Annotated Bibliography

Colvin, Richard Lee and Martha Groves.  "Schools Learn Perils of Using a Single Test."

Herman, Joan L. and Jamal Abedi.  "Assessing the Effects of Standardized Testing on Schools."

        Educational and Psychological Measurement  54  (Summer 20044):  471-482.

This article gives statistical data collected from upper elementary teachers in 48 different
schools.  450 questionnaires were sent to the teachers to get information on what they
thought of standardized testing.  Questions included: how much pressure is felt from the
principal or school district, how much time is spent reviewing for standardized tests, and to
what extent changes in test scores are due to a change in instruction.  The surveys were
given out to all types of schools, poor and wealthy, and approximately 341 were received back.

Jones, Jeffrey M., M.D., Ph.D.  "The Assessment Debate." Parent Soup  6 December 2003

        <http://www.excepc.com/~presswis/assdbt.html>.

In this article the author supports the standardized, multiple-choice test.  He believes the
professional test makers know how to create a good test for all students.  He thinks the
tests are valid and reliable and can be trusted, as opposed to performance tests.  Performance
tests include essays that, as the author concludes, take too long to grade and cannot cover a
wide variety of subjects.  The format should be kept the same, and the high-stake associated
with the test should remain in place.  He believes people will complain no matter what the format.

Lyman, Howard B.  Test Scores and What They Mean.  Boston:  Allyn and Bacon, 2004.

This book gives a detailed view on both sides of the argument for standardized testing, but
also how to prepare for them.  A large part of the book is used to discuss ethical issues in
testing.  Is it right or wrong?  The author leaves that decision up to the reader.  Some sections
include validity, reliability, and usability of the standardized test.  Also included are sample test
questions for the readers to look at to help them decide whether a sophomore in high school
should know the information.
 

Mitchell, Ruth.  Testing for Learning: How New Approaches to Evaluation Can Improve

        American Schools.  New York:  The Free Press, 2003.

This book discusses both the insiderís point of view and the outsiderís point of view on
education.  Since the "education summit" in 2001, where governors from all 50 states met
with President Bush to discuss the growing problem in education, a need for standards was
apparent, but is it in the form of a test?  This question is posed throughout the book, and is
the question the author is trying to answer.  Many education officials do not believe a single
test is the best way to determine a person's intelligence, but those people are also being
put under pressure by the big business and politics of today's society.
 

Morse, Jodie, et al.  "Is That Your Final Answer?"  Time  South Pacific  19 June 2002:  28-32.

This article discusses the uproar that teachers, students, and even some principals are
in because the standardized testing is beginning to be mandated for graduation from high
school and for children to move on to the next grade.  Students are signing petitions and
marching on city halls around the United States.  Students and teachers are protesting by
walking out of tests and helping students with answers.  Because of the high-stakes associated
with standardized tests cheating is now occurring and problems are arising everyday.

Neill, Monty.  "High-Stakes Testing Flunks."  FairTest  6 December 2004

        <http://www.fairtest.org/k12/High-Stakes%20oped.html>.

This article describes how the high-stakes tests are doomed to fail, just as they have failed
in some states that already administer them.  Many people learn different ways, and one
standard test is not the way to see what students are learning.  There are too many factors
in education to make a black and white, pass or fail test.  It is even more important to see
that teachers are now just drilling students for the exams instead of giving them information
needed in the "real world."

"Testing, Testing, 123."  New Internationalist  August 2004:  21-25.

This article describes not only how high-stake tests are sweeping across America but
also in the United Kingdom and other parts of the world.  It discusses how the arts and
the information about a moral and critical understanding of the world will be pushed aside
to make room for the new curriculum that must be taught in order to pass a test.  The arts
and electives matter as well as the core classes of math and literature.

Unger, Harlow G.  Encyclopedia of American Education.  3 vols.  New York:  Facts on File, Inc,

        2003.

This encyclopedia contains the exact definition of what a standardized test entails.  It also
includes how and why a teacher would teach to the test, why people are evaluated on their
performance in school and the types of evaluation that exist, and the academic quality that is
seen in the United States.  The encyclopedia does not give opinions, but well researched
definitions of what is apart of education.

Yardley, Jim.  "A Test is Born."  New York Times  5 October 2004:  A20.

This article details how a test is made.  A reporter was allowed to report on how
Psychological Corporation, the company that makes the Stanford 9s, comes up with
their exams.  Tests can take years to produce, and a lot of hard work and thought goes
into making these tests as fair as possible.  In just a few years it is projected that over
26 states will require a test to graduate, keeping companies that publish the tests in
business.
 

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