Footnotes & Sources - Standardized Tests

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Last updated on: 6/22/2011 9:46:04 AM PST

Footnotes & Sources

The background and pro and con arguments were written by ProCon.org staff based upon input from the following footnotes (directly referenced) and sources (used for general research and not directly referenced):

Footnotes:

Diane Ravitch, The Death and Life of the Great American School System, 2010
Stephen G. Sireci, "The Most Frequently Unasked Questions About Testing," Defending Standardized Testing, Ed. Richard P. Phelps, 2005
Shelley Mika, "Testing Testing: Do Schools Do Too Much?,” www.gallup.com, Nov. 1, 2005
FairTest, "What's Wrong with Standardized Tests?,” www.fairtest.org, Dec. 17, 2007
Sean W. Mulvenon, Joanie V. Connors, and Denise Lenares, "Impact of Accountability and School Testing on Students: Is There Evidence of Anxiety?” (1.4 MB) , www.eric.ed.gov, Nov. 2011
Ruth Mitchell, "High-stakes Testing and Effects on Instruction: Research Review,” www.centerforpubliceducation.org, Mar. 30, 2006
Gregory J. Cizek, "Unintended Consequences of High Stakes Testing - P-12,” Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, Sep. 2001
Susan Ohanian, "Collateral Vomitage,” www.susanohanian.org, Mar. 14, 2002
Valerie Strauss, "The Girl Who Ran Away to Avoid a Standardized Test,” www.washingtonpost.com, Mar. 25, 2011
P.J. DeCordova-Boyd, LeAnne Gendreau, Jeff Saperstone, and Amanda Raus, "Isabella Was Stressed About Tests,” www.nbcconnecticut.com, Mar. 24, 2011
Bruce Jacobs, "No Child Left Behind's Emphasis on 'Teaching to the Test' Undermines Quality Teaching,” Endeavors, Dec. 2007
Linda Valli, and Robert Croninger, "High Quality Teaching of Foundational Skills in Mathematics and Reading,” drdc.uchicago.edu (accessed June 20, 2011)
Jonathan Kozol, The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America, 2005
Meredith Kolodner, "Students, Teachers Sweating High-stakes Tests as Parents Rebel Against Constant Prep,” Daily News, May 3, 2011
Diana Jean Schemo, "Vigilance and Memory: The Schools; For Some Students, Attacks Lose Their Grip,” New York Times, Sep. 12, 2002
"Survey Finds Teaching to the Test Has Negative Impact on Use of News in Classrooms: Carnegie-Knight Task Force Urges More Emphasis on Civics Education,” www.knightfoundation.org, Jan. 12, 2007
Katie Zezima, "The Case for Cursive,” New York Times, Apr. 27, 2011
Patte Barth and Ruth Mitchell, "Standardized Tests and Their Impact on Schooling: Q&A,” www.centerforpubliceducation.org, Feb. 16, 2006
US Department of Education, "Testing: Frequently Asked Questions,” www.ed.gov, Nov.17, 2004
Gesell Institute, "Gesell LEAD Press Conference: Study Results” (81 KB) , www.gesellinstitute.org, Oct. 14, 2010
Edward Miller, and Joan Almon, "Crisis in the Kindergarten: Why Children Need to Play in School” (167 KB) , www.allianceforchildhood.org, Mar. 2009
Education Insights, "Reality Check 2006 – Issue No. 3: Is Support for Standards and Testing Fading?” (283 KB) , www.publicagenda.org, 2006
Donald R. McAdams, "Enemy of the Good,” Education Next, Summer 2002
ETS, "Frequently Asked Questions About ETS,” www.ets.org (accessed June 20, 2011)
Sara Bernard, "Test Scores Low? Blame Your Teacher,” www.change.org, Jan. 21, 2010
Greg Toppo, "When Test Scores Seem Too Good to Believe,” USA TODAY, Mar. 17, 2011
Andrew Rice, "Miss Grundy Was Fired Today,” New York Magazine, Mar. 20, 2011
Marc Fisher, "In Search of the Real Michelle Rhee,” Washington Post, Sep. 27, 2009
