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August Cribb
Mrs. Debock
English 4
September 22, 2016
Essential Question: Does a students education depreciate due to standardized testing?
Working Thesis: A student does not earn the right amount of education due to standardized
testing.
Refined Thesis: A student does not receive enough credit for his/her work because of
standardized testing and set goals.

Annotated Bibliography
Brown, Emma. "Tennessee cancels standardized testing in elementary and middle schools."
Washington Post 27 Apr. 2016. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 29 Sept. 2016.
This article states that some schools in Tennessee have stopped administering
standardized test to both elementary and middle schools. Children grades 3rd through 8th are
required by federal law to take certain standardized test. Grades kindergarten to 2nd grade are
not required to test by law, so therefore should not be made to take these test because it can be
very stressful to young aged children. In Tennessee officials are trying to push standardized tests
to be all online, but a problem with this is that some young aged students do not know how to
read fully and taking a test online can be intimidating making them stress out and do even worst
on the test. This article is relevant to the research because it states that some states are beginning
to limit the amount of standardized tests given out to elementary aged students.

Harris, Phillip, Joan Harris, and Bruce M. Smith. "Standardized Tests Do Not Effectively

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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
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.

Issitt, Micah L., and Maureen McMahon. "Standardized Testing: An Overview." Points Of View:
Standardized Testing(2016): 1. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 28 Sept. 2016.
This article states the overall purpose of standardized testing in all schools. Standardized
tests have been used since the 1930s in American schools to identify a childs educational level.
Standardized testing was not expanded to elementary aged children until the 1970s. These test
are given to compare students to other students with the same characteristics such as being in the
same grade level. The main purpose of standardized testing is to set appropriate student
achievement levels and to see what subject areas need the most help. This article is relevant to

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the research because it states the background information on standardized testing in elementary
schools to give an overall idea of standardized testing in schools.

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.

Kilbride, Kim. "School officials criticize grades." South Bend Tribune (IN) 06 Nov. 2014: Points
of View Reference Center. Web. 29 Sept. 2016.

This article talks about how some states are not going to grade children's standardized test
on a a through f scale because that can bring a student's educational self esteem down. It is
still important to grade students on their performance, but it should not just be based off of one
big test, it should be an overall grade of their work in class on a day to day basis. The formula for
grading should be based on student learning and not on just a single test grade. This article is

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relevant to the research because it shows that a students grade should not be based of a single
test, but on a student's performance as a whole.

Segool, Natasha K., et al. "Heightened Test Anxiety Among Young Children: Elementary
School Students' Anxious Responses To High-Stakes Testing." Psychology In
The Schools 50.5 (2013): 489-499. ERIC. Web. 23 Sept. 2016.

This article states that anxiety caused by standardized test among elementary school kids
varies, however test anxiety can affect a childs behavioral reaction. Task-relevant behaviors
include finishing class work on time and working diligently on class assignments, which is how
most children begin working before anxiety kicks in. Task-irrelevant behavior is usually a result
of test anxiety and includes just simple skimming through test items and turning assignments in
late. Some students also encounter physiological reactions due to testing, this may include
muscle tightness and increased heart rate. This article is relevant to the research because it talks
about some of the effects standardized testing has on a student and their anxiety.

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