Annotated Bibliography

Concepts, L. (2015, November 12). Standardized Test Definition. Retrieved November 04, 2017,

from http://edglossary.org/standardized-test/

This source says that standardized tests require students to answer the same types of

questions and is scored in a standard manner. Standardized tests consist of multiple

choice questions, true and false questions, and sometimes open-ended questions. There

are different tests such as assessment tests, aptitude tests, college admissions tests,

psychological tests, etc. There is a debate on whether standardized tests provide secure

evaluations on students intelligence. Test developers believe that educators should not

use standardized test scores as a measure of educational performance. This source helps

me give more details about what a standardized test is and helps me inform my audience

about standardized tests role in the educational setting is expected to be.

Frenette, L. (2015, March 06). Test stress and academic anxiety. Retrieved November 03, 2017,

from https://www.nysut.org/news/nysut-united/issues/2015/march-2015/test-stress-and-

academic-anxiety

A psychologist named, Shannon Miller, says that students anxiety is increasing as the

time goes. This source says that last year there was a large amount of students getting

sick and emotionally distressed over standardized tests they were facing at school. They

know that doing poorly on standardized test could affect the school and even teachers.

This causes students to feel pressured about passing or causes fear of failure. Before

interventions that psychologist provided for students, 18 out of 38 fourth graders reported

high levels of test anxiety. Children being stressed disrupts their ability to learn. This
 source benefits my research and shows that standardized tests cause too much stress that

can disrupt students everyday lives.

Mazzarella, J. A., National Association of Elementary School Principals, W. D., & ERIC

Clearinghouse on Educational Management, E. O. (1975). Accountability and Testing.

NAESP School Leadership Digest Second Series, Number 5. ERIC/CEM Research

Analysis Series, Number 20.

The author states that just like accountability, standardized testing has several different

meanings. Some believe that it has specific instructions for administration, is required to

meet certain standards, and is a published document. The author believes that these tests

indicate the capabilities of a certain student and provide educators with enough

information to compare to other students in the classroom. He states that standardized

tests serve well because they allow teachers to recognize problems in specific subjects.

On the other hand, he says that standardized test dont assess a students achievements,

but only allow the comparison of students. He says that these tests separate good from

poor students based on their native abilities. This book mentions that giving these tests

puts academic honesty at risk and only allows teachers to teach what is on the test rather

than the real material they wish to teach. This book would really help me prove that

standardized tests limits students learning experiences, as well as teachers abilities to

teach real life lessons that students could use in the future.

Popham, W. J. (1999). Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development Educational

Leadership. Why Standardized Tests Don't Measure Educational Quality, 1-10. Retrieved

November 03, 2017.

 This article talks about how standardized tests do not measure educational qualities. The

author states that unfortunately school officials tend to base a staffs effectiveness

through the process of standardized testing and how well students scored on them. He

believes that standardized tests do not provide accurate results of any schools readiness.

He states that these tests do not always cover what is taught locally, allow teachers to

avoid what material MOST students got correct which leads to avoidance of the few that

may have gotten it wrong, and dont take consideration in students native intellectual

ability and out of school learning. I can use this article to show my audience all the

negativity that standardized tests do to schools and students.

Prepare Our Kids for Life, Not Standardized Tests | Ted Dintersmith | TEDxFargo [Video file].

(2015, August 25). Retrieved November 03, 2017, from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rvhb9aoyeZs

The speaker on this TED talk asks the audience what skills schools should be covering

that would be useful to their lives. He makes a list that includes problem solving, team

work, character traits, setting goals, learning how to learn, finding your passion and

purpose in life, etc. He makes a chart and divides them into two sections, one with things

that are irrelevant and the other with topics that prepare students for life. He ended up

having to add a third column that consisted of objectives that would jeopardize childrens

prospects in life. He began to visit schools to spread the message that schools should be

about possibility and hope rather than to be about placement and percentile measurements

of standardized tests. He says that we should all be aware that our country is the most

innovative and is in need of intellectual skills. We should educate to our strengths rather

than focusing on beating other countries such as China, on standardized tests. He says we
 should make the center of education about engagement and purpose in order to prepare

kids for the future. This TED talk helps provide me with more reasons to bring awareness

to educators and the community about the limitations that standardized testing in schools

are causing to students.

Standardized Tests - ProCon.org. (n.d.). Retrieved November 04, 2017, from

https://standardizedtests.procon.org/

This source talks about the pros and cons on standardized testing. The pros list says that

standardized testing makes sure all tests are the same for every student. Teaching to the

test is important because teachers wont waste time teaching irrelevant material. These test

focus on topics that students need to master. On the other hand, the cons lists mentions

that standardized tests measure a small portion of material that makes educational

meaningful. Standardized tests create high levels of stress to students. These tests take

away from a childs creativity and dumb them down. This source helps me support my

stance on what standardized tests do to students and can help me get the community to

speak up about the limitations that these tests cause.

Strauss, V. (October 11). Teacher: What happened when I stopped viewing my students as data

points. The Washington Post. Retrieved November 03, 2017, from

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2017/10/11/teacher-what-

happened-when-i-stopped-viewing-my-students-asdatapoints/?utm_term=.8b32b194ca6c

Justin Parmenter started his teaching career thinking he would be able to change all his

students lives. Based on students poor grades he began to beat himself up about not

being able to teach his students correctly. Parmenter kept viewing his students as just data

points and when he stopped he realized that students began to participate and actually
show up to his class. He states that one of the best decisions of his life was to make sure

that his teachings were relevant to his students experiences rather than covering what is

going to appear on a test. He says that standardized tests were biased against his students,

but he made sure that his teaching wasnt. He began to change students lives. This

Newspaper article helps me prove that when teachers teach material that is relevant to

real life, students will have more passion to attend class rather than just learning about

what is going to appear on a standardized test.