W. James Popham, "Standardized Testing Fails the Exam,” www.edutopia.org, Mar. 23, 2005
Sean P. Corcoran, "Can Teachers be Evaluated by Their Students' Test Scores? Should They Be? The Use of Value-Added Measures of Teacher Effectiveness in Policy and Practice” (676 KB) , www.annenberginstitute.org, 2010
Tom Marshall, "Research Papers Fly a Value-added Debate Heats Up,” www.tampabay.com, Nov. 24, 2010
Rick Hess, "LAT on Teacher Value-Added: A Disheartening Replay,” www.edweek.org, Aug. 17, 2010
Marjorie Ingall, "Testing the Limits,” Tablet, May 10, 2011
Louis V. Gerstner Jr., "The Tests We Know We Need,” New York Times, Mar. 14, 2002
Matthew DeFOUR, "Madison School Officials Want New Standardized Tests,” www.madison.com, May 10, 2011
Alfie Kohn, "Remember When We Had Higher Standards? Neither Do I,” www.huffingtonpost.com, Dec. 10, 2010
Josh Miller, "Lawmakers Target Mandatory Testing in Education Law,” www.pbs.org, Mar. 21, 2007
Ruth Mitchell, "High-stakes Testing and Effects on Instruction: At a Glance,” www.centerforpubliceducation.org, Mar. 30, 2006
Ruth Mitchell, "A Guide to Standardized Testing: The Nature of Assessment,” www.centerforpubliceducation.org, Feb. 15, 2006
Monty Neill, "High Stakes Tests Do Not Improve Student Learning,” www.fairfest.org, Jan. 1998
Audrey L. Amrein and David C. Berliner, "High-Stakes Testing and Student Learning,” Education Policy Analysis, Jan. 2002
Pauline Vu, "Do State Tests Make the Grade?,” www.stateline.org, Jan 17, 2008
Janet M. Hostetler, "Testing Human Rights: The Impact of High-Stakes Tests on English Language Learners' Right to Education in New York City” (3 MB) , N.Y.U. Review of Law and Social Change, 2005
FairTest, "NAEP Results Produce More Evidence of NCLB's Failure,” www.fairtest.org, July 2009
Valerie Strauss, "The Value of Standardized Tests,” Washington Post, Dec. 30, 2009
David Hursh, "Oh, So Predictable: NY State Regents to Make Exams Harder to Pass,” www.warner.rochester.edu, July 20, 2010
Nicholas Lemann, The Big Test: The Secret History of the American Meritocracy, 2000
Barry Topol, John Olson, and Ed Roeber, "The Cost of New Higher Quality Assessments: A Comprehensive Analysis of the Potential Costs for Future State Assessments” (683 KB) , www.edpolicy.stanford.edu, 2010
Sharon L. Nichols and David C. Berliner, Collateral Damage: How High-Stakes Testing Corrupts America's Schools, 2007
Joy Resmovits, "NYC Teachers Counter 'Waiting for Superman' With Film of Their Own,” www.huffingtonpost.com , May 24, 2011
Howard Blume, "High Schools Offer Grade Boosts to Students Who Improve Test Scores,” Los Angeles Times, May 24, 2011
Sharon Otterman, "Test for Pupils, But the Grades Go to Teachers,” New York Times, May 23, 2011
Walter M. Haney, "Evidence on Education under NCLB (and How Florida Boosted NAEP Scores and Reduced the Race Gap)” (195 KB) , www.bc.edu, Sept. 2006
Alain Jehlen, "Florida's Testing Success: An Inflated Reputation?,” www.neatoday.org, Apr. 18, 2011
Richard Phelps, PhD, "Estimating the Costs and Benefits of Educational Testing Programs,” www.education-consumers.com, Feb. 2002
Amanda Morin, "What Is High Stakes Testing?,” www.about.com (accessed June 20, 2011)
Mary Lyn Bourque, "Leave No Standardized Test Behind," Defending Standardized Testing, Ed. Richard P. Phelps, 2005
FairTest, "Florida Teachers Refuse Bonuses for High Test Scores,” www.fairtest.org, Jan. 2000
FairTest, "Criterion- and Standards- Referenced Tests,” www.fairtest.org, Aug. 17, 2007
"Standardized Testing State by State,” www.time4learning.com, (accessed June 20, 2011)
