Trey Grigg English 1102-070

Annotated Bibliography

Archbald, Douglas A, and Fred M. Newmann. Beyond Standardized Testing: Assessing Authentic Academic Achievement in the Secondary School. Reston, Va: National Association of Secondary School Principals, 1988. Print. This book really took a good stance on the failures of Standardized testing. The authors presented good statistics of what standardized testing shows and what it does not show. It is explained that these tests do not demonstrate the comprehension of integrated forms of knowledge. Instead, they show only isolated pieces of knowledge or familiarity with the subject through these tests. The authors explain the failures of standardized testing but also mention that these tests were not made for the progression of academic success among all forms. They were never meant to measure certain areas of academics and the authors mention that standardized tests should not be criticized for failure of these measurements. There are a lot of good numbers and circumstances expressed in this book that pose as strong information for this topic. This book poses only information on the topic of standardized testing and does not suggest other resolutions to measuring academic success. This book will benefit me with my statistics, certain measurements, and surveys that have already been taken and expressed throughout. Aydeniz, Mehmet, and Sherry A. Southerland. "A National Survey Of Middle And High School Science Teachers' Responses To Standardized Testing: Is Science Being Devalued In Schools?." Journal Of Science Teacher Education 23.3 (2012): 233-257. ERIC. Web. 17 Mar. 2013. Throughout this article, the main topic focuses primarily on the science department and how testing affects it. These surveys show the attitudes directed towards standardized testing from the science teachers for middle schools and high schools. We get mixed emotions throughout the article from all these teachers after collecting the survey. There were nine agree or disagree questions, along with two open-ended questions. Surveys showed that teachers end up adjusting the way they teach to benefit the product of scores from the test. This being the subject of Science, the authors were expressing the implicit and explicit influences of the No Child Left Behind Act on this curriculum and how it either met the goals behind the Act or it didnt. I like how the author goes into this subject because it also ties in with another source I used. It can contribute to the role of government in education with standardized testing. This is also a great survey to use to express the attitudes from teachers on standardized tests, and from a specific Science perspective.

Garrison, Mark J. A Measure of Failure: The Political Origins of Standardized Testing. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2009. Print.

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Garrison takes a very strong and personal approach towards standardized testing and how morally wrong it is. He explains how it thoroughly goes against the No Child Left Behind movement. Garrison attacks the social complications with standardized testing and explains them being the reason for more dropouts and social inequalities among students. He likes to think of standardized testing as not a way to improve education but control it. One alternative that Garrison suggests is to replace these high risk tests is by introducing Howard Gardner's multiple intelligences so that a vast range of human abilities and achievement can be considered. Garrison also shows a social test with two individuals pertaining to achievement testing and intelligence testing. I like how Garrison approaches not only statistics and numbers, but a social approach that ties in the history and political stance with education. The talk of a Democratic Education through standardized testing and federal control over schools can really be expressed in my inquiry paper. I really like how Garrison explains social views and this will greatly tie into my personal experience from testing as well.

Standardized Testing Issues: Teachers' Perspectives. Washington: National Education Association, 1977. Print. This book is compiled of various teachers perspectives on standardized testing and the many effects it has caused in the education system. The topics are very wide and include mixtures of positive and negative feedback towards testing. Coming from many teachers perspectives, and this being a book from over 3 decades ago, it is amazing to see the views on testing stay about the same from then to now. There is so much analysis of how to work around these tests and focus more on alternative ways to determine academic success and progression. Some of these techniques discussed in the book are being used today. It will be very interesting to use the positive comments on standardized testing in my paper. These perspectives are very well respected, being that of many teachers and their styles of teaching. I think it will be of good use to include these views from some time ago just to see the comparisons and differences.

Weaver, Keshia. Standardized Testing: Measurement Of Academic Achievement. Online Submission (2011): ERIC. Web. 17 Mar. 2013. Weaver really gets into standardized testing and all the factors that go into teaching in general. She covers the styles of teaching that lead to tests and the styles that become most beneficial. She goes over the economic issues along with the content of the course and how the content is retained for the courses that follow. Weaver doesnt think a single test can be a determining factor for ones academic success. She talks about the deeper and more superficial styles of interpreting material as well. I agree that not all students learn or evaluate things on the same level. Most teaching styles lean towards preparing only for the test and not getting a good application of the subject. Weaver mentions the memorization that plays a factor for the test, but

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then the material just starts to be forgotten afterwards. The SAT and ACT are also mentioned as high stake tests that are very controversial. She really pushes against standardized testing due to the surveys and statistics she has discovered. I can really use her information that she has discovered to push the argument of different styles of teaching that lead to tests. It will be good to also discuss the memorization problems that students have today due to high stake tests.

