Camille Mihalchik

Professor Padgett
English 102
February 27, 2016
Standardized Testing
Inquiry: Are standardized tests hurting all of the students, specifically the students with
disabilities?
Proposed Thesis: Standardized tests are hurting students, specifically ones with disabilities; and
therefore, new ways should be implemented in order to make testing fair to all students.
Dianis, Judith Brown, John H. Jackson, and Pedro Noguera. High-stakes Testing Hasnt Brought
Educational Gains. Phi Delta Kappan, September 2015. Web. 6 February 2016.
Judith Brown Dianis, John H. Jackson, and Pedro Noguera argue that standards and
assessments are important for diagnostic purposes in High-stakes Testing Hasnt
Brought Educational Gains. However, these authors state that these scores should be
available to the students teachers, so that they can use those scores to help their students
that year. The authors claim that this is different because the teachers usually receive
them during the summer after. The other major values of this article are families with
limited financial resources because authors say that the children whose parents put them
through private schools do not have to take standardized tests, yet parents in public
schools do not have the means to pay for private education. Due to this problem, the
public school parents should be able to opt their kids out of taking standardized tests.
This article is relevant in my research because although I am specifically looking at
children with disabilities and other accommodations, limited financial funds are a
significant problem. The authors of this article are Judith Browne Dianis, John H.
Jackson, and Pedro Noguera. Judith is the co-director of the Advancement Project in
Washington, D.C. John is the president and CEO of the Schott Foundation for Public
Education in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Pedro is the Peter L. Agnew professor of

education at New York University. These authors are all experts in the field of education
and provide the reader with reason as to why high-stakes testing is negatively affecting
the teachers teaching and most importantly, the students.
Katsiyannis, Antonis, Dalun Zhange, Joseph B. Ryan, and Julie Jones. High-Stakes Testing and
Students With Disabilities. Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 1 December 2007. Web.
27 February 2016.
The article High-Stakes Testing and Students With Disabilities was written by Antonis
Katsiyannis, Dalun Zhange, Joseph B. Ryan, and Julie Jones. These authors are experts in
special education and are professors at Clemson University and Texas A&M University.
The main argument of this article is that high-stakes testing is a common practice that is
the sole factor in determining if a student will graduate from high school and historically,
students with disabilities score poorly on these tests. It explains the negative
consequences associated with these tests, such as students with disabilities do not reach
the passing level, these students make the school look poorly, and students become
stressed due to taking the test and getting low test scores. This article drew upon previous
research and analyzed it, but in the end, the authors stated, In conclusion, regarding
high-stakes testing, Johnson and Thurlow (2003) recommend schools attempt to (c)
ensure that students with disabilities have an opportunity to learn the material they will be
tested on in state and local assessments, (d) make high school graduation decisions based
on multiple indicators of students learning and skills, and (e) conduct ongoing research
on the intended and unintended consequences of high-stakes testing requirements (7).
The proposal by Johnson and Thurlow fits perfectly into my research and inquiry
question because it proves that these high-stakes tests are a significant problem; however,
there are ways to change this and students with disabilities need to be a top priority.

Lovett, Benjamin J. Extended Time Testing Accommodations for Students With Disabilities:
Answers to Five Fundamental Questions. American Education Research Association,
December 2010. Web. 27 February 2016.
Benjamin J. Lovett, an expert with a Ph.D. in psychology, produced an article called
Extended Time Testing Accommodations for Students With Disabilities: Answers to
Five Fundamental Questions. The article specifically deals with a common mode of test
accommodations, which is extended time. As stated in the article when discussing
extended time, It is also controversial; critics of extended time accommodations argue
that extended time is used too readily, without concern for how it changes the skills
measured by tests, leading to scores that cannot be compared fairly with those of other
students. Advocates argue, instead, that many students with disabilities are only able to
demonstrate their skills with extended time (2). Although it is the common way that
disabled children are helped on tests, this article shows that there are different views and
that there are other children being accounted for as well. In the end, the author concludes
that there are recommendations, such as universally designed assessments, and agrees
with other experts that the problem has been addressed, but the current ideas are to
implement improvements while reducing extended time accommodations and enhancing
these certain assessment programs.
Schifter, Catherine, and Martha Carey. Addressing Standardized Testing Through A Novel
Assessment. International Association for Development of the Information Society,
October 2014. Web. 6 February 2016.
Addressing Standardized Testing through a Novel Assessment is an article that was
written by Catherine Schifter and Martha Carey on standardized testing and the
potentially new options. The authors refer to these tests and the negative aspects as onesize-fits all assessments and claim that the disadvantages of these tests directly affect the
students who are living in the U.S. as English language leaners, students with limited

