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Chantelle Beeslaar ENG112-12 2 April 2013 Megan Keaton Annotated Bibliography Wiliam, Dylan. "Standardized Testing And School Accountability." Educational Psychologist 45.2 (2010): 107-122. Print. 28 Mar. 2013. Wiliam investigates the use of standardized testing by rediscovering the antiquity of why students fail such tests. The history of accountability toward testing in the last few years has had a huge impact on students and teachers in the school systems, holding schools accountable for failing their students. Many people believe that accountability in students is not a big deal but in reality it can cause teachers to be the only reason for students failing. Suggestions are made in the article on improving tests for better results and high stakes accountability like having more tutoring sessions for students. Overall, the goals made by the school system will indeed improve students accountability on taking standardized tests. The author, Dylans argument was clear and precise. He began explaining the school structures goals, achievements, and requirements, which then lead to the organization of his paper. The fact that Dylan did include some examples of daily teachers around the world has many students thinking. Is salary more important than guiding a student to be successful when it comes to state exams? I can use this article to back up my thoughts on the teachers and school systems being reliable for those students who do fail standardized tests. The writer does not necessarily talk about how students fail themselves but he blames the government and schooling of teachers for

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making students in our generation fail. This would be perfect information to go against the teachers/the state/ and the governments decisions on out school systems. I thought that giving a history of accountability by the author was pointless because it wouldnt necessarily back up the school systems side in my argument. It just provides some information I personally wouldnt even have dropped down material on because it clearly doesnt give me, as a writer, much feedback on who should be responsible for students failing tests. I dont disagree with the writer about the school system having to deal with a part into failing students on state exams because it makes sense of what he is saying. I did like how the author provided me with knowledge of words that I may have never known of. The words seemed very helpful in understanding his point. Overall, I though the article could be very useful in blaming the school system and state governments on behave of one side of my argument. Assessment is a key process in education (Wiliam, 107). There is always an easy solution to every human problem: neat, plausible, and wrong (Wiliam, 107). The use of standardized achievement tests for the purpose of holding teachers, schools, and districts accountable-and to explore the extent to which tests currently in use are able to support valid inferences about the quality of education provided (Wiliam, 108).

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Wildavsky, Ben. "The Question Is: Are Tests Failing The Kids?." U.S. News & World Report 130.20 (2001): 23. Academic Search Complete. Web. 28 Mar. 2013. In this article, the operation of standardized testing in the United States is compared to the comeback of lower academic standards that are given by the government. Wildavsky asks questions like are teachers given proper instructions for improving? Or are they intended to hurt students by forcing them to teach about these tests. Each teacher or professor may teach completely different when it comes to the books given to them by the state, therefore, causing students to become confused. The family members and friends in the communities are boycotting these tests based on the education given to students. The author, Ben Wildavsky starts off by discussing Nancy Kirtens experience on standardized testing as a history teacher. It is important for her to prepare students for their multiple choice history tests because Nancy Kirtens knows in the future that the government will eventually lower the academic standards based on the high knowledge given to students by teachers like her. Schools like Virginia, California, Massachusetts, Arizona, and Michigan, has been considere to be at least 65% of the failing schools in the systems. If it wasnt for the Definitions provided from the writer, the reader wouldnt be able to understand Bens argument. Because the many supporters of standardized tests may be known to be famous but cannot know a simple meaning of a word. At the end, most states began rethinking their standardized tests. I can use this article in supporting teachers side of my argument against the states decision making. This would be perfect to help teachers against the academic standards provided by the government and states that make students fail based on the curriculum given to teachers. I agree with the Bens comments about the state wanting to rethink standardized tests because it influences not only students but the parents of those students as well.

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standardized test results are now determining everything from which teachers get bonuses to which students get held back and which schools face state takeover (Wildavsky, 23).

parents and some school officials have actively encouraged students to boycott state tests (Wildavsky, 23).

Michigan, North Carolina, and Washington, have delayed implementation of high school exit exams because of public concern over potentially high failure rates (Wildavsky, 23).

