1) Standardized Tests: An Annotated Bibliography

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Standardized Tests: An Annotated Bibliography

Should standardized tests be the only method of assessing learners’ academic Competencies?

Strauss, V. (2021, May 11). What we’ve lost and what we’ve learned. The Washington

Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/05/11/whats-weve-lost-and-

what-weve-learned/

In this article, the author explains that the use of standardization methods to assess students is unfair. It has little repercussions when it comes to performance, the assessment method does not also regard the unevenness in the internet stability from different regions, education support by families, and accommodation of students. The model-related limitations are also pursued to be an ineffective tool for measuring school progress (Strauss, 2021). This will also bring frustrations to both students and families from low-income locations. Not all of them have an access to laptops or any internet connection. Not all learners attended the online classes therefore they will be frustrated when they get to know their classmates are doing a test. Therefore it will be better if the exams will be issued depending on the location of the learner and the learning environment.

Huber, S. G., & Skedsmo, G. (2017). Standardization and assessment

**practices. Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability, 29(1), 1-3.

In this article, the author states that standardization has been introduced in many countries to enhance education. The evaluation is therefore aligned to these standards and standardized itself, particularly when used for accountability purposes. Standardization, therefore, defines minimum standards, but can also establish a common framework that focuses on basic skills and competencies considered important. Standardization allows comparison of educational quality across regions, states, and countries (Huber, 2017) According to Stephen, the method also constrains because it disregards contextual factors such as local, regional, and national education conditions. Students are unfairly judged because of the difference in contextual aspects. Standardization also helps in taking into account educational conditions. Hence, when evaluating students there should be considerations on how contextual differentiation should be examined.

Popham, W. J. (2016). Why standardized tests don't measure educational quality. Educational leadership, 56, 8-16.

According to the author, these days if school standardized test scores are high the parents think the school staffs are effective, and if the scores are low the parents also think the staff is ineffective because education is being measured with a wrong yardstick. Those evaluations are always full of errors, the reason standardization test remains the most important factor in evaluating a school is because most educational experts do not understand the why standardized test provides misleading results about the school’s staff. Standardized aptitude tends to predict how well learners perform in some subjects in subsequent learning environments. On the other hand, standardized scores are used by the school management and the teachers to determine the effectiveness of the staff and the progress of the school (Popham, 2016). Educational experts are therefore encouraged to understand the estimates before using the standardized method to evaluate the students.

Kelleghan, T., Madaus, G. F., & Airasian, P. W. (2012). The effects of standardized testing (Vol. 1). Springer Science & Business Media.**

In this article, standardization has fueled debate in the last two years. Therefore standardized test has a lot of effects to students, students can be put in stress because the standardized test is tied to important outcomes such as graduation and school funding. This will undue stress to students (Madaus, 2012). Also, standardized tests fail to account for another student who demonstrates and learns academic proficiency in different ways apart from classwork. Standardized results have also left out other subjects like arts, history, and electives but emphasized mathematics, reading, and writing. The test also is thought to be fair because every student takes the same test and test in the same areas of study. Thus the teachers have can also challenge this method of assessment because it is not the best, if it does not meet specific testing standards the teaching staff will be forced to educate the learners more on that subject, which may also lead to the teacher being pressured a lot.

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