Bowen 1

Izzy Bowen

Jamey Dunham

English Composition 1201

17 Mar 2019

Annotated Bibliography

My essay will attempt to answer how standardized tests accurately measure a student’s

intelligence. I want to know when and how standardized testing began. I want to know how the

teachers teach differently now. I also want to know how these tests impact the students.

Barrington, Kate. “How Does Standardized Testing Affect Teaching Quality?”

PublicSchoolReview.com, 5 Feb. 2018, www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/how-does-

standardized-testing-affect-teaching-quality.

This article, written by Kate Barrington, talks about how standardized testing started with

Common Core. Common core started in the early 2000s. According to Barrington, “The

Common Core State Standards Initiative is designed to ensure that students across the country

receive a similar quality of education.” (How Does Standardized Testing Affect Teaching

Quality?). Common Core is supposed to make sure that each student gets a similar education, so

each student has an equal opportunity after high school.

Barrington talks about how the standards of common core do not work for every school

and every student. Barrington also talks about how the biggest problem of Common Core is their

force on standardized tests. Standardized tests are tests that see if students have enough

knowledge to go on to college. These tests determine if a person graduates or not. Schools make

their curriculum around the standards of Common Core. Instead of teachers teaching them the
 Bowen 2

way they think is right, they teach only what will be on the test. She talks about how

standardized testing has actually decreased the instructional quality.

I plan on using this article in my essay by using the information about Common Core. I

will talk about how standardized testing was brought with Common Core. I will also be able to

talk about how teachers are affected by standardized testing.

“Do Standardized Tests Accurately Show Students' Abilities?” Concordia University-Portland, 5

May 2018, education.cu-portland.edu/blog/news/do-standardized-test-show-an-accurate-

view-of-students-abilities/.

This article, written by Concordia University, talks about the major role standardized

testing plays. It talks about the history of standardized testing. It started in Imperial China to

determine a person’s eligibility for a position in the government of the ruling class. This article

shows different viewpoints for the testing. It shows the different arguments that people who

think the standardized tests are good make. People that are for the tests argue that these tests

measure a student’s achievements, and that these tests will show that the teachers and schools

have been teaching them. They also argue that these tests are an equalizing force. They say

teachers will grade student’s work differently and all colleges see is their GPA, but with

standardized testing, they are all graded the same. That is what colleges see.

It also shows the arguments made by people who are against standardized testing. They

argue that these tests encourage teachers to teach to the test. Teachers will only teach subject

areas that they think will be on the test. They do this because the students’ results will reflect on

them. They also argue that there is too much testing, and it is burdening the students and

teachers.
 Bowen 3

I plan on using this article in my essay by showing both sides of standardized testing.

This will help me write counterclaims. I can also use it for the history of these tests.

Kohn, Alfie. “Standardized Testing and Its Victims.” Education Week, 2000,

www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/pdf/Standardized%20Testing%20and%20Its%20Victims.pd

f.

In this newspaper article written by Alfie Kohn, he talks about the facts about

standardized testing. The first fact he talks about is the children of this generation are having to

take tests that were unknown in his generation. He talked about people in his generation having

to take standardized tests but never this frequently, and the tests never played such an important

role as these. He also talks about how it is very rare in other countries. Only a few countries use

standardized tests for children that are below high school age. Norm-referenced tests were never

meant to measure the evaluate the quality of learning and teaching. The next fact that Kohn

points out is that standardized tests measure superficial thinking.

Kohn also talks about how many teachers are leaving their jobs because of what is being

done in schools with Common Core and standardized testing. There is accountability and tougher

standards now. Kohn says that the teachers who are leaving their jobs are not the ones who are

scared of being held accountable, but rather the good teachers who have gotten frustrated with all

of the standards that Common Core has brought. Another fact Kohn brings up is that the tests

may be biased. The questions on the test are unfair because they require knowledge and skills

that are possessed by students who come from a privileged background. Wealthier students and

schools do better on these tests because they have the money to buy test preparation. These tests

measure more on the skill of test-taking more than genuine understanding. They rely on

standardized testing as the primary measure for achievement. Kohn says when students score
 Bowen 4

better on these tests the correct response is not to celebrate but to be outraged because it was at

the cost of real learning.

I can use this newspaper article in my essay by talking about the facts of standardized

testing. I can use these facts to support my thesis, and I can use it to counter my counterclaims.

This information will also be helpful because I can show both sides of the argument now using

this information.

Strauss, Valerie. “13 Ways High-Stakes Standardized Tests Hurt Students.” The Washington

Post, WP Company, 11 Mar. 2014, www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-

sheet/wp/2014/03/10/13-ways-high-stakes-standardized-tests-hurt-

students/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.09b207dd2ac2.

In this article by Valerie Strauss, she talks about the ways that students are hurting from

standardized tests. Strauss says that she has published many posts on how test scores from

standardized tests are inappropriately used to evaluate the students, teachers, and schools. Many

parents have began to worry about these high-stake tests harming students. The first reason she

gives for this is the lost learning time. There is not much time for learning with all the test and

the test prep students have to do. The next reason she gives is reduced content knowledge.