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Archer, Deborah N. "Failing Students or Failing Schools? Holding States Accountable For The High School Dropout Crisis." Lewis & Clark Law Review 12.4 (2008): 1253-1265. Academic Search Complete. Web. 28 Mar. 2013. This article talks about the low high school graduation rates based on tests provided by the government itself. A database is provided for the reader to understand how the graduation rates have impacted colleges around the world. The states have a right to provide each student with a proper education and high school diploma, therefore making each student take state tests or standardized tests can result in a lack of learning. Students are forced to drop out because of the high expectation on standardized tests from the government The author, Deborahs argument can open up the eyes of many students who have already and are planning to drop out. Little progress has been made to find out who may really be responsible for the acts of students not wanting to go to school. The topic of standardized tests is decides and that the students, teachers, or educational system is responsible for not being able to pass students on academic standards. Why is there not anyone else besides teachers and students taking the blame for having low standardized test scores? Teachers are not making an effort into catching students attention and teaching them in a more entertaining way because the government isnt allowing them to do so. Instead they have students who drop out of high school. Students end up being stuck in a curriculum given to them by the government that can lead students with no interest on going to school. This article can spark an idea into my paper and argument because high school dropout rates are very important when it comes to taking state exams. Because without having students educate themselves or from teachers, the colleges will slowly demolish. I can use the thought of dropping out as an example of students who fail themselves when it comes to state tests in my

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paper because its just another way of accusing students of making bad decisions toward their education. This article taught me how to look at certain things like the drop-out rates of high schools in a more complex manner for my argument. Meaning I can relate the students side of being lazy and not being able to focus in class when it comes to state tests because of how teachers teach a student. Overall, the only thing that kept me thinking is the fact that not all high school drop outs are done because of state tests or standardized tests, based of off all the programs for students who do not want to attend a 4 year college. each year our system of public education allows an alarmingly high number of students to drop out of high school (Archer, 1254). The failure to graduate Americas youth is more than an educational crisis; it is a civil rights crisis (Archer, 1255). Nationally, we are beginning to shake off the sense of complacency around graduation rates and move toward increased school transparency and accountability (Archer, 1255).

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Fallis, R. Kirk, and Susan Opotow. "Are Students Failing School Or Are Schools Failing Students? Class Cutting In High School." Journal of Social Issues 59.1 (2003): 103-119. Web. 3 Apr. 2013. This article talks about how students cut their classes and end up failing the course as well as the state tests. Class cutting is a huge influence in most modern schools of America and therefore should be evaluated in a better way by the education system. A database is shown to prove to the school systems that students are indeed responsible for failing their course and flunking standardized tests. The authors, Fallis and Opotow provide data from research done in the years 2000-2005 to their readers so that their argument seems reasonable. This data should be an example or lesson to all students that are cutting class or skipping standardized tests, because it can result in failing a course or having to retake the class. Why waste money on a class students arent even taking advantage of? I can use this article to support the students side in my argument by blaming them for failing their own state tests. Cutting class and missing school is not an excuse to not studying hard for their standardized tests. Staying back a year is not a good reputation to have especially if colleges look at how poorly a student can score on state tests. The only problem I would have with this source is the fact that it doesnt give me the response Im looking for in my argument because yes cutting class can impact your test scores or education career but would this article help or confuse my audience if I used it for my paper. students navigate their day by selectively cutting class leading to course failure and dropping out (Fallis & Opotow, 103)

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These data suggest that rather than relying on standard punitive approaches, schools can respond to class cutting more effectively by taking students concerns seriously, working collaboratively with students, and engaging in institutional self-scrutiny (Fallis & Opotow, 104)

While class cutting has an individual component, it must also be acknowledged as an institutional issue with costly consequences for students (Fallis & Opotow, 104).

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Rizga, Kristina. "Everything You've Heard About Failing Schools Is Wrong." Mother Jones 37.5 (2012): 50-59. Academic Search Complete. Web. 3 Apr. 2013. This article focuses on failing schools around the U.S and how standardized test have such a high academic standard causing schools to fail as a whole. Mission High School is one of the high schools that are considered to be a failing school in the school systems based by the national standards that are established in the No Child Left Behind Act. Through-out the article teachers of mission high school have teamed up to educate their students beyond the state test scores by providing each student with tutoring sessions. The author, Kristina seemed has tried to improve and help the schools who are known to be failing. As far as the foreign exchange student go they do tend to struggle and possibly end up failing standardized test that are far beyond their home countrys academic levels. The foreign exchange students have been provided with the national standards. Therefore, Kristina would need increasing failing test scores and guide her high school into a higher level of standardized testing rather than staying at a failing high school. I can use this article to go against the teachers/states side of my argument because foreign exchange students should get the proper education from the government to assist them into scoring high on standardized test. Most school systems now a day are filled up with foreign exchange students. So how are high school supposed to keep their record of a well-educated school if they arent assisting foreign exchange students on standardized tests? In not doing so is leading the school systems into a national failing standard that is explained in the No Child Left Behind Act.

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Why using standardized test scores to judge a school's effectiveness is a flawed system? (Rizga, 50)

Mission High is among the lowest-performing 5 percent of schools in the country, and it has consistently failed to meet the ever-rising benchmarks set by the federal No Child Left Behind Act (Rizga, 51)

How do we know when schools are failing, and why is it so hard to turn them around? (Ricga, 52)