Cribb 1

August Cribb
Mrs. Debock
English 4
October 27, 2016
Essential Question: What is the government doing to improve testing in elementary schools?
Working Thesis: The government needs to discuss the possibilities of reducing the amount of
state required testing.
Refined Thesis: The government should reduce the amount of standardized tests given to
elementary students.

Annotated Bibliography
Axelrod, Jim, and Julianna Goldman. "Now To A Major Shakeup In Education, Today President
Obama Called On A Federal Government To Change Course On Standardized Testing."
CBS Evening News With Katie Couric (n.d.): Points of View Reference Center. Web. 27
Oct. 2016.
This article states that President Obama wants to put more emphasis on learning rather
than test scores. He believes that learning should not just be based on if you get a test correction
right or wrong. He is trying to limit testing time to be only 2 percent of classroom time. Teachers
have told Obama that these standardized tests have driven out the fun of teaching and they are
made to teach by the book. Results from a survey showed no evidence that more testing
improves a childs education. This article is relevant to research because it states how the
President feels about standardized tests and what is being put into action to fix this issue.
.Edwards, Haley Sweetland. "Leaving Tests Behind." Time 185.5 (2015): 28. MasterFILE
Premier. Web. 27 Oct. 2016.

Cribb 2

This article announces that lawmakers are looking for ways to limit the number of
standardized test, but still hold students and teachers accountable for their progress. In Virginia
they have already got rid of fill-in-the-bubbles standardized tests. Teachers were asked to come
up with a alternate performance based project to reflects the students progress. Using a project
to reflect a childrens work would help the teacher see what areas the student may need help in.
After Virginia started eliminating the amount of tests, the issue became noticed on the national
level. This article is relevant to my research because it shows that some schools are already
limiting the number of standardized tests.

Feuer, Michael J. "Testing Testing: Social Consequences of the Examined Life." Issues in
Science and Technology 10.1 (1993): 84+. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 27 Oct.
2016.
This article states the cost of standardized testing the consequences. The United States
spend around 5 million dollars on standardized test every year. The misuse of these standardized
tests basically wastes the 5 million dollars used to pay for these test. Students did not learn much
from these standardized test, it just brought some students self confidence down. The
government is paying nearly 5 million dollars per year for these test that just drag a students
confidence. This article is relevant to my research because it talks about the cost for standardized
tests every year and some of the negative effects of testing.
Harris, Phillip, Joan Harris, and Bruce M. Smith. "Standardized Tests Do Not Effectively
Measure Student Achievement." Standardized Testing. Ed. Dedria Bryfonski. Detroit:
Greenhaven Press, 2012. At Issue. Rpt. from "Chapter 3: The Tests Don't Measure
Achievement Adequately." The Myths of Standardized Tests: Why They Don't Tell You

Cribb 3

What You Think They Do. 2011. 33-45. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 29 Sept.
2016.
This article talks about what is student achievement and is it just showed through
standardized test scores. If a teacher defines student achievement through standardized test
scores then they are doing everything wrong. Student achievement should be defined as how
much a student has grown throughout the school year. It should be based on how they act, read,
and learn in the class, not just based on one score. A child in elementary school may not
understand the purpose of a standardized test but when they hear if they did bad or good on it
that could bring the student down. This article is relevant to the research because it talks about
the importance of not labeling a student with a test score and how it relates to a students
achievement.

Kamenetz, Anya. "The Problem With Testing." Saturday Evening Post 288.5 (2016): 10.
MasterFILE Premier. Web. 28 Sept. 2016.
This article states what a parent learns about standardized testing and that their child is
more than just a score. Students take on average 133 standardized testing from kindergarten to
12th grade. Some parents believe that anxiety is solely driven out from standardized testing. One
leading cause of anxiety is that these tests are slowly making students hate school due to stress.
Even though some stress can be beneficial to a student, too much or the wrong kind of stress can
damage a childs educational growth. Anxiety can also be seen from teachers because they are
trying to teach their students to pass these tests with loopholes, shortcuts, and hints. They are not
actually learning the correct criteria when they are being taught these tricks to pass. This article
is relevant to the research because anxiety is a key factor on how standardized testing in
elementary schools is negative.

Cribb 4

Klein, Alyson, and Lauren Camera. "Mandatory State Testing On Thin Ice." Education Week
34.17 (2015): 1. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 25 Oct. 2016.
This article states that officials are discussing the possibility of reducing the number of
standardized testing. Even the chairmen of the House and Senate education panels have
expressed their opinion on cutting back the number of state required tests. Testing is school
would still be required, but cutting down on the amounts of test would still make a tremendous
impact. Some of the test being handed out now may not even be the right kind of tests that the
students need. This is why the government needs to get involved and cut down or change what
test we hand out. This article is relevant to research because it discusses the possibilities of
reducing the number of tests handed out by the state.