Tanya's+Annotated+Bibliography

Engel, S. (2010, September 19). Scientifically Tested Tests. Retrieved on November 19, 2010 from []

Susan Engels, director of the teaching program at Williams College, wrote this opinion article posted online in The New York Times. The article discusses how standardized tests are able to provide few indications of student performance in school. She proposes that instead of giving these objective, paper-based tests, schools should think about creative assessments that actually measure a student’s quality of education. Engels uses specific examples of alternative methods of assessment instead of standardized testing. Instead of testing students’ reading comprehension through a multiple-choice test, for example, why not have students read a work of fiction and orally narrate the important events and characters within the story, so that they are able to show orally their understanding of the reading. Instead of expecting students to regurgitate scientific facts of experimentation, an alternative method of assessment would be to provide them an experiment scenario with possible variables and ask students how the experiment could be improved. Engels continues in the article by providing examples of these alternative methods and concludes that these forms of assessment are a better indicator of the quality of education in America’s schools.

Of all pieces of research that I have read, this op-ed piece was my favorite because of the unique, alternative methods of assessment proposed by the writer. Engels provides creative examples of how students can be tested instead of taking a traditional, multiple-choice test. Even as a college student, I was excited by some of the ideas she proposed to test students in areas such as reading and mathematics. These types of creative ideas and methods of evaluation are the most effective in providing students a quality education and preparing them for the future. After reading this article, it is clear that schools should look more towards these innovative ideas of assessment and leave old, more traditional methods in the past.

Fletcher, D. (2009, December 11). A Brief History of Standardized Testing. //Time Magazine//. Retrieved on November 19, 2010 from [] /article/0,8599,1947019,00.html

This online article from //Time// Magazine provides a brief overview of the history of standardized testing for American high school and college students. Standardized tests have been apart of the United States for over fifty years, and it seems as if they are emphasized now more than ever before. Tests like the SAT and ACT have become one of the largest determining factors in college-admission process, and students are taking more standardized tests now than in past history. The article gives a timeline of the evolution of testing beginning from China’s use of testing to place students in government jobs all the way to Western’s world favored essay format up until the current testing methods and evaluations by computer programs. Specifically, the SAT and ACT are the most popular standardized tests for high school students today along with other tests such as Subject Tests and Advanced Placement examinations. Most recently, the passage of the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act has now added a series of tests for students to take each grade year in school.

Reading this article about standardized testing was particularly interesting because it provided an overview timeline of how testing in America has evolved. It seems that there is a much greater emphasis placed on these types of standardized tests today compared to past decades in American history, and they seem to be one of the major determining factors in college admissions for students. I think this increasing emphasis on testing can be hazardous to high school and college education because it puts more pressure on students to perform well on these tests in order to continue in their education. Instead of thinking critically through project-based assessments or communicating effectively in creative essay topics, educators are providing an objective, multiple-choice test that determines a students potential by which bubble they fill on paper. As a result, these types of tests are placing more pressure on students now more than ever to perform in order to continue with their education.

Jost, K. (2001, April 20). Testing in Schools. CQ Researcher. 11(15) 321-344. Retrieved November 19, 2010 from [] cqresearcher/cqresrre2001042000.

This article found in the CQ Researcher Online database explores the question of whether students should be tested annually in schools. President Bush wants to propose that students be tested in reading and math in grades 5-8 each year in order to improve student achievement as well as increase accountability of teachers in schools. Although, some educators say that by requiring students to take these standardized tests in addition to tests required by their classes, time is being taken away from class instruction. Others are not happy with the proposed increase in standardized testing because it places too much pressure on students. Testing has also become more popular in the United States because it is seen as providing accountability for schools. A great deal of opponents for the proposal, however, contends that these tests do not accurately measure student or school performance.