economic resources, children with special needs, and those who are not reading at their
grade level. The authors address a potential scientific alternative to these traditional
standardized tests that they have created, which is called SAVE Science. This program is
a computer based virtual test and would provide students of various skills and languages
an equal opportunity to preform to their potential. The authors of this article are Catherine
Schifter and Martha Carey. Catherine Schifter has a Ph.D. in educational leadership and
Martha Carey also has a Ph.D. in urban education. These authors education and
occupations illustrate that they are both experts in education and are credible sources to
write this paper on standardized testing. Throughout their article, they provide the reader
with statistical evidence and logic on the negative aspects of standardized testing, how
this affects certain students, and the new ways that should be created and implemented in
school systems.
Sireci, Stephen G., Stanley E. Scarpati, and Shuhong Li. Test Accommodations for Students
with Disabilities: An Analysis for the Interaction Hypothesis. American Educational
Research Association, Winter 2005. Web. 23 February 2016.
The article Test Accommodations for Students with Disabilities: An
Analysis for the Interaction Hypothesis was written by Stephen G. Sireci,
Stanley E. Scarpati, and Shuhong Li for the American Educational Research
Association. These authors all work at the University of Massachusetts in
Amherst as professors who have Ph.D.s and doctorates. This article discusses
standardized testing accommodations for students that have disabilities and those
who are English language learners. Ultimately the authors discuss both sides and
state that those against accommodations say that they are not fair for the rest of
the test takers who take their tests under stricter rules; however, those for special

accommodations state that this is the only way to measure the knowledge and
skills of these certain students who need accommodations. In the end, the authors
agree with certain aspects of both sides and state, Our review indicates that many
accommodations have positive effects for certain groups of students. The
remaining challenge is to implement these accommodations appropriately and
identify which accommodations are best for specific students. Another challenge
is developing more flexible tests that would make accommodations unnecessary
(31). This sums up the main idea that although there are positive effects, this
practice is unfair to all students and a way needs to be created in order to make
testing fair for all students, including those who are disabled.
Yell, Mitchell L., Antonis Katsiyannis, James C. Collins, and Mickey Losinski. Exit Exams,
High-Stakes Testing and Students with Disabilities: A Persistent Challenge. Hammill
Institute on Disabilities, September 2012. Web. 27 February 2016.
Exit Exams, High-Stakes Testing and Students with Disabilities: A Persistent
Challenge, discusses demands for accountability in the school systems with exit exams
and the failure rates for students with disabilities. The article was written by Mitchell L.
Yell, Antonis Katsiyannis, James C. Collins, and Mickey Losinski who are all experts and
have Ph.D.s. The authors specifically used litigation, such as Alexander Noon v. Alaska
Board of Education (2004) and Chapman v. California Department of Education (2003)
to show the prominent problem that has affected thousands of students throughout the
country. In the Alexander Noon v. Alaska Board of Education case, the authors stated, In
Noon, it was projected that 500 students in the class of 2004 would have been denied a
diploma because they did not have an adequate opportunity to pass the High School
Graduation Qualifying Examination (HSGQE). A settlement was reached in 2004

wherein the Alaska Board of Education expanded the accommodations available to

students (4). This statistic and legislation problem argues the significant numbers and
the ever growing problem that students with disabilities face. In the end, this article states
that in the meantime, education officials must make sure that students with disabilities
have been taught the materials that they will be tested on during the exit exam as well as
students being given accommodations as long as the tests do not become invalid. Parents
and students should also be informed on high-stakes tests, when they are occurring, their
importance, and what is being covered.
1: The inquiry question is short and direct to the topic and makes a good point. The
proposed thesis is also direct concerning the opinion of the inquiry question, thus the
argument is good and clear.
2: The writer did summarize the article very well. The summary of each source gives the
ideas and arguments mentioned in the articles for a clear understanding of the articles
meaning and how they will be used in the research. Most arguments are backed up with
quotes that explain the reason of the arguments, and make it believable that will be put in
the research.
3: The writer used direct quotes to prove that the summary is valuable, and goes with the
same idea in which the author is expressing. The summary the writer made supports the
idea in the articles and does a good job expressing the main argument.
4: The writer is working really well with the sources and summary of quotes that were
included. However, some of the sources are unknown to me, but the fact that the article is
coming from a university researcher makes it all right and believable.