Students learn how to take these tests, but they do not know the subject matter when given in a

different format. Narrowed curriculum is another reason she gave. Standardized tests focus

mainly on reading and math, therefore, students lose history, arts, world languages and other

programs. Another reason is diverted resources. Schools that do poorly on these tests are labeled

as failures, and they will have stuff taken away from them. If schools are labeled as failures, they

can often be shut down. Harmful stress to children is a big reason that she gives. Children are

pressured to demonstrate their knowledge and represent the effectiveness of the teachers. Strauss
 Bowen 5

said that teachers have reported students getting sick before taking these tests. There is an altered

school culture while these tests are being administered. Classes will be on lockdown while these

tests are being taken, and there is limited access to the restrooms.

“The Dangerous Consequences of High-Stakes Standardized Testing.” The Dangerous

Consequences of High-Stakes Standardized Testing | FairTest,

www.fairtest.org/dangerous-consequences-highstakes-standardized-tes.

In this article posted by FairTest, it talks about the effects of high-stake testing. In this

article it is said that tests that are considered high-stake when they are used to make major

decisions about a student. Tests are called standardized when all the students take the same test

under similar conditions and their answers are graded the same way. The article talks about how

research has shown that these high-stake tests cause damage to the students and their education.

It talks about how these tests are unfair to many students. Many students have test anxiety. Also

many students do not have the same opportunity to learn material on the test.

It also talks about how these high-stake tests lead to students to dropping out. It also leads

to teachers teaching to the test. Teachers will only cover subjects and material that might be on

the test. Because of this, many subjects are not taught in school. These tests drive out the good

teachers. The teachers become frustrated with the standards and only teaching to the test.

The article talks about how these standardized tests misinform the public. A school’s

performance is based on the scores from the standardized tests which are not an accurate

measure of a student’s intelligence. The article’s conclusion is that high-stake testing does not

improve education. These tests hurt the students and teachers more than it helps them.

I plan to use this article in my essay by using this information about high-stake

standardized tests. I can talk about how these tests are not an accurate measure of a student’s
 Bowen 6

intelligence, and how it hurts students and teachers more than helping them. I can also talk about

these tests are unfair and lead to students dropping out.

Wexler, Natalie. “What To Do About Standardized Tests.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 15 Nov.

2018, www.forbes.com/sites/nataliewexler/2018/11/15/what-to-do-about-standardized-

tests/#52de60c63074.

In this article, written by Natalie Wexler, she talks about the effects of standardized tests.

She says that standardized tests are best at measuring a family’s income. She also talks about

how subjects like history, science, and arts are left out of the curriculum. This is because these

standardized tests do not cover information on these subjects. Teachers have come to adapt to

instructions mirroring the kinds of questions that are on these tests.

Wexler talks about how more people need to know what the reading tests actually

measure. They do not measure reading skills like most people assume. Teachers are pressured to

raise scores, so they drill their students using unrelated passages that appear on reading tests.

These passages on the reading test do not relate to anything that students have been learning

because the test designers do not know what topics students are learning from different schools.

Wexler also talks about how students who come from richer families are more likely to

score better on these tests because they are exposed to knowledge and skills that will most likely

to appear on standardized tests. These tests continue to punish kids who have not been lucky

enough to be exposed to this knowledge. The more knowledge a student has, the more they are

able to understand high school and college level texts. In Wexler’s conclusion she says that these

tests should ease up on using the scores to rate schools and evaluate teachers.

I plan on using this article in my essay by using the information about standardized tests.

I can talk about how kids who do better on these tests come from richer families, and the ones
 Bowen 7

that do not do well come from poorer families. I can talk about how these tests are unfair because

of this, and how poor kids are punished by these tests because they have not been lucky enough

to be exposed to knowledge that is needed to score well on these tests.

Zimmer, Tim. “The Effects of Standardized Tests on Teachers and Students.” The Classroom, 10

Jan. 2019, www.theclassroom.com/effects-standardized-tests-teachers-students-

10379.html.

In this article, written by Tim Zimmer, he talks about how parents and students are often

frustrate by standardized tests. These tests take up valuable teaching time and are not always an

accurate measurement of a student’s skills or the teaching methods. These tests were meant to

allow educators to know the knowledge and skill students have or have the ability to have.

Zimmer says that a study states that the average student takes around 112 standardized tests

before they graduate high school.

Standardized tests add unneeded stress on students. This stress can lead to poor health

and negative feelings about the school and even learning. Zimmer says that students develop low

self esteem from these tests. They begin to question their ability. He also talks about how some

families and students will opt out of these tests, but they only result in grade penalties and is

highly discouraged. He talks about how standardized testing argues that the negative impact is

minimal when it is compared to the outcome. Zimmer says, however, that research has shown

there is not many positive outcomes.

Zimmer talks about the effects of standardized testing goes beyond the students. It also

affects the teachers. Zimmer says studies have shown that 72 percent of teachers have been

pressured to improve their scores from the standardized tests. They have also shown that 42
 Bowen 8

percent of teachers have said that the standard tests have brought a negative impact on their

classroom, and only 15 percent of teachers said it had a positive impact.

In Zimmer’s conclusion he says that these tests place a significant amount of physical and

emotional stress on the students and the teachers. He also says that linking the performance of

students on these tests to the teacher’s salary have drastic negative effects on the health of the

teachers and their students.