “Let’s hope we don’t wind up like this…or have we?’’

A La Cañada resident since 1995, and a former LCUSD parent, Dietel wanted to give something back to the local, cash-strapped school district. He will donate all the proceeds he earns (60 percent of sales, the bookstore earns 40 percent) to the La Cañada Flintridge Educational Foundation.

“The schools are in such a difficult financial situation and I personally don’t need to make money on it. I have a job - I’m not a starving writer,’’ he said.

Dietel will talk about his novel and sign copies at 7:30 p.m. at , 1010 Foothill Blvd.