NPR Staff, "Ravitch: Standardized Testing Undermines Teaching,” www.wbur.org, Apr. 28, 2011
Michael Moore, "Cornering the Education Market,” Savannah Morning News, May 4, 2011
Valerie Strauss, "Teachers of Year Fight Test-based Assessment,” www.washingtonpost.com, May 27, 2011
Audrey Dilling, "Studying Up,” www.sfgate.com, May 27, 2011
"Pearson,” www.ncspearson.com (accessed June 20, 2011)
Todd Farley, "Standardized Testing: A Decade in Review,” www.huffingtonpost.com, Apr. 8, 2011
Justin Crozier, "A Unique Experiment,” China in Focus, 2002
Jay Mathews, "Just Whose Idea Was All This Testing?” Washington Post, Nov. 14, 2006
Richard P. Phelps, Standardized Testing Primer, Oct. 2007
Barry J. Zimmerman and Dale H. Schunk, Educational Psychology: A Century of Contributions, 2002
"IBM 805 Test Scoring Machine,” www.ibm.com (accessed June 20, 2011)
Lawrence M. Fisher, "Reynold Johnson, 92, Pioneer in Computer Hard Disk Drives,” New York Times, Sep. 18, 1998
"Question 1529: Why Do Scantron-type Tests Only Read #2 Pencils? Can Other Pencils Work?,” www.howeverythingworks.org (accessed June 20, 2011)
"Automated Test Scoring,” www.ibm.com (accessed June 20, 2011)
"Scantron Scanners,” www.scantron.com (accessed June 20, 2011)
"ESEA Backgrounder 1: Accountability Systems,” www.edequality.org, Mar. 3, 2010
Peter Sacks, Standardized Minds: The High Price of America's Testing Culture and What We Can Do to Change It, 2001
National Commission on Excellence in Education, "A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform" (131 KB) , www.datacenter.spps.org, Apr. 1983
Kevin Kosar, "Higher Standards: We'd Love to But…” (413 KB) , www.eric.ed.gov, Aug. 2003
"Remarks by the President at Signing Ceremony for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act,” www.ed.gov, June 4, 1997
Diane Ravitch, "Obama's War on Schools,” www.newsweek.com, Mar. 20, 2011
Patte Barth, "A Guide to the No Child Left Behind Act,” www.centerforpubliceducation.org, Mar. 23, 2006
Frederick M. Hess, "Fixing No Child Left Behind: Two Views,” USA TODAY, June 6, 2007
Gerald Bracey, "One Reason (Among Many) That No Child Left Behind Cannot Work,” www.huffingtonpost.com, Jan. 2, 2007
"No Child Left Behind Act,” www.nytimes.com, June 13, 2011
Stephanie Reitz, "Court Won't Hear ‘No Child' Challenge,” www.boston.com, Feb. 23, 2011
Mark Walsh, "High Court Refuses to Hear Conn. Challenge to NCLB Law,” www.edweek.org, Mar. 2, 2011
Sam Dillon, "Obama Calls for Major Change in Education Law,” New York Times, Mar. 13, 2010
United States Department of Education, "A Blueprint for Reform: The Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act” (2.2 MB) , www.ed.gov, Mar. 2010
Erica Werner, "Obama Discusses Pitfalls of Standardized Tests at Town Hall,” www.huffingtonpost.com, Mar. 28, 2011
James Baer, "Standardized Testing Can Be Real Challenge for Students,” Ladue-Frontenac.Patch.com, Feb. 16, 2011
Donna L. Clovis, "Take Out Your No. 2 Pencils: Taking the Stress Out of Standardized Tests,” teacher.scholastic.com (accessed June 20, 2011)
"Secretary Arne Duncan's Remarks at OECD's Release of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2009 Results,” www.ed.gov, Dec. 7, 2010
Marcy Martinez, "TAKS Test Taking a Bite Out of Budget?” www.valleycentral.com, Apr. 28, 2011
"Shanghai Tops International Test Scores,” www.washingtonpost.com, Dec. 7, 2010
Trip Gabriel, "Under Pressure, Teachers Tamper with Tests,” New York Times, June 10, 2010
Dan DiMaggio, "The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Test Scorer,” Monthly Review, Dec. 2010