It was interesting to read this article because it prevented a number of perspectives from teachers and educators, and I tend to agree with their reasoning in regards to testing. Not only should we carefully consider administering more tests, but also we should consider the effectiveness of these tests. I do not believe that these standardized tests accurately portray student achievement in schools, and that governments should look more towards alternative methods of assessment to evaluate student performance. States should focus more on more open-ended and project-based assessments rather than standardized tests as a means to evaluating students, so that students are not confined to performing well on a single, paper-based test in order to continue on in their education. What’s interesting about this article is that I think most s tudents would tend to agree with the opinions of teachers about the role of standardized testing in school, and I think both these student and teacher perspectives should be heard and taken into account when creating these educational policies.

Tashlik, P. (2010, March 10). Changing the National Conversation on Assessment. Phi Delta Kappan. 91(6), 55-59.

Phyllis Tashlik’s “Changing the National Conversation on Assessment” examines performance-based assessments used in a consortium of New York Public High Schools and uses it as a model demonstrating the effectiveness of this structure of assessment. Today, assessment has come to mean one thing- numerical results of standardized tests. These results are then used to determine promotion and graduation requirements for students as well as school ratings. Alternative methods of assessment, however, such as performance-based, qualitative, or project-based have become restricted and less desired. The New York public schools described in this article have chosen to integrate performance-based assessment. Students enrolled in these consortium schools have demonstrated higher GPA’s than the national norm and have succeeded in college, when having initially entered the school with low math and English scores and that come from neighborhoods with higher rates of poverty compared to overall NYC school population. The consortium schools also meet the standards of the New York State Standards for Learning even as students are evaluated on performance-based assessment rather than standardized exit exams upon graduation. In addition, these types of performance-based assessments also show student’s academic growth and development in their work over, rather than just examining test score data, which leads to a better understanding of student accomplishments and their overall needs.

I found this article to be rather interesting as it examines a specific group of schools that integrate performance-based testing into their teaching standards. I think it is quite an achievement for students who enter with lower standardized test scores to engage in performance-based testing and graduate from high school while still meeting the standards of achievement that they are required to demonstrate. I tend to agree with the general principle behind this article in that today’s definition of assessment in the majority of school’s is one primarily based on raw numbers. Rather than continuing this traditional standard of testing, I think the schools that continue this traditional form of testing should examine this specific case study of consortium schools and the effectiveness of performance-based testing so that it can be built gradually into more school curriculums across the nation.

van de Watering, G., et al. (2008 December). Students’ Assessment Preferences, Perceptions of Assessment, and their Relationships to Study Results. 56(6) 645-658.

This article discusses student preferences and perceptions of assessment and how these perceptions are effected on performances when different formats of testing are used. For these students, assessment plays a crucial role in the learning process as well as teacher methods. The article discusses how students will prepare themselves depending on the type of assessment they are given, and studies have shown that educational change in testing methods only becomes effective if a student’s perceptions are also changed accordingly. The article also explained the types of assessments preferred by student as well, stating that male students, specifically, preferred multiple choice tests in comparison to free-response tests because they believe these tests are easier to prepare for, easier to take, and as a result, easier to achieve a higher grade. Other students indicated preferences for more open-ended response essays and assessments with no time limit, as time restrictions induce anxiety and stress in students while testing, compromising their ability to perform successfully. In addition to student perspectives, the journal article also takes into account teacher preferences of assessment. Even though alternative methods of assessment are becoming more of a topic of discussion, many teachers are still hesitant to change from traditional testing methods due to factors such as declining level of resources and inability to inhibit plagiarism. Overall, students prefer assessments that reduce this stress and anxiety, while teachers may sometimes be hesitant to adopt forms of assessment outside traditional testing methods.

It is interesting to read this article from a student perspective because I would agree with most of the findings the journal this presented. As a student, I believe that traditional forms of testing have become more outdated in a society where critical thinking and complex concepts are constantly evolving in a school setting. Students learn in a number of ways, and not all students are able to be evaluated on these concepts in uniform, standardized testing. It is also interesting to see student preferences of testing based on gender, as the article indicated males are more likely to prefer multiple-choice testing while females prefer open-ended essays. As a result, I believe that the best method of assessment is one that incorporates some aspects of objective, multiple-choice testing while providing students an opportunity for more open-ended responses to allow them more freedom and creativity in demonstrating the information they’ve learned in the classroom.

Scoring Rubric