Academic Essay

In the field of education, there is a controversial argument when it comes to the most efficient way of determining the progress or success of a student. The standard that we have grown into is called standardized testing. The success of an individual is evaluated by a either a single or multiple tests for almost any course. If you did well on a test, then you advance to the next course. If you did not do so well, then the course has to be retaken up to multiple times before you can progress. The argument being made on this topic is that not everybody is a good test taker although they may know the course material well; testing is something a lot of people struggle with. A lot of factors come into play when the testing environment is established in a classroom. These factors are continuously being argued and discussed to determine the best use of standardized testing. I know from a personal experience that testing is a very difficult thing for me. It is actually my biggest issue when it comes to school. I seem to understand and take in the course material at a decent rate, but testing is just intimidating. There are too many instances where I get discouraged by the wording or even the time limit on tests. The biggest feared test was the SAT I took my senior year in high school. I knew so much was at stake at the time and it only made that test even harder. I always seem to study the wrong things, or over study and end up

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going brain dead when the actual test comes. My learning style seems to be affected by my instructors teaching style. Thats at least what I have discovered. Keshia Weaver backs me up on this when she mentions Not every students learning habits are the same, so various teaching styles must be implemented for an efficient spread of learning (Weaver). Weaver also mentions the struggle between teaching for students to learn and apply, and teaching for students to pass the test. Many students get acquainted with what the test will be like, so the test is being studied more than the actual material. Weaver explains how this takes away from the application process of the material. Another thing I struggle with right before the test is cramming. I find myself and many of my fellow peers trying to study everything right before the test. This causes a long term problem down the road. Memorization is the key to being successful in school, and when you become a crammer, it is hard to retain all the necessary material for the courses later to come. Weaver would also back up this statement by saying Students will not only study last minute and cheat the system for testing, but they will more importantly cheat their selves in the long run (Weaver). Only certain subjects such as science, English, and even physics would be courses that I would think needs more than just a test to determine success. Sherry Southerland would agree by saying that Theres more to science than just testing (Southerland). Southerland discusses how many teachers dont change their styles to benefit the students way of learning, but to make it to where the material being taught is exactly what is on the test. That seems to be a huge problem in the education system today. Southerland focuses on how this is a very popular effect in the field of science. She also discusses the idea of labs and how there should be more to determining the success of a student than just a test. Science is a course where application of material is needed. Testing can only go so far in a course like this. To establish a good

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understanding of a course, an oral presentation, a hands-on experiment, or even a good visual can be used to express the knowledge that a student has in a course. Standardized testing seems to take away from that. Douglas Archbald would disagree and explain that Standardized tests should not be criticized for something they have no intentions on doing (Archbald). Douglas thinks that these tests had a specific purpose, even though he admits to the failures of standardized testing. Douglas doesnt know what a perfect solution would be to correcting standardized testing, because he thinks that there is nothing wrong with how they are being used to begin with. He mentions the ease of standardized testing and how efficient they are at determining success for large amounts of students. Not everyone would agree with Douglas on this. Mark Garrison is one that despises standardized testing and notices the failures in it. Garrison said Standardized testing is the number one reason for social inequalities throughout the school system (Garrison). Mark explains how the education is becoming more and more controlled by the government. Garrison says I like to think of standardized testing as not being a way to improve education, but to control it (Garrison). He explains how this kind of testing eliminates the few with social inequalities and discourages many of the students that are very well rounded. The No Child Left Behind Act is humorous to Garrison because he thinks that this is the exacts opposite of what is being done in America. One alternative that Garrison suggests is to replace these high risk tests is by introducing Howard Gardner's multiple intelligences so that a vast range of human abilities and achievement can be considered (Garrison). Garrison sure does point out the social flaws in standardized testing and also takes a political stance at it as well.

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I can very well correlate to each source and see where they stand on this topic. I have had a bad experience with standardized testing in my years of school, and have yet to find a strong solid view that backs up this kind of testing. A different approach to teaching would be to try and become more personal and work one-on-one with the student. This seems to benefit me more because I can express myself without the discouragement from others. Everybody learns differently though, so this is just a trial and error type of problem to work on.

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Archbald, Douglas A, and Fred M. Newmann. Beyond Standardized Testing: Assessing Authentic Academic Achievement in the Secondary School. Reston, Va: National Association of Secondary School Principals, 1988. Print. Aydeniz, Mehmet, and Sherry A. Southerland. "A National Survey Of Middle And High School Science Teachers' Responses To Standardized Testing: Is Science Being Devalued In Schools?." Journal Of Science Teacher Education 23.3 (2012): 233-257. ERIC. Web. 17 Mar. 2013. Garrison, Mark J. A Measure of Failure: The Political Origins of Standardized Testing. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2009. Print. Standardized Testing Issues: Teachers' Perspectives. Washington: National Education Association, 1977. Print. Weaver, Keshia. Standardized Testing: Measurement Of Academic Achievement. Online Submission (2011): ERIC. Web. 17 Mar. 2013.