"Pearson 2010 Results,” www.pearson.com, Feb. 28, 2011
FairTest, "Errors Grow with Mounting Test Pressures,” www.fairtest.org, May 2006
Valerie Strauss, "New Test Scoring Problems for Pearson,” Washington Post, July 19, 2010
National Council of Churches Committee on Public Education and Literacy, "Ten Moral Concerns in the Implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act” (18 KB) , www.ncccusa.org (accessed June 21, 2011)
Katherine McKnight, PhD, "Opting Out of NCLB Testing,” www.katherinemcknight.com, Mar. 25, 2011
Michelle Rhee, MPP, "Accommodate Don't Discriminate,” www.huffingtonpost.com, May 24, 2011
"Meet the Press Transcript for Sept. 26, 2010,” www.msnbc.msn.com, Sep. 26, 2010
Richard P. Phelps, "Characteristics of an Effective Student Testing System” (64 KB) , npe.educationnews.org (accessed June 21, 2011)
Valerie Strauss, "Unanswered Questions About Standardized Tests,” Washington Post, Apr. 26, 2011
Lynn Olson, "Study Questions Reliability of Single-Year Test-Score Gains,” Education Week, May 23, 2001
Public Agenda, "Where's the Backlash? Students Say They Don't Fret Standardized Tests,” www.publicagenda.org, Mar. 5, 2002
"What Accounts for Finland's High Student Achievement Rate?,” www.asiasociety.org, Apr. 27, 2010
"Pisa Literacy Survey: Finland Loses Top Spot to Asians,” www.bbc.co.uk, Dec. 7, 2010
Sholastic and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, "Primary Sources: America's Teachers on America's Schools” (774 KB) , www.scholastic.com, Mar. 2010
Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman, "The Creativity Crisis,” Newsweek, July 10, 2010
C.J. Westerberg, "The Chinese Curse. Is America Next?” www.thedailyriff.com, Nov. 18, 2010
Scott Jaschik, "Can You Trust Automated Grading?,” www.insidehighered.com, Feb. 21, 2011
"Faculty Books: From Career Magnet Schools to Standardized Tests,” www.tc.columbia.edu, June 1, 2000
Stuart S. Yeh, "Limiting the Unintended Consequences of High-Stakes Testing" (204 KB) , Education Policy Analysis Archives, Oct. 28, 2005
Valerie Strauss, "Ravitch: 'Are We in an Era of National Stupidity?,'” Washington Post, June 16, 2010
Danny Rosenthal, "Don't Make Education Policy Based on Cheaters,” www.hlpronline.com, Apr. 4, 2011
Sherri Doughty and Jason Palmer, "Characteristics of Tests Will Influence Expenses; Information Sharing May Help States Realize Efficiencies” (508 KB) , www.gao.gov, May 2003
Kristina Rizga, "What Standardized Tests Miss,” Mother Jones, May 19, 2011
Jack Gillum and Marisol Bello, "When Standardized Test Scores Soared in D.C., Were the Gains Real?,” USA TODAY, Mar. 30, 2011
Bill Turque, "Teacher Pay Plan Detailed,” www.washingtonpost.com, Sep. 10, 2010
Bill Turque, "In Second Year, Rhee Is Facing Major Tests,” Washington Post, Aug. 21, 2008
Marisol Bello and Jack Gillum, "D.C. Officials to Review High Rates of Erasures on School Tests,” USA TODAY, Mar. 30, 2011
"Duncan Says 82 Percent of America's Schools Could ‘Fail' Under NCLB This Year,” www.ed.gov, Mar. 9, 2011
"Most Elementary Schools in California Will Fail to Meet Proficiency Requirements by 2014, Study Shows,” www.sciencedaily.com, Sep. 28, 2008
"Value-Added Assessment,” www.cgp.upenn.edu (accessed June 21, 2011)
Roger Tilles, "NY Regent: Why We Shouldn't Link Teacher Evaluation to Test Scores'” Washington Post, May 17, 2011
James Peyser and Robert Costrell, "Exploring the Costs of Accountability” (61 KB) , Education Next, Apr. 2004
Daniel M. Koretz, "Limitations in the Use of Achievement Tests as Measures of Educators' Productivity” (519 KB) , Journal of Human Resources, Fall 2002
Center for Teaching Excellence, "Improving Your Test Questions,” www.cte.illinois.edu (accessed June 21, 2011)
Russell Contreras, "Some 11^th-Graders Turned Test into a Game,” www.abqjournal.com, Aug. 2, 2004
Erin Zagursky, "Smart? Yes. Creative? Not So Much,” www.wm.edu, Feb. 3, 2011
Herbert J. Walberg, "Stop the War Against Standardized Tests,” Defining Ideas, May 2011
Caroline M. Hoxby, "The Cost of Accountability” (103 KB) , www.nber.org, Apr. 2002
US Department of Education, "Taking Responsibility for Ending Social Promotion” (649 KB) , www.ed.gov, May 1999
Jay P. Greene, PhD, and Marcus A. Winters, "An Evaluation of Florida's Program to End Social Promotion” (93 KB) , www.epsl.asu.edu, Dec. 2004
Richard P. Phelps, "The Effect of Testing on Achievement: Meta-Analyses and Research Summary, 1910–2010,” Nonpartisan Education Review, Apr. 2011
Jiang Xueqin, "The Test Chinese Schools Still Fail,” Wall Street Journal, Dec. 8, 2010
Yong Zhao, "John Richard Schrock: Why Doesn't China Get Off the Teach-to-the-Test System?,” www.zhaolearning.com, Dec. 29, 2010
Audrey Amrein-Beardsley, "The Unintended, Pernicious Consequences of ‘Staying the Course' on the United States' No Child Left Behind Policy,” International Journal of Education Policy and Leadership, June 2009
"A Weekend Interview with Diane Ravitch on Teachers, Testing and Florida's Progress,” www.tampabay.com, June 11, 2011
"Public Law 107–110, 107th Congress” (1.8 MB) , www.ed.gov, Jan. 8, 2002
Andrew J. Coulson, "Cato Handbook for Policymakers, 7^th Edition: 20. K-12 Education,” (984 KB) , www.cato.org, 2009
Tim Walker, "PISA 2009: U.S. Students in the Middle of the Pack,” www.neatoday.org, Dec. 7, 2010
Mona Mourshed, Chinezi Chijioke, and Michael Barber, "How the World's Most Improved School Systems Keep Getting Better” (4.4 MB) , ssomckinsey.darbyfilms.com, Nov. 2010
Valerie Strauss, "The Myths of Standardized Testing,” Washington Post, Apr. 15, 2011
Linda Darling-Hammond & Laura McCloskey, "Assessment for Learning Around the World: What Would It Mean to Be 'Internationally Competitive?'" (216 KB) , www.stanford.edu (accessed June 21, 2011)
Michelle Rhee, MPP, "The Evidence Is Clear: Test Scores Must Accurately Reflect Students' Learning,” www.huffingtonpost.com, Apr. 6, 2011
Sam Dillon, "Top Test Scores from Shanghai Stun Educators," www.nytimes.com, Dec. 7, 2010
Dean Goodman and Ronald K. Hambleton, "Some Misconceptions About Large-Scale ducational Assessments," Defending Standardized Testing, Ed. Richard P. Phelps, 2005
Gregory J. Cizek, "High-Stakes Testing: Contexts, Characteristics, Critiques and Consequences," Defending Standardized Testing, Ed. Richard P. Phelps, 2005
Dan Fletcher, "Brief History: Standardized Testing, " www.time.com, Dec. 11, 2009
Committee on Incentives and Test-Based Accountability in Public Education at the National Research Council, Incentives and Test-Based Accountability in Education, (1.3 MB) , www.nap.edu, 2011
Jason L. Riley, "Was the $5 Billion Worth It?," Wall Street Journal, July 23, 2011

Sources:

Valerie Strauss, "The Letter from Assessment Experts the N.Y. Regents Ignored,” Washington Post, May 22, 2011

Chris VerWys, "Achievement Tests,” homepages.rpi.edu/~verwyc (accessed June 17, 2011)

Lihshing Wang, Gulbahar H. Beckett, and Lionel Brown, "Controversies of Standardized Assessment in School Accountability Reform: A Critical Synthesis of Multidisciplinary Research Evidence" (159 KB) , Applied Measurement in Education, 2006